Now, please give a warm welcome to documentary film lover extraordinaire, Ben Huffman, who reviewed Incident at Oglala in his first contribution to Fresh Cut.

Incident at Oglala (1992) is an account of the tragedy that occurred at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in 1975. [The entire film can be viewed on Google Video: part 1 and part 2.]

Two FBI agents and one Native American associated with the American Indian Movement (which was then considered a radical and subversive organization) were killed during an unexplained firefight. The film addresses the arrest and double life sentence of Leonard Peltier, a decision that has been widely disputed and protested because of the conflicting evidence that was presented during his trial (The band Rage Against The Machine was a strong supporter of the Peltier cause, devoting the song “Freedom” to the tragedy).

If nothing else, the film offers insight into Native American culture of the 1970’s, and Peltier’s story serves as a metaphor for the wider injustice suffered by Indian people during that time.

As a side note, pay attention to the way the news of the tragedy is delivered over the airwaves and through television broadcasts. I find it to be unsettling how the news was not only delivered, but how the majority of the United States most likely sided with our government almost immediately.–Ben Huffman