Lakota stories told

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An award-winning documentary telling the story of four Lakota families living on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota will be shown on PBS in November.

"Homeland" is a one-hour documentary which follows the families through three years of their lives as they try to overcome the challenges inherent in reservation life. On Pine Ridge, homelessness is at 30 per cent, unemployment is at 85 per cent, and 60 per cent of residents live in substandard housing.

The goal of the documentary is to replace stereotypes about Native Americans with a truer picture of contemporary Native American life.

"We wanted to encourage viewers to look at current realities of reservation life, which are virtually unknown and often very disturbing - severe poverty, homelessness, poor health, alcoholism, " said film-makers Jilann Spitzmiller and Hank Rogerson. "But within the harsh conditions of reservation life, you will always find an inspiring and incredible group of people striving to create a better future for their children. They balance between two worlds, encouraging modern education, but also trying to pass along as much tradition as they can, knowing that this is the key to maintaining their identity."

The film recently won Best Short Documentary honors at the Nashville Independent Film Festival.