For decades, and even centuries now, the only real knowledge that most Americans know about the Indigenous cultures that live here, is through media depiction. The education that we’re given about the cultures that “once lived here” is through the eyes of the colonizers, or the conquerors, and never much thought is given to the cultures that were here first. Students are taught about the pilgrims and the first colonies, but not the Indigenous culture. They’re taught about the treaties that were made, but never about how many were broken, re-written, or just ignored throughout the years.
Unless someone actively goes out of their way to take classes or to learn about the Indigenous nations in our country, most people still fall into the trap of not knowing anything about them they didn’t learn from movies or television. The miseducation about native people and their cultures is nothing short of a travesty and it’s this continued suppression of information about these cultures that continue the cycles of abuse of power on them to this day.
This month, there is a new documentary coming to theaters that will help break down your misconceptions about the indigenous people and cultures in our country and may have you changing sides when it comes to the fight to get their land back.
Lakota Nation vs. United States isn’t just about one battle like Standing Rock but takes you back to the original settlers and their relationships with the native cultures. It breaks down each time that the United States made and broke promises throughout the centuries. From the initial contact, until the present day. The documentary breaks down everything from the gold rush to battles, the media portrayal of native cultures and stereotypes, the unending damage that was done with Residential Schools and what they’ve done to the generations that survived and the ones that followed.
The documentary isn’t an easy one to watch. Even if you’ve done research over the years outside of your standard education. There are still shocking atrocities that have been committed against the native cultures that our education system wants to sweep under the rug, and many continue to this day. And while many of the things we learn about seem like the distant past, many of these battles are still ongoing in the courts and on sacred land to this day. The movie is eye-opening, and will have send you on a quest to find out more about what actually is happening that we’re not taught or shown.
Lakota Nation Vs. United States opening exclusively in Los Angeles & San Francisco on July 21st and New York City on July 14th. This one-of-a-kind documentary is a must-see and will make you question everything that you have been taught (or not taught) about the Indigenous cultures in our country and the continued mistreatment of their land and rights.
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About Lakota Nation Vs. United States
It is the most sacred place on earth, the birthplace of the Lakota that has shaped thought, identity and philosophy for the Očéti Šakówiŋ since time immemorial–the life-giving land known as the Black Hills. Yet with the arrival of the first Europeans in 1492, the sacred land has been the site of conflict between the people it has nurtured, and the settler state seeking to exploit and redefine it in its own image. This powerful new documentary is a searing testament to the strength of the Oyate and a visually stunning rejoinder to the distorted image of a people long shaped by Hollywood. Lakota Nation vs. United States is a lyrical and provocative testament to a land and a people who have survived removal, exploitation and genocide–and whose best days are yet to come.