Original subtitles

- All rise.

Court is now in session, Judge Vogel presiding.

- Appearances, please.

- Erin Basile for the people.

(in Navajo)

- Okay, wait.

Ms. Lowe?

- Your Honor, I'm introducing myself.

- In this court, you'll speak English.

- Hello, my family and my people.

I am called Dezbaa Lowe.

I am my mother's clan, Big Water,

and my father's clan, Towering House.

And in this way, I am a Navajo woman.

I am appearing on behalf of the Defendants,

Chase Etsitty,

Shandiin Desmond and Naataanii Desmond.

(chanting): Shut it down! Shut it down!

Shut it down! Shut it down!

Shut it down!

Shut it down! Shut it down!

Shut it down! Shut it down!

Shut it down! Shut it down!

Shut it down!

Shut it down! (can hissing)

- Cops, go home!

- Naataanii. Over there.

That way. (indistinct shouting)

- Back up! - Am I touching you?!

- I said back up!

- I said, am I touching you?!

- Chase!

- Shandiin.

(Shandiin grunting) Shandiin!

Shandiin... - Hey.

- It's alright. It's alright.

Let me look at you. Are you alright?

- Yeah, yeah, you? - I'm alright.

- Chase! - No, no, no.

Chase.

Get up. You alright?

- Is that all you got, huh?

- Hey, hey, stop.

You're bleeding.

- Yeah, me and half the people here.

(screams)

- Get off of me, bro.

They're the ones who attacked us.

- Maybe if you stepped back like they asked, it wouldn't have happened.

We're trying to stop a uranium mine from poisoning our people.

Antagonizing the cops won't help.

- Did you see Derrick out there?

- Nah, got separated.

(sighs)

(people coughing)

Derrick? (panting)

(grunting)

Are you okay?

- Yeah, I'm fine.

- When I didn't see you in here, I was really hoping you got away.

- Yeah, well, it's hard to run when they have you in a chokehold.

- You've only been back a week and I already got you arrested.

(panting)

- Hey.

So much for that peaceful protest.

(man): Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

Hands off our land! Hands off our land!

Hands off our land!

- Trespassing.

Disorderly conduct.

I'm grateful it's just a misdemeanor. - Grateful?

They teargassed us, beat us, and threw us in a dog kennel for 12 hours.

For nothing. - It's light work.

Quick catch and release. C'mon, let's find a ride back to the mine, get back at it.

- Chill, Chase. We just got out of jail.

- So?

- So, your way of doing things is the reason why we all got arrested.

- Oh, my way? What?

You think our ancestors walked around in circles with poster boards?

- No. They were warriors, alright?

They fought back to protect our people.

- So you're gonna fight?

How exactly are you planning on doing that?

- I'm gonna do whatever it takes

to make sure that nobody has to watch their little sister get sick like I had to.

My father still won't admit that it's the uranium that made her sick.

Alright. The uranium that he's been blasting out of the ground for 20 years.

He still believes the government's lies, man.

- We're gonna expose those lies.

- Yeah, you're gonna expose the lies. - You...

Chase, you just need to be patient.

- I'm tired of being patient.

While you're printing out t-shirts, ad writing your Facebooks

and moonlighting for tribal council,

I'm gonna be riding into battle.

- Wait.

There's another way.

If the government won't do the right thing,

I may have a way to shut down the mine.

(laughing)

- How?

- I'll show you.

That's where all the uranium ore gets processed.

If we shut this down, the mine goes down with it.

They built it right after World War II.

All the electrical systems,

the cabling, controls, they're junk.

And they all converge in one place,

that building there.

It's a single room,

filled with all this old tech that they don't even make anymore.

We bust that up, the whole mill shuts down.

You know, all that old equipment it's irreplaceable.

- And how do you know all this?

- Yeah, a few years off the rez and suddenly you're a genius?

- My dad and my uncle worked here.

They hated it.

Knew it was poisoning the people.

When I would play cards with them as a kid,

all they ever talked about was how easy it was

to take down the whole thing.

They planned it out, every detail.

Wrote it all down.

Just never did anything about it.

- There's still security.

- Not much.

