Podcast appearances and mentions of Alex White Plume

Alex White Plume is Oglala Lakota and one of the founders of the Wounded Knee Bigfoot Memorial Ride (South Dakota) started in 1986. The nation needed a Wiping of the Tears ceremony after the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. The ride began because of the way our people were living; they needed change and a way that brought awareness to what happened to Bigfoot and his people at Wounded Knee. Between 1986-1990, the ride was a Wiping of the Tears ceremony for the Lakota nation. There were 19 riders on the very first ride in 1986 from Bridger, SD to Wounded Knee, SD. The ride was called the Future Generation Ride after 1990, when the Wiping of the Tears ceremony ended. Production Credits: Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer Malcolm Burn, Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston WKNY 1490 AM and 107.9 FM, Kingston, NY Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor Kevin Richardson, Podcast Editor Music Selections: 1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song) Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters Album: Tahi (1993) Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand) (00:00:22) 2. Song Title: Turning Away Artist: Dougie MacLean Album: Indigenous (1991) Label: Dunkeld Records (00:27:08) 3. Song Title: Lakota Dream Song Artist: Earl Bullhead Album: Across Indian Lands (1999) Label: SOAR (00:42:10) 4. Song Title: If 60s Were 90s Artist: Beautiful People Album: If 60s Were 90s (1994) Label: Continuum Records (00:44:48) 5. Song Title: Road to Hell Part 1 Artist: Chris Rea Album: On the Beach (1986) Label: Geffen Records (USA) and Magnet (International) (00:49:52) AKANTU INTELLIGENCE Visit Akantu Intelligence, an institute that Tiokasin founded with a mission of contextualizing original wisdom for troubled times. Go to https://akantuintelligence.org to find out more and consider joining his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Ghosthorse

IVPodcast #21 | 420 with Alex White Plume Lakota industrial hemp farmer, Alex White Plume joins us to discuss how honoring the plant nation, finding alternatives like hemp for plastic, and how Indigenous sovereignty are all ways to benefit the Earth and ensure a happy long life for future generations. Follow Souta: @lastwarcry on TikTok Indigenous Vision on IG: @helloivmusic The IV Podcast is hosted by Indigenous Vision's Executive Director Souta Calling Last (Blackfoot) and produced by co-host Melissa Spence (Anishinaabe). Learn more about us athttps://www.indigenousvision.org/

Alex White Plume was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation and served as Vice-President and then President of the Oglala Sioux Nation during 2004 to 2006. He has appeared in documentaries and films about Pine Ridge and was referred to by Winona LaDuke as the hemperer for his dedication and passion to using the crop to elevate the status of the Oglala Sioux. From 2000 to 2002, White Plume earned unwanted publicity when United States federal drug agents raided his farm and tried to destroy his crop of industrial hemp before it could be harvested.

