We are living on stolen land, and Oglala Lakota + Northern Cheyenne elder Richard Williams has the documents to prove it.
The idea that we are living on stolen land isn’t new, or even novel; it’s a reality that exists across settler communities worldwide, and many people in the United States are aware of the blatant agendas, coercion, and profound immorality of the treaty process. What’s often missing from that conversation, however, are rigorous, comprehensive, academically supported Native-led studies proving that— even through the lens of modern law— large areas of what we call the United States remain illegally occupied. And nowhere is the evidence and culpability more dramatic than in the state of Colorado. PEOPLE of the SACRED LAND (2026, 32 min) follows Richard Willams (Oglala Lakota, Northern Cheyenne) as he recounts the findings of the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission (TREC) of Colorado’s TREC Reports. While Rick’s story focuses on Colorado, the approach, implications, and impact of his work provide a model for Native leaders across the continent.
Dewi (day-wee) is an Indigenous film director and editor based in Louisville, Colorado, on the traditional territory of 48 contemporary tribal nations including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute, and current home to members of approximately 100 tribal nations. She was born to a young Indonesian birthmother and descends from Ngaju Dayak, Banjarese, Sundanese, and English ancestors. She was adopted as an infant by white American parents who renamed her “Amy” (a name she has since rescinded) and raised her in white suburbia, with multiple journeys back to Southeast Asia for her adoptive father's work. She and her life+creative partner, Jason Houston, created their production company eight16 creative with the goal to center Indigenous voices, challenge dominant settler storytelling and colonial worldviews, and create art that inspires viewers to heal their relationships with the land and each other. They are currently in production on an art-forward body of work that explores Indigeneity lost, then reclaimed, as Dewi and others break from their white supremacy culture and seek ancestral knowledge in an urgent call to address climate and social justice crises facing humanity. Dewi is a member of A-Doc, ADE, BIPOC Editors, BGDM, Cine Fe, Creative Nations, Kin Theory, and Mountain Media Arts Collective, and has collaborated with a wide range of partners, including ProPublica and Exposure Labs.
Colorado Premiere - Dairy Center for the Arts, April 2026
Sarah Ortegon HighWalking - Field Director
Jason Houston - Cinematographer
