The Blessing

Set in the shadow of Black Mesa, a sacred mountain for the Navajo, The Blessing is a portrait of Lawrence, a Navajo coal miner, and his teenage daughter Caitlin. Black Mesa sits atop billions of dollars’ worth of coal, which has been mined by an entirely Native workforce for corporate giant Peabody Energy since the 1960s. For Lawrence, his work is profoundly troubling, but it is also necessary: coal drives the tribal economy, and it has allowed him to provide for his family. As Lawrence struggles to reconcile his role in the destruction of Black Mesa with his closely held spiritual beliefs, Caitlin - who is both a football player and homecoming queen - struggles to define her own identity while managing family and cultural expectations. With remarkable access, the filmmakers craft a story that is intimate in detail yet broad in scope; these deeply personal stories are set against the backdrop of our shifting energy economy and the uncertain future it creates for the Navajo Nation. (Full Frame Documentary Film Festival)