Giuseppe, the visionary behind Project Happiness, travels to the most remote corners of the planet to explore the deepest essence of humanity, eventually arriving at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. This territory, home to the Oglala Lakota, represents the poorest county in the United States, marked by a 90% unemployment rate and a social reality where seven out of ten men have served time in prison. The statistics reveal a harrowing life expectancy of just 47 years—lower than that of nations like Yemen or Iraq—making the reservation feel less like a nature reserve and more like a prison camp or a ghetto. This modern despair is fueled by what activists call a "liquid genocide" of alcoholism, a plague that serves as the primary "dream killer" and turns residents into "zombies" on the streets. The Lakota possess a genetic variant that metabolizes alcohol more slowly, leading to faster addiction and an unequal battle against a substance that did not exist in their ancestors' bloodlines.
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The history of this land is rooted in the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre, a ferocious event that forever changed the Lakota community and left a wound that remains unhealed. Today, the reservation faces new threats such as gang violence, drug use involving firearms, and the infiltration of Mexican cartels. Due to high rates of intoxication, driving is the leading cause of death on the reservation, yet people remain helpful and curious when outsiders arrive with cameras to document their struggle. Project Happiness seeks to find hope within this massive contradiction, meeting people like Terrance, a rapper known as "The Reservation Reject". Terrance rejects the stereotypes of addiction and absenteeism to create something positive for the youth, even as he lives on government rations and faces physical violence from those who envy his success.
Cultural and spiritual reclamation serves as a primary source of resilience for those living in what Terrance describes as a "prisoner of war camp". Shaman Daniel Iron Cloud performs "cleansing of the spirit" ceremonies in sweat lodges, teaching that life is a circle with no beginning and no end. Similarly, teacher Tom Redhawk works to preserve the Lakota language, explaining that "Lakota" means being a keeper of the earth and that losing the language means losing one’s identity. In their tongue, happiness is iyokipiya, which signifies a "good heart beating" and a sacred connection to the universe.
Grandma Barbara, the oldest resident of the reservation, provides the final link to the past, sharing stories of the 1890 massacre passed down from her grandmother who personally heard the cannons go off. Ultimately, the journey reveals that the deepest sense of happiness in Pine Ridge is found not in overcoming the system, but in the relentless act of resistance—continuing to tell stories and speak the language to prove that the Lakota are still here.
