"As far as the oil exploration in Fort Berthold, it's an old tactic, Baker wrote.
"The state of North Dakota is positioned to make a lot of money. They and the oil companies are the plantation owners. The Indians of Fort Berthold have been allowed into the plantation house for some gain. We are the house slaves. The Indians of Standing Rock get nothing; they are the field slaves. Now you have a situation where the Indians are divided, and it will be easier to conquer them. Oldest tactic in the book."
In a clarification through the film's press agent, Dr. Baker's comments are to be read with the understanding "that the promise of wealth and salvation the tribes have been given is a false and hollow one that actually does more harm than good."
There has been some commentary that the MHA Nation at Fort Berthold is profiting off of the oil, "but only 10% of them actually benefit. The majority of Native Americans are not profiting in any way and nowhere is this more evident than at Standing Rock.
The town of Fort Yates is the epicenter of life at Standing Rock reservation. The DAPL is an existential threat to their identity as a people and directly threatens their water supply. The story of Standing Rock is a tangential adjunct to this movie about Fort Berthold, but the two stories are woven in history and colonial attempts to divide and conquer the Great Indian Nations of the Plains.
It is still happening and BIG OIL has replaced the Cavalry with Morton County Sheriff's Department. Instead of Custer's horses, law enforcement flies Bell 206 helicopters. Fort Berthold faces a more occult enemy, complete with with mob influences.
Jane Wells also writes in an email, "This journey not only opened my eyes to the extent of the desecration fracking had brought to the landscape, it also opened my eyes to the stunning beauty of the land in this part of the country. Determined to capture the beauty of the land at stake, I enlisted the partnership of Simon Brook and Brook Production to make a film that would have the production values to reflect this beauty."
"We decided to make a film about the challenges this tribe faced -- the Faustian pact they had been forced into as a result of the oil boom," Wells added.
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