The Environmental Crisis on Native American Lands

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.

A current study says that out of 10,000 young people across 10 different countries,  “56 Percent of Young People Think Humanity Is Doomed.” 

With such profound hopelessness amongst youth and abundant suffering due to climate disasters, it is more important than ever to amplify the voices of Native people for deteriorating Native American lands. Despite demoralizing statistics, many native activists and allies alike are continuing to expand thinking - to fight for what's right. At 3 Generations we have been telling the stories of the injustices suffered by Native Americans, their lands, and communities for over 10 years. We work to bring attention to the continued degradation of Indigenous lands and the vulnerability of native peoples. 

The effects of climate change on native people and lands are overwhelming. But, just as people caused climate damage, we have control over our mindset and actions to protect our earth. Gus Speth, former dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale, says: “I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy. To deal with those issues we need a spiritual and cultural transformation – and we scientists do not know how to do that.” 

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 causes we support, please visit our website.