Especially not on the weekends, when the mill doesn't operate.

All we would need is a security guard's key card to get us in.

- You know, I see those security guys at the bar like, every Friday night.

I work the door and they get loaded on beers an whiskey,

play pool. Like clockwork.

- We could do like prom night. - Prom night?

- Your little sister never told you?

She lifted some keys off a group of guys.

Took us for a cruise.

- Shandiin, you stole a car?

- Well, I borrowed it.

But those security guards, all buzzed up, gambling,

they're easy targets.

If I can take a car, I can take a badge, no problem.

- We're not busting up a chemical mill.

- Let me talk to the tribal council first.

- For what? - Maybe they can file a lawsuit.

They've sued the mine once before. - 20 years ago.

It did nothing.

- Well, maybe with the arrests, it's worth another shot.

- Yeah, well, while you do that...

- We'll check out the bar. - I'm with them, bro.

- Ms. Lowe, I got your motion for change of venue.

- I'm prepared to argue that now.

- No need. I'm denying it.

- Your Honor. - Stop calling him "Your Honor."

- All of the accused are members of the Navajo Nation

and the alleged crime took place within its jurisdiction.

- In cross jurisdiction boundaries, Ms. Lowe.

In addition to that,

Major Crimes committed on tribal lands

are tried in federal court. - Yes, I'm aware.

- I still consider murder a Major Crime.

- Your Honor, we move for the dismissal of the murder charges.

And that is definitely denied.

(dry laugh)

Ms. Lowe. - Yes?

- Sit down.

- This is all my fault.

- Don't say that.

- It's the truth.

And I'm sorry. I should have listened to you.

(theme music)

(laughter in the bar)

- Excuse me.

Sorry, I'm late. - It's all good.

Yeah, I just wanted a chance to check things out over here.

- You see anyone you like? - Yeah.

See Shrek over there at the table?

His access badge is clipped on his jacket

and his jacket's hanging on the chair behind him.

And he's about... four gin and tonics in,

plus he's trying to run the table,

so he's focused elsewhere.

So same ol' same ol'? You pass I shoot?

Like old times.

- Yeah, old times.

Like when you took off to college to be a basketball star

and you didn't get a hold of me for months?

Or the times where you came back to town for holidays

and you didn't even bother to stop by?

What about that little girlfriend you lied to me about?

- Okay, I get it, alright.

Um, you're not happy I'm back.

- I haven't decided yet.

Why did you come back?

- I told you.

- Yeah, I know what you told me.

You read about my brother and the mine and you said you wanted to help.

- My people needed me. (She chuckles.)

- Yeah, that's why you jumped on a plane

and left behind your fabulous life in the city.

After barely even talking to anyone for five years.

- And who said it's so fabulous?

(man): Oh yeah!

The cusp!

The cusp of victory, my friends! - Showtime.

- I'll get it.

This ball, in that pocket.

- Ah, got a lot of confidence to call a pocket.

- Yeah.

- Good luck.

- Luck has nothin' to do with it.

Oh, yeah!

Let it rain green, boys. Let it rain green.

- Nice shot.

(men laughing)

- Hey! Hey! Hey! Hold up.

Darrell, right?

- Uh, Derrick. Do I know you?

- Yeah.

Coach Martin introduced us at UNLV.

Yeah, I watched you play.

You dropped 20. It was a big game.

- Yeah. Right, right. Yeah, I remember you now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Well, it's good to see ya.

- Yeah, you too. Yeah, great. For sure.

- So what are you, uh... what are you up to?

- Uh, look, we're actually late for something so, um...

- Oh yeah, no trouble.

I don't want to hold you up, just uh...

funny seeing you here.

Hey, give my best to coach!

- Yeah, you got it.

Um... who the hell was that?

- I have no idea.

- Oh, when I heard stop, I thought we were done for sure.

- My heart's beating so fast.

Hey, uh, I'll meet you back there.

- You're not coming?

- You didn't seem too sure about me earlier.

- I told you.

I haven't decided.

- I just have a few things I need to take care of.

- Right, there's always the things.

- I just mean that I'm gonna come over later.

Drive safe.

