This Is Not Your Land

Synopsis

27 lines down from the phrase 'all men are created equal' in the Declaration of Independence, Indigenous peoples are labeled as 'merciless Indian savages.' This derogatory term stems from their collective land ownership, which was deemed backward by U.S. standards. To promote individual ownership, the U.S. government divided reservations into plots, allowing non-Indians to purchase land, leading to significant loss of Indigenous territory. Oklahoma, known for its oil resources, exemplifies the ongoing struggle over land and resources. The recent McGirt ruling raises questions about tribal authority over oil taxation and regulation, causing concern among those in the oil industry. Dewey Bartlett Jr., a descendant of a prominent political family in Oklahoma, owns a small oil company with wells on what is now recognized as reservation land. He argues that his legal ownership, established through a century of transactions, conflicts with tribal claims to the land, highlighting the tension between Indigenous rights and the oil industry's interests.