Official Trailer, PEOPLE of the SACRED LAND. The full film is available for festival screenings, facilitated community conversations, and other educational and impact-focused online and in-person events. Inquiries should be directed to Jason Houston at jason@eight16creative.com or use the form blow. Please include as much information as possible in your request, including the type of event you’re proposing, your audience and venue, and budget considerations.
Independent Project
PEople of the sacred Land
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 follows Richard Williams (Oglala Lakota, Northern Cheyenne) as he recounts the findings of the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission (TREC) of Colorado’s TREC reports. By deconstructing colonization's role in the contemporary landscape of Colorado’s Front Range, Rick is correcting the default narrative, illuminating the widely untold history of Colorado and uncovering the causes of the extensive damage endured by Native peoples due to forced relocation, illegal seizure of land, violations of human rights, acts of violence, warfare, deceptive practices, genocide, and other illicit actions perpetrated by the state of Colorado, its citizens, and the U.S. government and federal agents over the past 170 years. Although Rick’s story focuses on Colorado, the approach, implications, and impact of his work provide a model for Native leaders across the continent.
Richard Williams: Executive Producer
Dewi: Director, cinematographer, editor
Sarah Ortegon Highwalking: Field director
Jason: Cinematographer, finishing editor
Upcoming Screenings
Oct 12, 6:00 8:30 pm ~ Indigenous Peoples Day Denver Premiere @ Denver Museum of Nature & Science • reserve free tickets here
Oct 12, TBD ~ The Crossroads of Native Country, Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration in Denver • information
Oct 14, 12:30-1:30pm ~ Indigenous Peoples Day @ CU Boulder (hosted by Center for Native American & Indigenous Studies) • information
Oct 15, 6:00-7:30 pm ~ Elevations Credit Union HQ Broomfield (hosted by Sister Cities, Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes) • RSVP free here
Oct 16 ~ Boulder County Public Health (private screening, Boulder, CO)
Oct 19, 6:00-7:30 pm ~ [CO]here+Naropa (Culture Center, Naropa Arapahoe Campus) • information & RSVP
Oct 20 ~ City of Boulder Equity & Belonging (private screening, Boulder, CO)
Oct 26, 7:00-9:00 pm ~ Denver Film Festival 49 (Denver, CO) • information & tickets
Oct 29, 3:45-5:45 pm ~ Denver Film Festival 49 (Denver, CO) • information & tickets
Nov 13, 2:00 pm ~ Red Nation International Film Festival 31 (Los Angeles, CA) • information & tickets
Nov 12 ~ City of Aurora (private screening, Aurora, CO)
Nov 12, 6:00-7:30 pm ~ Mission Viejo Library (hosted by City of Aurora)
November TBD ~ Colorado Health Foundation (private screening, Denver, CO)
Nov 14, 1:00-2:30 pm ~ City of Longmont Senior Services Public Screening (hosted by City of Longmont)
Nov 19 ~ Native American Heritage Month @ CU Boulder (Center for Native American & Indigenous Studies)
Feb 5–7, 2027 ~ Niwot Film Festival (Niwot, CO)
Mar 4, 2027, 6:30-8:30 ~ Docs After Dark @ Boulder Public Library • information & free registration
June 2027 ~ Mountain Sky Conference (hosted by United Methodist Church)
past events
2026-04-29: The Dairy Arts Center (Boulder, CO)
2026-05-28: Mountain Media Arts Collective Showcase at The Sie FilmCenter (Denver, CO)
2026-06-23: Museum of Boulder (Boulder, CO)
2026-06-25: Boulder County Parks & Open Space, Education & Outreach staff (private screening, Boulder, CO)
2026-07-22: Colorado American Indian Education Convening (private screening, Denver, CO)
2026-08-07: Paradise Theater (Paonia, CO)
2026-09-11: 3rd Annual Navajo Nation Film Festival (Window Rock, AZ)
2026-09-24: Hosted by Our Sacred Earth (Nederland, CO)
2026-09-28: Hosted by Our Sacred Earth (Boulder, CO)
2026-09-29: Boulder County Staff, hosted by Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Strategic Plan Committee (Boulder, CO)
2026-10-03: El Pueblo Museum hosted by Breathing Healing Bus (Pueblo, CO)
2026-10-06: First Nations Development Institute (private screening, Denver, CO)
Want to share the opportunity or potential to screen PEOPLE of the SACRED LAND with someone? Download our one-pager here.
The word “truth” is having a rough time in the 2020s, but this film rescues it from that rough handling, restores its strength, and launches it toward justice.
–Patty Limerick, Professor of History, the Director of the Applied History Initiative, University of Colorado at Boulder
Screening Information
PEOPLE of the SACRED LAND premiered at The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado on April 29, 2026 to a sold out audience. We are currently working on finalizing plans for more screenings in the greater Denver area, as well as in other key cities across the country where Rick’s model of advocating for truth, reconciliation, and Indigenous sovereignty might help advance the conversations.
Please email eight16creative@gmail.com or use the form on this page to contact us if:
You would like to be added to announcements for future screenings.
If you are interested in learning more about hosting a screening in your community.
You are interested in using the film in an educational context.
For anything else about the film!
*Screening fees are based on a sliding scale based on host, venue, audience, and programming. 100% of all screening fees paid go to Rick’s non-profit organization People of the Sacred Land.