(car starting)

- Derrick, get in the car.

(car beeping)

- Bailiff, for the record.

Defendant Etsitty, I hope I'm pronouncing that right,

Defendant Etsitty has returned from our morning break

wearing a T-shirt I find disrespectful to the process.

- Are you trying to get us convicted?

- As I've made it clear, Navajo will not be spoken in these chambers.

We're in the process of covering it.

Are the people ready to call your first witness?

- We are Your Honor.

- Bailiff, when you're done there, please bring in the Jury.

- Yes, Your Honor.

- You like workin' for the white man?

- She's just doing her job. She's not the enemy, Chase.

- We're surrounded by traitors.

- What are you doing?

- You asked me for a meeting.

- So you just show up in public, with this stupid story?

- Relax. Your little girlfriend didn't suspect anything.

- I can't do this anymore.

That's why I needed to talk to you.

All you said is I had to gather information.

- I said that's how we start.

- Yeah, you didn't say anything about setting up my friends.

You keep changing the rules on me.

- Okay.

We'll call the whole thing off.

Yeah, abandon all the hard work we've done together.

And I'll take you in so you can start spending

the 20-year sentence I suspended for ya.

(sighs)

But before we do that, I...

maybe I should remind you about you crying like a little baby.

How you couldn't take one more day of lockup,

and "Oh, I'd do anything to get out of there."

You remember?

- Yeah.

- Good.

'Cause for a moment there it seemed like you forgot.

- Uh...

I'm not killing anyone.

- I'm not asking you to.

But I'm impressed you went there.

Nah, it's firearm enhancements for sentencing.

Alright?

You don't have to use it.

You just have to make sure everybody else knows it's there.

Now take it and get the hell out of my car.

(knocking)

- Hey. (clears throat)

- It's late.

I thought maybe you weren't coming.

- I really need to talk to you about this plan.

You can talk to all of us.

- Where you been?

- Just around.

- We've been trying to reach you.

- Uh, my phone's off, sorry.

What's going on? - What do you think?

- Thank you.

- This plan to take down the mill,

is it real?

'Cause you have to admit,

it's a little... strange,

you show up and suddenly we're saboteurs.

- It's just an idea,

so if it doesn't happen, it's fine by me.

- It's not fine by me.

I'll go to that mine by myself if I have to.

- Same here.

And I told my brother about the keycard, so...

We can't keep letting this happen to us.

It's our home.

And we gotta do what we can to protect it, our people, and each other.

So let's go shut it down.

- So what's the plan?

(beeping)

(nervous sigh)

- It's this way.

(employee): Oh, man, this thing's broken again?

- We gotta call maintenance. Let's go.

- Could you introduce yourself to the jury please?

- My name is Samuel Donner.

I'm a security guard at the Orange Rock Uranium Mill on the Reservation.

- And on the weekend of October 14, were you working there?

- Yeah. There were five of us on duty that day.

- That doesn't sound like a lot.

- They don't run the mill on weekends,

so there's just a few of us there keeping an eye on the place.

- And on that day, October 14,

did you see the Defendants there?

- Oh yeah.

I saw them.

In fact, I more than just saw them.

(Naataanii, softly): Go.

Chase, the bag.

- What's going on? What are we doing?

- I told my sister to keep a lookout.

- No, we should stay together.

- We should keep moving.

Go.

(sighs)

- Card. - Card.

- I got it. (beeping)

- Whoa.

This is the mothership.

- Alright, it says we're looking for a blue box.

Derrick!

Hey, Derrick.

- Uh, yeah, yeah. Blue box, right here.

That power box on top is what we need to get into to.

- Naataanii, help me out with this?

Move the thing. - Yeah, I got it.

(tires screeching)

- Oh no!

(line ringing)

Hey, it's Naataanii. Sorry I missed your call.

(short laugh)

- Let's go, man.

There's a bunch of wires in here. That's what we're looking for, right?

- According to this, yeah.

- Oh God...

which one do I cut? Like all of 'em?

- We're looking for the yellow wires to cut.

- Okay. - Am I reading this right?

Derrick, you good?

- Derrick?

- You okay?