Episode Summary: Before Eric Schnell was actually Eric, he attended Woodstock… in utero. Raised by his hippie parents in the Boston area; his early years were in an Ashram. The respect for our bodies, animals, and the Earth, were values embedded early, and consistently, in his life. Seeds for becoming an entrepreneur were planted early on too: Once, as a punishment, his Mom withheld allowance; his 8 year old self was so upset by this, he vowed to never be dependent on anyone else for money again. During his time at Northeastern, Eric turned what started as promoting fraternity parties, into a $200,000/year income, all before graduating! After a stint as a broker dealer on Wall Street, he needed a change. With his ability to promote, he pivoted back to his root values, taking a position at a family run natural supplement company; trading a Rolex for a Feather Duster. That early venture led to his entrance into the ultra competitive Beverage Industry. With early success, and many ups and downs to follow, he eventually started Beyond Brands: An Incubator and Accelerator to launch Mission Driven brands including mood33. This first foray into the Cannabis Market brought a whole new set of challenges and lessons to be learned. Eric Schnell has an amazing Founder's Journey, I hope you enjoy it! Eric Schnell, Professional Summary: "Some might call him a socialpreneur. Others, a food & beverage visionary. No matter the title, Eric has been a natural product industry pioneer for over 20 years and counting. With diverse experience in sales, marketing and new product launches, Eric enjoys taking ideas from scratch and turning them into viable businesses that make a global impact, through the game changing brands and consulting agency he founded, BeyondBrands. Currently disrupting the beverage side of the hemp industry as CEO of mood33 CBD infused teas, he previously served as co-founder of Steaz, a leading organic tea brand that was strategically acquired in 2016 as well as a member of Runa tea which was successfully sold in 2018. He is the co-founder of Good Catch, the world’s first plant-based seafood brand as well proud recipient of the 2007 “Sustainable Business of the Year Award”, 6-time Annual Winner of the BevNET.com and Beverage Digest “Best Product of the Year Award”, a Top 50 Beverage World Disruptor and is an active Nutrition Capital Network Selection Committee Member." Show Notes: Beyond Brands: https://beyondbrands.org/ mood33: https://mood33.com/ Mood33Infusions: https://www.instagram.com/mood33infusions/ IntheMood33: https://www.instagram.com/inthemood33/ Good Catch (Vegan Seafood): https://goodcatchfoods.com/ Eat Cool beans: www.eatcoolbeans.com Good Same Foods: https://goodsamfoods.com/ Brad Barnhorn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-barnhorn/ Steven Kessler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-kessler-aa9b445/ Marci Zaroff: Partner in Life & Business: https://marcizaroff.com/ Eco Fashion Corp: https://www.ecofashioncorp.com/ Yes And: https://joinyesand.com/ The Arcview Group: https://arcviewgroup.com/ Evo Hemp: https://evohemp.com/ Alex White Plume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_White_Plume Kenny Morriston: VCC Brands, Venice Cookie Company: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennymorrison/ Ben Witte: Founder & CEO, Recess: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwitte/ Eric Schnell, CEO & Co-Founder, mood33 eric@mood33.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-schnell-b133a425/ Brian Weber, Host, Lit Up: A Founder's Journey linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ www.litupfounders.com www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio or RSS to your favorite podcast app.

Native American leader Alex White Plume planted his first hemp crop on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 2000, sparking a long battle over tribal sovereignty that included a series of DEA raids, a federal injunction, and a tense stand-off between Alex, his siblings, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Along the way, Alex would discover an important ally—millions of feral hemp plants that were first planted in the 1940s to support the U.S. war effort in WWII, as extolled in the long suppressed government propaganda film Hemp for Victory! Learn more of the White Plume's incredible story of suffering and vindication in the documentary Standing Silent Nation. And please support Great Moments in Weed History by supporting our sponsors at Tweedlefarms.com - use promo code greatmoments for a discount on your order of CBD products, shipped anywhere in the U.S.

Alex White Plume was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He grew up strongly connected to traditional Lakota culture. He joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Berlin until his enlistment ended in 1978. After returning to Pine Ridge, he lived in the Manderson. At that time, he joined the Tribal Police as an officer. White Plume's interest in socio-political issues developed later in life. Alex served as the former vice president and president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, located on South Dakota of the United States. He served as president from June 30, 2006 to November 2006 after Cecilia Fire Thunder was impeached. From 2000 to 2002, he earned unwanted publicity when United States federal drug agents raided his farm and destroyed his crop of industrial hemp before he could harvest it for seed as intended. They got a court order prohibiting him to grow the crop. Although the Oglala Sioux have sovereignty on their land and hemp does not have psychoactive properties, the agents operated under a 1968 federal anti-drug law prohibiting the cultivation of Cannabis-related crops. In 2019, Alex White Plume created the first Native American hemp product in the world and was the only hemp farmer in South Dakota. Alex White Plume is a legend, a myth, and a well respected elder of the Oglala Lakota. He is featured in an Amazon Prime Series, American Hemp: The Evolution Continues. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/americanhemp/support

