Hermann, Courtney, and Suree Towfighnia. Standing Silent Nation. Watertown: Documentary Educational Resources, Inc., 2006. HD, 53 min. https://youtu.be/1zqB49tgjkU.
When the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed an ordinance separating industrial hemp from its illegal cousin, marijuana, Alex White Plume and his family glimpsed a brighter future. Having researched hemp as a sustainable crop that would grow in the inhospitable soil of the South Dakota Badlands, the White Plumes envisioned a new economy that would impact the 85 percent unemployment rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation. They never dreamed they would find themselves swept up in a struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense. From the hemp fields of Pine Ridge to the US Federal Court of Appeals, the one-hour documentary Standing Silent Nation tracks one family’s effort to create economic independence for themselves, their reservation, and their future generations. (Source: Official Film Website)
©2006 Documentary Educational Resources, Inc. Trailer used with permission.
This film is available at the Rachel Carson Center Library (RCC, 4th floor, Leopoldstrasse 11a, 80802 Munich) for on-site viewing only. For more information, please contact library@rcc.lmu.de.
- Small, E. and Marcus, D. "Hemp: A new crop with new uses for North America." In Trends in new crops and new uses, edited by J. Janick, and A. Whipkey, 284-326. Alexandria: ASHS Press, 2002.
- Smith, Steve. "Hemp for Sovereignty: Scale, Territory and the Struggle for Native American sovereignty." Space and Polity 12, no. 2 (2008): 231-49. doi:10.1080/13562570802173364.