(knocking) - Naataanii, open the door!

Open the door!

(panting) The... the cops are here.

- What? - They're coming to the same door that we came in through.

- We have to get out. Now! - Damn.

- Come on, let's go. - Which wires?

- Chase! Now. C'mon. - Let's go!

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.

- Which way is out?

- The opposite direction from where we came.

- The three of them basically ran into you.

- Yeah. - And what did you do?

- What we're trained to do.

Summon backup with this call button.

- And were you aware of a law enforcement action in progress at the time?

- No, ma'am. No one had bothered to tell us.

- Now when you're on duty, are you issued a firearm?

- They give us pepper spray.

- Can you tell the jury what happened next?

(sighs)

- Did you hear what I said? What are you doing here?

Yo! I said what are you doing here?!

(shouting in pain)

- Get back!

- Stop! Stay where you are.

(Donner groaning)

- Derrick, what are you doing with that?

- Protection. - Are you crazy?

Did you know he had that?

We're trapped.

(indistinct radio communication)

- Go, go, go.

- You maced me. - You're lucky I wasn't armed.

- Shut up! You're lucky I'm mostly nonviolent.

- Hey, we need to talk just us.

After we took that key card at the bar,

some guy stopped Derrick

and talked to him about seeing him play ball in college, it's like they knew each other.

But Derrick said he didn't know who that guy was,

but I just saw that same guy outside wearing an FBI jacket.

- You think Derrick set us up?

- It's my fault, you warned us.

I should have listened to you. - Shh.

- Be careful.

- Hey, what the hell? - The cops knew we were coming.

- Yeah, 'cause we probably tripped an alarm.

- Because someone told them we're coming.

- Who was the guy at the bar, Derrick?

- What guy?

- Stop lying to my sister.

Give me your phone.

- Are you serious? - Give me your phone!

- Are you serious right now?

- I said give it to me. - What is wrong with you?

- I said give it to me, Derrick!

- You know what? You're really trippin' this time.

- Don't you test me, Derrick.

(grunting)

- You're a dead man.

- Aaah! - You hear me?

(Derrick grunts)

- At that point,

did Derrick admit he was working with the police?

- Not verbally. No.

- So he didn't confess.

- I think when he tried to pull a runner, that was confession enough.

- Now while all of this is happening, you're where?

- On the floor. With my hands tied.

- And you could see the defendants?

- Yeah. - And hear what they said?

- I don't know if I heard everything.

But I definitely heard enough.

(sighs)

- Are you a cop? - No.

- Then why are you doing this?

- He's an informant.

A government puppet.

I seen guys like you before.

- Makes sense now why you came back.

Sure as hell wasn't to help your people.

- Shandiin.

- You know betraying me, that's...

that's nothing new.

But my brother?

Chase?

All the people that'll get poisoned because of you...

...who'll get sick and die.

You know what your dad would do if he were still alive, um?

And he knew and see what you'd done?

He'd disown you.

- You leave him out of this.

- Or did the FBI give you that too, huh?

Fake memories of your dad and your uncle

plotting to take the mill down.

How easy it would be, if only they had the nerve?

- Shut up! Just shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

- Shut up! Everything you said has been a lie. (alarm ringing)

(phone ringing)

- Naataanii Desmond?

- Yeah.

- The only way out of there is past us,

which I know you're not foolish enough to think is a possibility.

- We have hostages, including your informant, Derrick.

I swear we'll kill him.

- I'll give you three minutes to talk it over with your friends before we come in.

- His cover's blown. - Yeah, I heard.

Time's tickin' till we go in.

- What if they kill your guy first?

- We can't use him anymore anyway.

- How much did they pay you? - Nothing.

- Is that what our lives are worth to you?

- You have no idea. None of you do.

Right, while all you sit here all high and mighty,

but I'm the only one

who tried to make something of myself out in the real world.

- Is that what you call this?

Making something of yourself?

- No, you all stayed.

Same house, same job.

Didn't try to do anything different.

- And you think leaving is hard, that's your excuse?

It's buried here.

We're the reason you have a place to even come back to.

And you set us up!

You...

- Yeah.

