Keri Pickett's documentary focuses on efforts by Winona LaDuke, an Ojibwe Native American economist, environmentalist, and political activist (she was Ralph Nader's running mate in the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections), to shut down plans by the Canadian oil corporation Enbridge to proceed with pipeline construction on her tribe's land in Minnesota. LaDuke, in her capacity as executive director of the non-profit Honor the Earth, has been an active presence in the fight against disruptive and destructive construction by the energy industry. In this case, she notes the “Prophecy of the Seventh Fire” that predicts a “black snake” will destroy the Earth—not a reptile but rather the pipeline that snakes its way across the land and the Ojibwe tribe's rice lakes. LaDuke also presents an 1855 treaty that granted the land to her tribe, thus bringing a legal challenge to Enbridge's activities. The campaign by LaDuke and the Ojibwe to fend off Enbridge could be seen as a prequel to the more publicized 2016-17 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline that reached a violent crescendo at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. While the legal aspects of LaDuke's challenges might seem a bit dry and academic, she nonetheless brings passion and intelligence to the fight, and Pickett powerfully presents her story. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
First Daughter and the Black Snake
(2017) 94 min. DVD: $19.99. Virgil Films (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 32, Issue 6
First Daughter and the Black Snake
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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