Homeland

"There's ample evidence to suggest that [tribal peoples'] causes are anything but hopeless, and despite daunting odds, there's undeniable unity and nobility among the Native American groups who are profiled. Recommended." -Video Librarian “Beautifully crafted. Stunning.” – VARIETY

"Homeland is a poignant and powerful portrait of how corporate power and government complicity are ruining our precious land,air, water. It is a troubling film, but also inspiring, because it shows Indians, who are the best guardians of the natural environment, fighting back against great odds, and refusing to give up." -- Howard Zinn, "A People's History of the United States"

"Elegant... finds and celebrates the vibrant spiritual bonds that unite its central characters... Astonishingly good cinematography." -- David Templeton, The Bohemian. "Homeland... represents the very best in documentaries being produced in the US today.” -- Berkeley Video & Film Festival

"A compelling, in-depth look at the environmental pressures that Native American reservations across the country are currently facing." -- Jenny Shank, New West Magazine

Review by Ally Ham for Video Librarian  Four stars ****
https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/documentary/homeland-four-portraits-of-native-action-documentary/

Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action provides a valuable focal point for discussions on environmental justice for Indigenous American communities. This educational documentary and its teacher’s guide would be valuable teaching tools.

Director Roberta Grossman’s educational documentary Homeland may have been released in 2005, but its document of Native resistance against environmental hazards is today more relevant than ever. At the time of writing, the Biden administration is preparing to make a decision on whether to approve the Willow project, an oil drilling undertaking that would have massive environmental effects for Alaska Natives. In Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action, Grossman is concerned with a history of similar projects that endanger the health of Indigenous people.

Through journeys to four different Native American tribes, she compiles a wealth of information on environmental dangers to Indigenous American communities, from oil drilling to nuclear contamination. Additionally, a teacher’s guide from Global Environmental Justice Documentaries provides helpful supplementary material to the documentary, including more recent resources detailing how Indigenous tribes are still struggling to protect their food, water, and land from (literally) toxic industrial enterprises.

At the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, the U.S. government perpetuates a history of oppression against the Cheyenne nation. Attorney Gail Small details for us how the government, driven by the desire for fossil fuels, drills on the borders of the Indian reservation. They then dump the coal-bed methane water, contaminating the Northern Cheyenne’s water supply. “There’s a tremendous spiritual connection to our homeland that is the core of the fight here,” Small says. It’s a connection that’s repeatedly threatened by environmental hazards created by the very government that’s meant to protect them. But it’s a connection that’s held together by the Northern Cheyenne’s bond to each other and to the land.

From Montana, the educational documentary takes us to Alaska, where Chief Evon Peter of the Gwich'in tribe organizes resistance against oil companies that would threaten their land and caribou. And in New Mexico, a Navajo reservation is still feeling the harmful effects of the history of uranium mining on their land. They are nearly swayed to welcome the industry back, but Navajo activists Mitchell and Rita Capitan start a grassroots campaign to protect their community from the uranium industry. There are threads of resistance against governmental oppression and environmental hazards connecting all three of these stories, but Grossman’s thesis doesn’t fully take shape until Homeland’s last segment.

At the Penobscot Nation in Maine, former chief Barry Dana honors his people’s sacred connection to their waters. But a nearby paper mill disrespects the sacred river, contaminating the water with the toxic chemical dioxin. Dana and Penobscot supporters recognize the environmental racism and consumerism at the heart of this issue, and these observations shed new light on the educational documentary’s preceding segments.

If at first these Indigenous stories of resistance feel repetitive, the cyclical nature of the educational documentary ultimately strengthens its cutting message. A plurality of voices, including environmentalist Winona LaDuke, and their shared experiences reinforce the cyclical, unrelenting nature of environmental oppression on Native lands–and in equal measure the unwavering nature of Native resistance. Homeland cleverly builds on this presentation to pose a challenge to the country. “In reality,” LaDuke states, “our reality is your reality.” Government action and environmental hazards pose a threat to us all. But the Indigenous people of America have never been able to turn a blind eye. Homeland is highly recommended for your library collection.

What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?

This educational documentary and its teacher’s guide would be valuable teaching tools for academic subjects such as environmental studies, activism and human rights, and Indigenous studies.

How does this film contribute to a discussion of environmental or climate justice?

Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action provides a valuable focal point for discussions on environmental justice for Indigenous American communities. Grossman ties four stories of Native resistance together to indict the U.S. government’s lack of environmental protections for Native Americans.

What type of library programming could use this title?

Library environmental programs can utilize Homeland for educational screenings about Native action against targeted environmental hazards.