In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, the Woods Hole Public Library and the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee are teaming up to offer a screening of a recent documentary on Monday, November 27 at 6pm. The film, Lakota Nation vs. United States, was released in July of 2023 and chronicles the Lakota Indians’ fight to reclaim control of the Black Hills. After the discovery of gold on Lakota land in 1874, the Black Hills Act stripped the tribe of most of the acreage in the Dakotas and northwestern Nebraska it had been ceded by treaty decades earlier. Ever since, the Lakota people have been fighting for ownership of their lost land.
This stunning film, directed by Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli, combines interviews of Lakota activists and elders with striking images of the Black Hills and its wildlife, historical documents and news reports, clips from old movies and other archival footage. It demonstrates not only the physical and cultural violence inflicted on the Lakota but also their deep connection to the Black Hills, the area where Mount Rushmore was erected.
The screening will be held in the lower level meeting room at the Woods Hole Public Library and is free and open to the public.