Alex White Plume was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He grew up strongly connected to traditional Lakota culture. He joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Berlin until his enlistment ended in 1978. After returning to Pine Ridge, he lived in the Manderson. At that time, he joined the Tribal Police as an officer. White Plume's interest in socio-political issues developed later in life. Alex served as the former vice president and president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, located on South Dakota of the United States. He served as president from June 30, 2006 to November 2006 after Cecilia Fire Thunder was impeached. From 2000 to 2002, he earned unwanted publicity when United States federal drug agents raided his farm and destroyed his crop of industrial hemp before he could harvest it for seed as intended. They got a court order prohibiting him to grow the crop. Although the Oglala Sioux have sovereignty on their land and hemp does not have psychoactive properties, the agents operated under a 1968 federal anti-drug law prohibiting the cultivation of Cannabis-related crops. In 2019, Alex White Plume created the first Native American hemp product in the world and was the only hemp farmer in South Dakota. Alex White Plume is a legend, a myth, and a well respected elder of the Oglala Lakota. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/americanfilmmaker/support

Keri Pickett is an award-winning artist and producer/director/cinematographer of the documentary First Daughter and the Black Snake, a feature film following environmental activist Winona LaDuke and her family and communities efforts to keep big oil out of her tribe’s sacred wild rice territory. The film has been nominated for many documentary feature film awards and it won "Best MN Made Documentary Feature" at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival and "Best Feature Film" from the Portland EcoFilm Fest. Keri also created the feature documentary film, The Fabulous Ice Age, the winner of an audience award at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival and best non-feature film and best non-feature director awards from both the Women’s Indie Film Festival and the Gwinnett International Film Festival. The film spans a century of dancing on ice and the skating pioneers who changed the world with one show skaters’ quest to ensure their history is not forgotten. The film is streaming on Netflix in 10 languages. Keri Picket is most well known as a photographer, her career started in 1983 when legendary NYC Village Voice Director of Photography Fred McDarrah gave Pickett an internship at the newspaper where she worked until the late 80’s when she left NYC. Photos of the intimate moments of her grandparents daily life while in their mid 90’s is put together in her book Love in the 90s, BB and Jo, The Story of a Lifelong Love, a Granddaughter’s Portrait by Keri Pickett (Warner Books, 1995). The book pairs photos of BB and Jo’s daily life with excerpted letters from their year-long postal courtship from the late 1920s and was published with a miraculous printing of 150,000 copies. Gender play unites a community in the book Faeries (Aperture, 2000) which won the Lambda Literary Award for best art book of 2000. Faeries pairs photos and interviews exploring values of the ‘radical faeries’ at their retreat place in the Northwoods. Keri also documented the life work of Mary Jo Copeland as she provides food and shelter at her faith-based organization in the book Saving Body & Soul, The Mission of Mary Jo Copeland. Pickett’s photographs are in International and National Museums. She has been awarded fellowships from the Bush Foundation, McKnight, Jerome and Target Foundations as well as the National Endowment for the Arts. Her pictures have appeared in Life, Time and People magazines as well as Stern and Geo. Pickett is a 2017 McKnight Foundation Fellow in Media Arts. Keri Picket and Josh Hyde talk about being a young photographer in 1980’s New York, her lifelong friendship with Winona LaDuke which evolved into the film First Daughter and the Black Snake, how to defend sacred land from the construction of an oil pipeline, connecting two Native American activists (Alex White Plume and Winona LaDuke), her journey to sit in ceremony with the Lakota, and her newest project made in partnership with the group Film Fatales founded by Leah Meyerhoff. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/americanfilmmaker/support

