The Environmental Crisis on Native American Lands

3 Generations has been documenting the exploitation of Native lands for over a decade. Our film A Different American Dream follows the remarkable attempts of some tribal leaders to save their land and the future of their society in Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota. This month, we support Indigenous rights by celebrating National Native American Heritage Month, and this year’s theme celebrates Tribal Sovereignty and Identity.

Tribal sovereignty guarantees that Native Americans have the power to make decisions regarding their land, culture, and people. The U.S. Constitution recognizes sovereign Tribes as independent governments, allowing Tribes to have their own environmental regulations, legislation, and separate court systems.

Tribal sovereignty is an essential aspect of Indigenous rights, but it is important to note where it falls short today. In the United States, the Federal Government still has regulative power over sovereign tribes, and they are considered domestic dependent nations. Sovereign Tribes are also not guaranteed services and infrastructure. Sovereignty is not something the United States can “grant” to Native American Tribes, but something Tribes declare because they are entirely able to govern themselves.

At 3G, we are continuing to monitor and sound the alarm about Native American & Indigenous communities and the environmental issues they face. We could not continue hearing their stories, amplifying voices, and demanding change without YOU. To support Native American rights: learn the Native history of where you live and where you visit, understand how the U.S. government discriminates and tries to eliminate Native people and support Native-led movements. You can support the Land Back movement in New York through the Manna-hatta Fund, which gives money toward repatriating Native lands back to Native people.

For information about the causes we support and to watch our films, please visit our website, 3generations.org, and follow us on instagram @3_generations.

3 Generations has been documenting stories of injustices to Native American communities, lands, and culture for more than a decade to bring attention to the degradation of Native American lands and the vulnerability of Native peoples. 

Our feature documentary, A Different American Dream (2016), follows the story of this upheaval and the remarkable attempts of tribal leaders to save their land and the future of their society. Their journey is part of a broader story, which raises the universal question: What is the true meaning of wealth and home? 

Since our film's release, we have witnessed our subjects’ triumphs and growth. One of the film's subjects, Jayli, stays connected with Native Lands and the atrocities that Native people have faced for hundreds of years. She shared about her experience in a recent post: 

“This is where the smallpox epidemic struck my people hard around 1837. You can still see visible remains of earth lodge dwellings and trails. I swore I could hear children playing too. A lot of beautiful and terrible things happened here and you can feel it. Standing here before the Missouri river where my people thrived for thousands of years was empowering after all that was lost. I told them I’m still fighting, I’m still trying to speak our languages, and I’m still doing my best to honor them and carry on all that they fought for. Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the sage, and say miiwaacagiheec.” 

We are continuing to monitor and sound the alarm about Native American & Indigenous communities and the environmental issues they face. For information about atrocities against Indigenous people and all the causes we support, please visit our website.

We could not continue hearing their stories, amplifying voices, and demanding change without YOU.