Set amidst rolling prairies and the Badlands, Young Lakota shares with viewers the perspectives of three young Lakota as they find themselves in the middle of political controversy in the small town of Kyle on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. The film centers on Sunny Clifford, who has recently returned to Pine Ridge after two years in college and aspires to improve the reservation she grew up on. “I never really experienced anyone talking about women’s rights and what they deserve… I always had this pity for myself because I was a woman, and on top of that I’m Native American. I’m at the bottom of the bottom.” Her twin sister Serena, a struggling single mother, and their ambitious friend Brandon Ferguson, a father of two, also want to make life better for themselves and their community.
"Young Lakota" Official Trailer from marionlipschutz/roserosenblatt on Vimeo.
When South Dakota seeks to pass a bill making abortion a felony, even in the case of rape and incest, Cecelia Fire Thunder, the first female tribal president of the Oglala Lakota, controversially challenges the move by attempting to establish a women’s clinic on the sovereign territory of the reservation and with it, the right to chose. Considering the high rape statistics and poor access to health care among communities on reservations, Lakota women are particularly vulnerable to potential bans on abortion. The reservation quickly becomes divided over the plan and Fire Thunder is impeached by pro-life Tribal Council members swayed by right-wing forces outside of the reservation and by a religion that was pushed upon them hundreds of years ago. Fire Thunder states that medicine for terminating pregnancies has been in Lakota society for hundreds and hundreds of years and sees this ban as another attack by white men on her culture. “I’m challenging white men right now and white men have already done a tremendous amount of damage to my people.” At one point she addresses a group of supporters of the anti-abortion ban and demands “Keep your white hands off my brown body!”
The political conflict during the next elections campaigns becomes more than a battle between candidates as the affects of the ensuing chaos sees the young Lakota members’ paths diverge. In their first introduction to politics, Sunny, Serena, and Brandon are caught up in the interplay between political, economical, and cultural circumstances. Sunny and Serena rally behind Fire Thunder while Brandon is offered a job he can’t pass up working for Fire Thunders opponent Alex White Plume. The film follows their struggles with choosing between prospects and principles, between individual opportunity and community, and their fight for personal dignity as well as the dignity of their Lakota heritage. Cecelia advises Sunny, “When you stand in the middle of that community of craziness, you have to be real clear about who you are and what you believe in because they’re going to come at you from all different directions and no matter what they do… you’re going to still stay standing because you believe in who you are and you believe in what you stand for.”
Filmmakers Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt are founders of Incite Pictures/Cine Qua Non Inc., a production company focused on subjects of cultural and social significance. Their previous award winning documentaries Live Free or Die and The Education of Shelby Knox also center on the theme of reproductive rights and justices. Executive Producer Heather Rae is a Cherokee filmmaker whose work has won numerous awards. She previously ran the Native Program at the Sundance Institute and now sits on the board of Trustees. The product of their latest efforts is both a documentary on social issues and a portrait of Native American youth on the reservation. It is an eye-opening film that gets the viewer emotionally invested in the outcome and immersed in the unfolding events. Young Lakota leaves the viewer in anticipation of what is an ongoing story.