In 2000, U.S. federal drug agents raided Alex White Plume's farm & destroyed his crop of industrial hemp before he could harvest the seed; and got a court order prohibiting him from growing the crop. Disrespecting the Oglala Sioux's sovereignty, and despite hemp not having psychoactive properties, the agents cited a 1968 federal anti-drug law prohibiting cultivation of Cannabis-related crops. The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the DEA action. White Plume & his tiospaye tried raising alfalfa, barley, corn, horses & bison, all of which yield little more than subsistence under harsh conditions. In 1998 the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed an ordinance to allow cultivation of low-THC hemp on the reservation. In April 2000 White Plume & family planted industrial hemp on their farm on Pine Ridge. White Plume thought tribal sovereignty would enable him to grow the crop but in August 2000 Federal DEA agents raided his field & destroyed his crops. In August 2002, the US DA served White Plume with 8 civil charges related to the hemp cultivation, & a court order prohibiting growing the crop. On appeal, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the DEA, while acknowledging its registration process could be burdensome & hemp might be a good crop for Pine Ridge. Elected Vice-President for the Oglala Sioux Tribe in November 2004, White Plume served til June 29, 2006 & upon impeachment of the tribal president, White Plume acted as president until the next election in November 2006. The film, Standing Silent Nation tracks the family's effort to grow hemp, likened to a new buffalo for the Lakota: a resource whose many uses from food to fuel to fiber, could enrich their sovereign nation. 

