MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 14, 2023: LAKOTA NATION Vs. UNITED STATES
Does any part of you still doubt that the United States’ relationship with the Indigenous people who called North America home long before anyone ever thought of naming it “America” in the first place is based in duplicity, theft, and genocide? If so, then watching Laura Tomaselli and Jesse Short Bull’s compelling Lakota Nation Vs. United States will make it crystal clear that, as one interviewee eloquently puts it, “Fundamentally, the intent of the United States is to gain access to native land.”
The film details the many, many ways in which White colonizers, bent on seizing everything they could get their hands on — and spurred by the faulty, harmful dogma at the heart of concepts like Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny — have manipulated and harmed Native Americans over the centuries. Interviews and archival footage document the U.S. government’s history of deceptive treaties, brutal massacres, and forced assimilation, all carried out while painting Native Americans as dangerous enemies (the better to help justify their subjugation).
While this abuse was widespread, the filmmakers focus on the people who make up the Lakota Nation – with a specific emphasis on the fight for the rights to western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming’s Black Hills. This land, the spiritual heart of the Lakota community, has long been the target of those who would like nothing better than to profit from the region’s rich resources. But the Lakota people aren’t willing to let that happen on their watch. Their passionate activism, which is centered in the restoration-based Landback campaign, is inspiring.
And it’s easy to see why the Black Hills are so important to the Lakota. Tomaselli and Jesse Short Bull capture the region’s beauty with gorgeous, sweeping shots of the dramatic landscape and lovingly depict the community and traditions that are so important to the Lakota Nation. Ultimately, Lakota Nation Vs. United States is an ardent call for justice. By the time the credits roll, you may well be chanting “landback” yourself. — Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Pam Grady: The history of the United States and its treatment of the indigenous people who were long before Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas is one of conquest, subjugation, racism, and discrimination that continues to this day. This breathtaking documentary tells the story of that ugly history through the specific lens of the Lakota Oglala of South Dakota. Broken down into sections that covers genocidal westward expansion, the government’s habit of making treaties with tribes only to break them when the land and its resources became desirable, the cruelty of Indian boarding schools and other cruel efforts of assimilation; and the situation today as the Lakota continue to fight not only for their rights and land but for the sanctity of our planet. While activists and historians relate the story, news stories relate events both historical and current, film clips evoke Hollywood stereotypes that still casts a giant shadow, and images unwind of the American West that show both its beauty and the land stolen from the tribes so long ago. This searing documentary lays bare the ugliness of the United States’ “Manifest Destiny.”
Loren King With the year more than half over, I will say now that Lakota Nation vs. United States should be among the nominees for the best documentary Oscar next year. It’s not only a superbly crafted, richly textured film with a fresh point of view, it masterfully blends past and present to serve as both historical corrective and gut-check for the very moment we are in when so many are eager to censor and erase history. Read full review.
Leslie Combemale Anyone paying attention knows the indigenous people of the US have been decimated, ripped off, and cheated by the US government over the last 130 years. Lakota Nation vs United States really brings that home, and does it through the voices of the indigenous people themselves. For anyone who hasn’t done a deep dive about the repeated land grabs and forced migration of the tribes living across this country, there is much to learn here, especially as it relates to South Dakota and other stolen territories. I’d consider this required viewing for not only documentary film fans, but anyone concerned with social justice.
Nikki Fowler: Directors Jesse Short Bull, Laura Tomaselli and writer Layli Long Soldier give an exquisite and accurate account of how land treaties have been broken and Native Americans have been physically and verbally bullied and belittled and met with horrific stereotyping and lies promoted by colonizing attitudes and greed. Whether seen in the context of the struggle to retain rights to the Black Hills region that that rightfully belongs to the Lakota people, it’s clear that the influx of settlers from the east looking to strike it rich with gold in the west had no compunction about violating land treaties, sending kids to dehumanizing boarding schools, disrupting tribal culture. This documentary is a must watch. Read full review.
Jennifer Merin Lakota Nation Vs. United States is a compelling advocacy documentary that chronicles the United States’ government’s ongoing land grab of Lakota territory in Northeastern Wyoming in violation of the Black Hills Treaty of 1868. At this moment in US history, when the Constitution — our government’s essential treaty with our nation’s citizens — is being challenged and our civil rights are being eroded, Lakota Nation Vs. United States is an effective cry for justice. It is an essential watch. Read full review.
Nell Minow: The form of Lakota Nation is as significant as the content, and the combination makes an incontrovertible argument about the systemic abuse of indigenous people and about the way the American story has been told in history books and in cultural touchstones. Buster Keaton’s The Paleface and John Wayne’s The Searchers are among the compelling examples of commercial depictions and the archival clips from news media and other sources are presented like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle creating a picture that keeps getting bigger and clearer.
Sandie Angulo Chen: Filmmakers Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli’s revelatory documentary Lakota Nation vs. United States is a powerful reminder of how the American government has stolen land and broken treaties in shameful, harrowing, and heartbreaking ways. Even viewers aware of the centuries of institutional racism against Indigenous peoples will learn something from this film, which explores how Lakota citizens have resisted and protested the United States government’s unlawful occupation of the Black Hills and betrayal of treaty upon treaty. Native activists young and old discuss their commitment to the cause and their desire for just reparations. A must-see documentary.
Liz Whittemore Lakota Nation Vs. United States reframes the “founding” of our country by revealing the truths about injustice and stolen land. Directors Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli change how we view freedom, respect, culture, and ownership. Awe-inspiring cinematography combined with archival film reels and current sit-down interviews present a vibrant juxtaposition of varying perspectives from Hollywood, the United States government, and the Native American people. Lakota Nation Vs. United States gives audiences a glimpse of the faces of Lakota resisters: Krystal Two Bulls, Candi Brings Plenty, Nick Tilsen, Henry Red Cloud, Phyllis Young, and Nick Estes. The systematic extinguishing of Native American culture hurts your heart. The trauma that remains is palpable. The Christifascist tactics you witness will be hauntingly familiar. The United States as we know it was founded and built upon two central concepts, colonization, and capitalism. The film highlights the white man’s ignorance, greed, racism, and violence. The historical revelations surrounding Abraham Lincoln shook me to my core. The realities of so-called heroes get obliterated. At one point, we hear The Star Spangled Banner. It hits differently with all this newfound information. It feels sullied. Lakota Nation Vs. United States is essential for the reeducation of citizens. It should be in every school for the rest of history. You will walk away changed.
Cate Marquis What a powerful and insightful film is Lakota Nation Vs. United States, a documentary that looks at the fight of the Lakota people for the return of their most sacred land, the Black Hills. While filmmakers Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli’s Lakota Nation Vs. United States does cover the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that a wrongful action had occurred when the U.S. government took the Black Hills from the Lakota Nation, this compelling, in-depth documentary covers far more than that. Featuring interviews with various Lakota activists, Native American people speak to tell their own side of the story. Deeply informative, and presented in a very human, personal way, but clearly organized and well-structured, Lakota Nation Vs. United States is a must-see for anyone, for its insights on the other side of the story we heard in American history class.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: Lakota Nation Vs. United States
Directors: Laura Tomaselli and Jesse Short Bull
Release Date: July 14, 2023
Running Time: 120 minutes
Language: English
Screenwriters: Laura Tomaselli and Jesse Short Bull (/documentary)
Distribution Company: IFC Films
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Jamie Broadnax, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
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Edited by Jennifer Merin
