A few months back, I wrote to you about the digital release of “Oyate” on iTunes. This award-winning documentary (rated 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!) about our Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) resistance and movement for Native justice was produced by Films with a Purpose in association with the Lakota People’s Law Project. Now, we continue to assist with word-of-mouth distribution — we hope to get as many eyes as possible on this special movie — and we’re setting up a screening in partnership with the American Indian Resource Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
That screening will happen this winter at Santa Cruz’s historic Del Mar Theater, and we’ll keep you informed once the date is firmed up. Meanwhile, we’re hoping you’ll participate by hosting a local screening and then joining afterward for a question and answer session to be broadcast live online. I plan to be there for that, as will the filmmakers and other subjects including my Lakota Law colleague, Standing Rock organizer Phyllis Young. To set up a screening with your friends at your home, we encourage you to take the first step: purchase or rent the movie on iTunes and give it a watch.
Phyllis and I stare down the White House in a still from “Oyate.”
And if you represent a theater or educational group such as a university, you’re also encouraged to participate — either that night or independently at another time. To inquire about setting up a public or educational screening event, please contact the filmmakers directly using the handy “screening inquiries” form on their homepage.
I’ll finish by noting that this film remains interesting and timely. Its narrative incorporates unexpected elements, and it tells the story of Indigenous resistance from some very personal perspectives — making it both intimate and ambitious in scope. And it’s of this moment because we expect the public review period for DAPL’s draft Environmental Impact Statement any week now. The days of our resistance camps may be in the rearview, but soon we can stand with Standing Rock once again to shut the pipeline down.
Wopila tanka — thank you for supporting Native media and resistance!
Chase Iron Eyes
Co-Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project
Water is Life 