The Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (MHA) Nation, North Dakota, sits in the middle of the Bakken Formation – the largest shale oil field in North America. The reservation is surrounded by big oil exploration and fracking. While this presents tremendous economic opportunity it also threatens the unity of the Nation. Tribal members have sold off mineral rights and some sovereign land is also being developed. The reservation generates over $2 billion a year in oil revenues and yet only $300 million comes to the tribe. Incredible wealth sits side by side with generational poverty as do greed and hope. Will the oil boom save the tribe, or will it destroy their future?

Amid all this chaos and upheaval, a small group of tribal members are trying to save their land and the future of their people: their struggles are at the core of the film. They call themselves searchers and modern-day warriors although their methods are political, peaceful, and spiritual.

Also available in French: Indiens du Dakota: un autre rêve américain