The Environmental Crisis on Native American Lands

On the 16th of November, the Keystone XL Pipeline leaked 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota. This happened less than a year after President Trump gave the green light to finish construction on both the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. Water protectors were protesting the oil industry and risking their own bodies in an effort to prevent this exact sort of accident.

When our founder and director Jane Wells filmed A Different American Dream in North Dakota, she documented the perspective of American Indians who live in the region. Dr. Biron Baker, a family physician in Bismarck, told us that, “Oil companies think about oil companies, and that’s it. They don’t think about anyone else.” Oil companies don’t think about the environment or the water they are poisoning. They don’t think about the future generation, which includes their own children and grandchildren. They care about profits, and the Keystone leak was only a small blip in their financial timeline.

A Different American Dream is still available for rent on Vimeo, and we are taking requests for educational screenings.

Currently, Jane has been keeping up with Brooke Johnson at Women’s Indigenous Media. Brooke recently put together a video (link below) about the risks that native women face and how American society ignores the threats against them. This crosses over with our continued work fighting sex trafficking in the United States.

We ask that you join us in supporting native voices at the forefront of some of country’s most urgent issues.

Links:

• "A Different American Dream" on Vimeo
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Initiative

We are living through an unprecedented time for a multitude of reasons. Political and social issues often dominate the news cycle, while the gap of polarization only seems to widen. Among all of this very real friction lies an all encompassing, global threat:  climate change.

The world is seeing “natural” disasters of epic proportions. Floods in South Asia dismantled the lives of an estimated 40 million in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Hurricane Harvey dropped 27 trillion gallons of water on Texas and Louisiana, and 4 million Floridians were left without power after Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Maria inflicted utter destruction on Puerto Rico, which the federal government is doing next to nothing to address. At the same time, right now, 5,000 acres of California are on fire.

At 3 Generations, we know these disasters are guided by the hand of climate change. That is why we stand firm against big oil, because the only chance we have at turning the environmental situation around is to force serious change at the level of government and industry. We are committed to continued solidarity with the Native Americans at Standing Rock who are still fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline in the courts. Trials are beginning for six native protesters who are facing federal charges and hundreds of other water protectors who are being prosecuted by the state.

Filming and highlighting these stories is vital to bringing awareness to critical state of our planet. Educational screenings of A Different American Dream are still available, but we are also proud to announce that the film can now be rented or purchased on Vimeo. This documentation of the state of Standing Rock before the evacuation of sacred camp sites gives remarkable insight into how the oil industry is wreaking havoc on both the environment and vulnerable populations. Follow the link below to view the film or contact us directly to organize a screening.

Links:

• Rent or purchase "A Different American Dream" on Vimeo