''Sitting Bull's Voice'' is a 2013 documentary film by Bill Matson, narrated by John Thorpe, and story by

Ernie Lapointe Ernie LaPointe (born 1948) is an Indigenous American Sun Dancer, author, and orator, known for being the great-grandson of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake), chief of the Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota. LaPointe had a long journey from child ...

. The film documents the life of Ernie LaPointe, the great-grandson of

Hunkpapa Lakota The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...

chief,

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

(Tatanka Iyotake). The film examines LaPointe's life from childhood through his struggles overcoming alcohol and marijuana addiction related to

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

while

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

. As part of his recovery, LaPointe describes his embrace of his

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

culture and the spiritual ways of his ancestors, along with his quest to become the authoritative voice for Sitting Bull.

Accolades

The film has been shown at 10 film festivals, winning four awards and two Best Film awards. In January 2013 the San Pedro International Film Festival in San Pedro,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

honored it with the Best Documentary Award; in 2014 the film received the Best Native American Feature Award from the Indie Spirit Film festival in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

; and at the last festival in January, 2015 the film received the 2015 Best Picture-Documentary-Feature Honorable Mention Award (Second Place) at the Flathead Lake International Film Festival in

Polson, Montana Polson (Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: nčmqnétkʷ, Kutenai language, Kutenai: kwataqnuk) (, ) is a city in Lake County, Montana, United States, on the southern shore of Flathead Lake and within the Flathead Indian Reservatio ...

References

External links

* * *
Full credits
at IMDb.com * Documentary films about Native Americans 2013 films 2013 documentary films American documentary films 2010s American films {{2010s-US-documentary-film-stub