“They are real people.”
Donaldson serves as the narrator for “American Indian Homelands: Matters of Truth, Honor and Dignity-Immemorial.” The 78-minute film explores the loss of tribal lands through 120 years of federal policy and how the land loss affects Natives today.
“The Indian focus groups that we showed it to absolutely loved it and thought every Indian should see it,” said Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation in Little Canada, Minn. “They thought it should be longer.
“The non-Indian groups got a lot out of it,” Stainbrook added. “But their first question every time was, ‘Is this for real? Are these really facts behind this?' It's hard for people to understand how you can have an 80-acre piece of ground with thousands of owners.”
The film helps answer questions about why and how it's difficult for economic development to occur on tribal lands held in trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“All you have to do is look at the structure of Indian landownership on reservations and you get a real quick hit on why it's so difficult,” Stainbrook said.
“American Indian Homelands” reports a two-part story, effectively unearthing the recent history of Native lands. The film reveals the voices of those affected by the land loss and of those trying to clean up messy land deals that linger today.
The Interior Department's land mismanagement led Elouise Cobell, a banker by trade from the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, to file the largest class-action suit ever brought against the federal government. She sued in June 1996 seeking justice for 500,000 landowners who never received just compensation for land leases and mineral royalties earned on their land holdings.
“American Indian Homelands” helps clarify some old myths. A lot of people have a “longstanding belief that every Indian gets a government check, well that was their money coming back to them from the Department of Treasury for land leases,” Stainbrook said.
The Cobell v. Kempthorne suit has its roots in the Dawes Act of 1867, a federal land policy that broke up tribal land masses by creating individual landowners. Ultimately, the act led to the loss of 137 million acres of tribal land by 1934.
The Burke Act is also included among the acts of Congress that devastated tribal land holdings. The act was intended to protect landholdings for 25 years after land was newly allotted to individuals. But the act was more effective in taxing Indian land and taking it away. Often, the land was secretly taxed. Natives would find out they had an unprotected land title, which was then seized for taxes.
The “Homelands” film explores how the Dawes and Burke acts have led to current dilemmas associated with terms, such as trust status and undivided interests.
“All those pieces that are so foreign to non-Indians,” Stainbrook said. “When they see this stuff, a lot of people think you're not telling the truth.”
The film's writer and director, Barry ZeVan, has effectively told the story of Native homelands. In June, he received a 2005-06 international Telly Award - a coveted prize among production companies - for outstanding documentary.
“Homelands” has aired in metropolitan markets, such as Minneapolis, and airtime dates have been scheduled in San Francisco and Albuquerque, N.M. A contract has been signed to distribute the video to retail outlets around the country. The film is also becoming a part of curriculum and reference libraries, including the University of Minnesota, Dartmouth College and Ball State University.
“Everybody who cares anything about American history, not just Native American history, has got to see this film,” ZeVan said. “It will open a lot of people's eyes and let people realize all these Machiavellian actions that have been taken against Native Americans.”
Others interviewed in the film reflect similar thoughts.
“It's probably the saddest chapter in our long history and the exploitation of Native Americans continues today,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Said former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.: “Our treatment of Native Americans is a national tragedy. Unfortunately, it's not a tragedy with an end. A lot of that tragedy continues today. It's a tragedy that has meant embarrassment to this country, but far more importantly, a painful experience for Americans who deserve better.”
Added Tim Coulter, director of the Indian Law Resource Center in Helena: “The federal government can take Indian land at will without compensation. The United States can't do that to anyone else except Indians.”
Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 523-5299 or at jodi.rave@lee.net
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