Hello from Dave and Mike Reach our show: hosts@nativeopinion.com Twitter: @nativeopinion Facebook.com/nativeopinion Leave us voice mail: https://www.speakpipe.com/nativeopinion   Special Segment   Today We ask this question…..   Can there be peace…when there is no justice? this past week we saw, yet again, another example of SENSELESS loss of life. Will we see these two police officers let off the hook, for what looks to many, like complete abuse of power?  When we see white officers of the law, in most of these cases, overpowering a black man either by physically wrestling him to the ground with three or more people and then shooting or taking him, or as in other cases, shooting them dead in the street….you have to ask the question…. are these cases of an abuse of power and authority?  Or are they….simply mistakes?   Tonight there is a distinct theme as we look at how is justice actually carried out in this country? Because there seem to be different rules for different people….   Native News:   Medical Marijuana Company Lead Sponsor at Gathering of Nations Vincent Schilling 7/6/16 Ultra Health, a national provider for the healthcare cannabis industry with operations and facilities in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, and retail dispensaries to commercial-scale cannabis production in New Mexico and Las Vegas has become the title sponsor for the Gathering of Nations Powwow for 2017. In addition to the sponsorship, the official name of the event will be the "Ultra Health - Gathering of Nations."  This marks the first time a medical cannabis company has sponsored such an event. Ultra Health has agreed to the title sponsorship for the next five years and holds an option to consider sponsorship through 2027.   "The Gathering of Nations Powwow is a very spiritual and social celebration," said Duke Rodriguez, CEO and President of Ultra Health in a company release. "At Ultra Health we believe such components are vital to well-being, and sponsoring the event was an obvious decision in light of the importance Native people have historically put on healing and natural medicine."    Deborah White Plume, whose husband, Alex White Plume has been an advocate for the growing of hemp for decades, says she has mixed emotions about the sponsorship. “First of all, I am curious what the organizers get for sponsorship. But ultimately though I use medical marijuana, I feel this is an exploitative and corporatizing of Native people. I think it would be friendly and respectful if Ultra Health took their name off of the event name, otherwise, it is just another exploitative and oppressive gesture to the red nation.”    http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/07/06/medical-marijuana-company-lead-sponsor-gathering-nations-165042   A deconstruction of Ultra Heath’s promotional video   On the Ultra Health website, they have a promotional video which is VERY pro-native. but not in a goo way. It features a slogan at the beginning which states “In an Industrial World, what is Healthy?”.  From that point on, visuals include shots of the New Mexico countryside, then shots of native traditional drummers, and dancers, then a shot of what looks to be more like a coffee shop from new England, then back to shots of a white girl doing aerobics, and then of a black man running,  then a bit more concerning is a shot of native children when the voiceover mentions “spirituality”. Then next  transitioning to a shot and soundbite of a woman talking about the fact that cannabis is now legal and seen as a medicine.” As she is saying this, there is a shot of a Navajo woman who is unboxing what appears to be “Ultra Heath chocolate bars” which presumably have cannabis in them. it is also worth noting that the only people speaking or consuming cannabis in this video are white.  But as these soundbites are used, shots cut back and forth to NATIVE people dancing, or drumming.  There is even a tribal elder in a headdress dancing. The music in this video is also very questionable.  Possibly a  producers concept of  what they think is “contemporary native music.”  It’s way off base.    Another concern:   On Sept. 11, 2014, about four years after it earned one of the first nonprofit producer’s licenses in the state and set up shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico Top Organics founders—Peter Ferrara, Mark Baker, and their wives, Christina Ferrara and Annie Campbell—signed over 100 percent of the nonprofit dispensary’s revenue to Ultra Health, LLC, a for-profit management firm working in three states. At the helm of the Arizona-based business is Duke Rod­riguez, a former chief financial officer for Lovelace Medical Center, who helped transition the hospital from a nonprofit facility to a for-profit organization and who also served as Human Services Department cabinet secretary under then-Gov. Gary Johnson. Dispensary and cultivation management contracts provided to SFR by the New Mexico Department of Health show that the parties agreed to a 30-year deal granting Ultra Health use of the nonprofit’s license to staff, manage and operate dispensaries around the state in exchange for Ultra Health returning up to $12,500 per calendar year to the nonprofit entity for its “exclusive use and/or charitable purposes.” Ultra Health wouldn’t say how the money was used last year, which individuals make that decision, or whether any other sums changed hands. See more at http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-11802-growing-pains.html#sthash.uZpJYBHk.dpuf   Title: INDIAN AFFAIRS APPROVES $23.5 MILLION LOAN GUARANTEE FOR NAVAJO TRIBAL UTILITY AUTHORITY BY NATIVE NEWS ONLINE STAFF / CURRENTS / 29 JUN 2016   WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary –Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts today announced the approval of a $23.5 million loan guarantee to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) that will allow it to acquire a greater ownership interest in NTUA Wireless, LLC, a telecommunications services company serving the Navajo Nation. The company is a partnership of NTUA and Commnet Wireless, a rural wireless service provider based in Atlanta, Georgia. “I congratulate the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority on becoming the majority owner of the largest tribal telecommunications company in the United States,” Roberts said. “The goal of the Indian Loan Guarantee Program is to build strong, sustainable tribal economies by supporting business development and expansion throughout Indian Country. Thanks to that program, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority can move forward in building out the reservation’s telecommunication network for the benefit of the Navajo Nation and its people.” The loan guarantee, issued by the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, enables NTUA to acquire a 51 percent interest in the telecommunications services company , making it America’s largest wireless/internet business primarily owned and operated by a tribal enterprise.     Title:  Comey: FBI didn’t put Clinton under oath By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Thursday, July 7, 2016   Hillary Clinton was not put under oath and there is no transcript of her interview with the FBI, Director James Comey told Congress on Thursday. Mr. Comey said it’s still a crime if she lied to his agents — though he said he doesn’t believe that happened. Republicans have called for the FBI’s interview with Mrs. Clinton to be released so her public defense of her secret email system can be stacked up with what she told agents. But Mr. Comey said no transcript exists. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Comey revealed other new details both about Mrs. Clinton’s secret email account and about the parameters of his bureau’s investigation into it. He indicated they did see evidence that foreign governments tried to gain access to Mrs. Clinton’s server, though it’s impossible to know whether they succeeded. He said they didn’t find definitive evidence one way or the other. Mr. Comey also said Mrs. Clinton agreed to make herself available for the interview on Saturday, which lasted three and a half hours and involved about half-dozen agents. Mr. Comey said he was not there.   http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/7/comey-fbi-didnt-put-clinton-under-oath/   Summary:    My question would be: How can you conduct an effective investigation without recording the interviews? You can’t. You can’t use someone’s memory as evidence if it came down to indictments. Memories are not admissible.   Bernie appears to be out of the presidential race News Source: CNN http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/06/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-democratic-platform/   Well, we have to say it’s official without saying it’s official…Bernie Sanders appears to be getting set to endorse Hillary Clinton as the democratic nominee.  This is news that on this show we did not wish to have to give. We have this from two news sources…. CNN who wrote:   “Bernie Sanders is poised to endorse Hillary Clinton at a campaign event Tuesday in New Hampshire, provided that final disagreements in the Democratic platform can be resolved during a weekend party meeting in Orlando, people familiar with the talks say. For three weeks, Sanders has been steadily walking closer to throwing his full support behind Clinton but has been withholding a formal endorsement until the platform is written. He repeated his pledge to help defeat Donald Trump again Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg View's Al Hunt.” Sadly, here on our show we truly held the belief that Bernie was staying in the race as there was the main question of Hillary Clinton possibly being indicted. I myself in particular (Michael) was completely convinced based on a recent chain of factual events:   1.) Bernie met with president  Obama were (I believe) he asked Bernie to concede. Bernie didn't. I also believe that President Obama made it known at that time that he will campaign with Hillary.   2.) Bernie then met with non-presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton to discuss with her

