At the conclusion of the well-intentioned but heavy-handed Standing Rock resistance drama “On Sacred Ground,” we see graphics telling us of the heritage of certain cast members. Kerry Knuppe is an Oglala Sioux tribal member; David Midthunder is Hunkpapa Lakota Hudeshabina Nakota and Sissiton Dakota, and Marshall Dancing Elk Lucas is a member of the Notoweega Nation.
It’s a lovely grace note, but it’s also a reminder that while these fine actors contribute valuable supporting work to this fictionalized telling of the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance, they’re not the primary players. The story is told not from the perspective of the Indigenous People who protested the building of the pipeline as a threat to their water supply and an invasion of ancient burial grounds, but through the old-fashioned trope of the white outsider who infiltrates a community, only to see the light once he realizes his preconceived notions were based on unfair stereotypes and pure ignorance.
