LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES
by Kathryn Loggins

Jesse Short Bull, and Laura Tomaselli, USA 2022

Mount Rushmore, one of the most recognizable national monuments in America, was built on one of the most sacred grounds on earth. Most Americans are blissfully unaware of that fact because it doesn't pertain to them: they are not indigenous to this land. For the Lakota people, however, Mount Rushmore is a constant reminder of how the colonization of America stripped them of their very creation stories and who they are as a people. The documentary LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES recounts in detail the history of how this vast expanse of land was continuously and meticulously swindled out of the hands of the indigenous peoples by the greed of those who just sought to conquer it.

The film is beautifully narrated by Layli Long Soldier, a poet, and member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, using her poems and writings. Her voice tells the story of her people from their perspective, as opposed to how the media and Hollywood often depict it. The film is meant to challenge the stereotypes and biases that have permeated society, and see how much pain, loss, and suffering the Lakota people have gone through just trying to protect their land and their way of life. The land and the native people are culturally and spiritually intertwined, so any abuse of the land is also an abuse against their very livelihood. The filmmakers wanted to show this not only through the voices of the Lakota Nation but also through breathtaking cinematography of the Black Hills. As Laura Tomaselli says in her director’s statement: “we felt a weight to visually represent the Black Hills as sacred and holy rather than a backdrop.” In the film, the land almost takes on a life of its own and becomes a character one can’t help but root for and want to see prosper. (KL)