Crying Earth Rise Up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE1kCjcrpqg This short inter-tribal piece was created with longtime activist and Lakota elder, Debra White Plume, of www.bringbacktheway.com. The piece is used to inform tribal members and the general public about the poisoning of vast aquifers underlying several states by uranium mining. She and her husband, Alex White Plume, are working to inform the Indian and non-Indian populous about the dangers that are presently threatening their lands, lives, and families. Debra White Plume, empowering the Oglala Sioux to take a stand against further Uranium mining, narrates this project. The Lakota peoples water supplies and health have been severely affected by past mining. Over eighty wells have been capped in their already arid reservation. The incident of many diseases and birth defects linked to mining toxics has increased alarmingly in relation to past mining projects. These people wish to be heard. They want to put a moratorium on further uranium mining in their Sacred Lands, the Black Hills of South Dakota. Protect the Water – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnJry5MwPFM&feature=related Debra White Plume addressing the delegation involving the Uranium Mining case currently under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This is at Keza Park, a place founded by Deb and her husband Alex White Plume on their family's land on the Pine Ridge Reservation. www.facebook.com/debrawhiteplume www.bringbacktheway.com Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way P.O. Box 325 Manderson, South Dakota 57756-0325 U.S.A. Director: Debra White Plume http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Back-the-Way

Alex White Plume is the former Tribal President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. From November 2004 to June 29, 2006, he served as Vice-President for the tribe. However, after Cecilia Fire Thunder, the tribal president, was impeached, White Plume assumed the role as president. He was succeeded by John Yellowbird Steele. Alex White Plume, the only farmer to plant, cultivate, produce, sell and deliver a hemp crop within the borders of the USA since 1968. The 1851 Ft. Laramie Treaty recognizes the Lakota as a sovereign nation and grants that the Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation can grow any food or fiber crop. In 1998, the Tribal Government for the Pine Ridge Reservation, (comprising all of Shannon Co., So. Dak., the poorest county in the U.S.--with 85% unemployment) legally separated industrial hemp from "marijuana", specifically allowing hemp. Hemp is a perfect crop for the near-desert climate, requiring moderate moisture and no crop chemicals, while providing the potential for all the nutritional and economic gains the area desperately needs. Alex White Plume, has grown industrial hemp on his land since 2000. That year and every year since, the DEA, with helicopters and machine guns, have confiscated the crops (legal in the sovereign nation in which it was grown), costing taxpayers more than $1,000,000.00. In 2006 the Federal Appellate Court ruled against White Plume's appeal of the seizures. 2006 also saw the release of the film Standing Silent Nation, a documentary about the White Plumes and their hemp crop. In December 2007, Alex and Debra White Plume's home was destroyed in a house fire.