I got in trouble in Vegas.

Flunked outta school, lost my scholarship...

And I needed the money.

This guy, he had a plan and all I had to do was drive...

And I ended up facing 20 years.

So they offered me a deal.

- So you sold us out to save yourself.

- I was in prison for three months and I couldn't take it.

I would have died in there.

- And where do you think we're all gonna go now?

- I'm sorry, okay? Please.

- You have always been this way.

Taking the easy way out,

taking things that weren't yours,

using people and then throwing them away once you're done with them.

- You're right.

I forgot. - Do it already.

If you won't do it, I will.

Naataanii!

(panting)

What are you doing?

- Killing him would be letting him off too easy.

Your punishment is to make things right.

Old Way.

You're going to face The People

and you're gonna admit to them

that you've caused all of this.

You're gonna sit with everyone you've harmed

and you're gonna tell them

how and why you betrayed them

until they will decide when to forgive you.

That's how we're gonna make things right.

(Derrick crying)

Let's go home.

(sniffling)

(louder): We're surrendering.

- Nice and slow.

- We're surrendering.

- Hands where I can seem them.

Hands up.

Let me see those hands.

- Alright.

Alright, that's enough right there.

I said freeze.

Cover us.

Drop the weapon!

(gunfire)

- No!! (agent): Down.

Down on the ground! - On the ground now!

(Shandiin crying)

- Suspect down!

(crying)

(Shandiin): You killed him!

(shouting): You killed him!

- When Derrick Nez came out of the processing room,

ostensibly to surrender,

did you see him carrying a weapon?

- Yes.

- That's a lie.

- It's the same gun he used to take me hostage.

- And would you have seen that gun

if it had been left behind by the defendants, as they've claimed?

- Absolutely. - He's lying!

- Counselor, control your client.

- That's a lie!

The gun was right in the middle of the floor.

- Bailiff! Remove them all. - It was right in front of him!

- He's lying. - He is. He's telling the truth. We didn't do anything.

- Say it was in front of you or Derrick died for nothing.

- Please. We didn't do anything.

You have to believe us. We didn't do anything.

We left the gun so no one would get hurt!

- I'd like a word with him.

- I'll get his attorney. - Ah, that won't be necessary.

- It's the law.

- We'll just be a second and you'll be right outside.

(beeping)

Do you even understand what's going to happen to you three?

You took a guard hostage at gunpoint.

The judge out there couldn't hate you more.

And someone died.

- Because of you.

- Well, thanks to the felony murder rule,

that gets blamed on you.

Doesn't matter if you didn't pull the trigger.

White man's justice.

It's a bitch, right?

You said you wanted to help your people...

Well, why don't you start by helping your baby sister and your loud mouth buddy?

Because there is no one

standing between any of you and life without parole.

No one but me.

All you gotta do is gather information.

Let me know what you hear from your uh... your activist friends.

- You want me to be a snitch like Derrick.

- Call it what you want.

But it's the only way any of you gets out of this mess.

- How much did you pay him?

- Derrick?

- The security guard on the stand.

How much did you pay him to lie about the gun?

You think I had to pay someone to throw over a worthless piece of crap like Derrick?

Or any one of you?

He did it for nothing.

I didn't even have to ask.

So, do we have a deal?

(spits)

(beeping)

He's all yours.

(Naataanii): The security guard on the stand.

How much did you pay him to lie about the gun?

- You think I had to pay someone to throw over a worthless piece of crap like Derrick?

Or any one of you?

He did it for nothing.

I didn't even have to ask.

- Based on the bombshell recording,

the Justice Department is investigating the mining company's

alleged collusion with the FBI the against Indigenous activists

whose efforts to shutter the mine have been repeatedly rejected.

Pending a full environmental impact review,

the Justice Department has ordered the immediate closure of all mining operations.

Additionally, the Attorney General has charged an unnamed FBI agent

with illegal coercion of informants against Indigenous groups.

- Hey. - Oh, hey.

- I'm sorry it had to happen like this.

- Maybe it's the only way it could have happened.

Derrick was in so much pain before.

But he's at peace now.

I think he would've been happy to have helped his people.