In 1776, a powerful empire was born in North America. The Lakotas had reached the Black Hills, the most sacred place and most coveted buffalo hunting grounds in the western plains. Located in what is now South Dakota, control of the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa, marked the tribe as the dominant power in the American West. Pekka Hämäläinen explores the rise and fall of the Lakota Empire. [Directed by Mohammad Babakoohi & Yijia Cao, narrated by Safia Elhillo, music by Aron Fard].

Pekka Hämäläinen: The rise and fall of the Lakota Empire 

The rise and fall of the Lakota Empire 

Facing encroachment and dwindling buffalo herds, the Lakotas' resistance peaked with the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Despite historical challenges, Lakotas continue to defend their culture and land, exemplified by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

In 1776, the Lakota Empire, asserting dominance in North America, expanded across 500,000 sq km by mastering buffalo hunting.