KerasotesCINEMAS

The Dakota Access Pipeline protests became an inflection point for Indigenous people and modern tribal sovereignty. Thousands of people from across the county gathered at the Standing Rock reservation to stand in solidarity with the Lakota people. Since then, community leaders have used their newfound platform to organize and educate people about their issues. Oyate uses the #NoDAPL struggle as a jumping-off point to dive into an array of issues that affect Indigenous people. The film centers around a diverse group of Indigenous voices led by activist Phyllis Young, attorney Chase Iron Eyes, hip hop artist Stuart James, and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland as they unravel a history of systemic oppression defined by broken treaties, land theft, and cultural erasure. The latter half of the story follows the subjects on the ground as they take the fight to state governments, Washington DC, and eventually the United Nations.