Credits

Director: Lakota Nation vs. United States

Synopsis

Lakota Nation vs. United States chronicles the Lakota Indians’ quest to reclaim the Black Hills, sacred land that was stolen in violation of treaty agreements. Voiced by the poet Layli Long Soldier, and set in the mythic landscapes of the West, the documentary depicts the enduring strength of the Oyate and rebuts generations of Hollywood caricature and stereotype, paying tribute to a land and a people who have survived removal, exploitation and genocide – and whose best days are yet to come.

Biography

Jesse Short Bull is a writer and director with a deep connection to his home in the Badlands of South Dakota. Lakota Nation vs. United States, his most recent film, premiered at Tribeca in 2022 and has won multiple festival awards. The recipient of a fellowship from the Sundance Documentary Fund, Short Bull is also the first Indigenous filmmaker to ever be named to the prestigious DOC NYC Shortlist program. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, Short Bull previously received a 2016 Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program Development Grant and also attended the Creative Producing Summit at Sundance.

Laura Tomaselli is a director and editor who believes in the power of storytelling to change minds. Lakota Nation vs. United States, her most recent film, premiered at Tribeca in 2022 and has won multiple festival awards. Her previous editorial effort, MLK/FBI, was shortlisted for the Academy Awards and won the Critics Choice Award for Best Historical Documentary. Tomaselli also received a Cinema Eye Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Editing. The recipient of a fellowship from the Sundance Documentary Fund, her films have screened at Sundance, DocLands, SFFILM Doc Stories, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Toronto International Film Festival.