Wounded Heart: Pine Ridge and the Sioux

On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in SW South Dakota, most American Indians don't live past the age of 50. Many die in their 20's and 30's. Pine Ridge has the highest mortality rate in the western hemisphere outside of Haiti and is located in the poorest county in the United States. In this penetrating look at Pine Ridge, American Indians and government officials discuss poverty, racism, domestic violence, child abuse, inadequate health care, and drug and alcohol problems that besiege Pine Ridge. Shot in ten days in the heart of Pine Ridge and Rapid City, the film offers insight into how Native Americans, and the Sioux in particular, view life on Pine Ridge. By Embracing their Lakota culture and language they seek to determine their own destiny in the face of enormous challenges that lie before them.