PBS Premiere: July 3, 2007
Synopsis
What does a family have to endure to create a future for itself? In April 2000, Alex White Plume and his Lakota family planted industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota after other crops had failed. They put their hopes for a sustainable economy in hemp's hardiness and a booming worldwide demand for its many products, from clothing to food. Although growing hemp, a relative of marijuana, was banned in the U.S., Alex believed that tribal sovereignty, along with hemp's non-psychoactive properties, would protect him. But when federal agents raided the White Plumes' fields, the Lakota Nation was swept into a Byzantine struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights and common sense. A co-presentation of Native American Public Telecommunications.
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Film Information
Standing Silent Nation
Premiere Date: July 3, 2007
Photos: Download here
Trailer: Link
Filmmakers: Suree Towfighnia, Courtney Hermann Bio | Interview | Statement
Press: Press Release | Critical Acclaim
Filmmakers
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Film Update
December 3, 2007
Critical Acclaim
The story of a dirt-poor but enterprising family thwarted by shocking, stupid acts by jerks armed with red tape and guns produces a single effect: umbrage. It’s good umbrage, mostly, that surging, almost euphoric response to a crusading documentary. . . . It is possible that in seeking a viable crop, the Oglala Lakota have found the next best thing: a purpose.”
— Virginia Heffernan
The New York Times
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