Bitter Pill

Once upon a time, a disfigured Indian youth wanted to marry the beauty of his tribe, but first he had to gain permission from the Sun, who blessed the union after seeing past the boy's scarred exterior to his bravery and honesty. That's how the Blackfeet Indian legend of Scarface unfolds, but the story of the tribe itself doesn't end so satisfactorily. The Scarface legend winds through George Burdeau's hourlong documentary Backbone of the World: The Blackfeet, which has its premiere in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Between snippets of the legend, Burdeau, a Blackfeet, and his team of young Blackfeet filmmakers document the tribe's long and often difficult history, culminating with the recent struggle over the Badger Two Medicine, spiritually significant tribal treaty land that was recently opened for oil drilling by the U.S. Forest Service. Through interviews with tribal elders and activists, sweeping shots of the scenic northern Rockies that shadow the reservation, and quotes from historical documents, Burdeau and his charges have in essence supplanted tribal oral histories with an engaging video that tells of famine, bloody skirmishes with an encroaching U.S. government, and the increasingly difficult task of preserving the tribe's cultural heritage. The program airs Thursday at 10 p.m. on KQED Channel 9. (