Watchlist: ‘You’re No Indian’

By Kamiah Koch

Social media/digital journalist

“It was put in front of all the Natives that everyone would benefit from Indian gaming,” the “You’re No Indian” trailer begins. “It hasn’t turned out that way.”

A new documentary about Tribal disenrollment released its trailer in the first few days of 2025. Within the two-minute trailer, a brief overview of what disenrollment is and why it is happening in Tribes across the country is described.

“Casinos play the biggest role in disenrollment,” a narrator said in the trailer. “The accumulation of extreme wealth is what’s driving disenrollment.”

The trailer uses interviews and animation to describe how disenrollment works. In one clip, a family tree is shown with red slashes through six generations. A narrator said that Tribes are disenrolling ancestors and therefore everyone behind them in the lineal descent is also disenrolled. 

“If we’re a Tribe of 1,000 and the number of Tribal members is reduced in half to 500, then the remaining Tribal members just doubled their income,” one interviewee said.

The trailer shows the other side of the argument with Tribal members supporting disenrollment. Interview clips are shown recounting disenrollment as not a bad thing, with some families called “counterfeit.”  

The trailer explained this practice is Natives banishing other Natives, and if it continues many Indigenous populations will cease to exist generations down the line. 

Lumbee Nation Citizen David Wilkins co-authored the 2017 book, “Dismembered.” The book examines the unprecedented rates of disenrollment in Tribal nations since the 1990s. Wilkins said in an email to Smoke Signals that he was interviewed by the “You’re No Indian” director and producer, Ryan Flynn, several times.

“It looks and feels quite emotionally powerful and I look forward to seeing the full show when it’s made available to the public,” Wilkins said. “I hope this documentary receives a lot of attention, though I have heard that the leaders of some Native nations that are disenrolling folks are not happy about the project and may well try to interfere with its rollout for fear of the adverse publicity they might receive.”

On the “You’re No Indian” website it states that this documentary is not just a film but a call to action,with hopes of urging viewers to join the movement for truth and accountability of Tribal nations.

“I have no doubt that many of the disenrollees who were interviewed for the documentary felt at least a sense of relief that someone was paying attention to them for the disastrous way their own nation has treated them,” Wilkins said. “It will, I hope, create a stronger bond for all those who have been suffering and will enlighten those who watch the show.

Smoke Signals will have more coverage on the documentary when it becomes available to the public.

You can watch the “You’re No Indian” trailer at https://youtu.be/DcrtdiDASUg?si=3knh2K1OeiymaU9S or see more about the film at www.yourenoindian.com.