[Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough"]
* *
- Hi, I'm Terry Thomas,
and I'm selling old-fashioned lemonade.
- Enjoy your lemonade. God bless America.
- Hey, Terry.
You might be doing better business than my bakery.
- I always toss my day-old brownies,
but what if you sold them instead?
I could give you 20% of the profits,
could be a win-win.
- Wow, Terry, you were right. White people love lemonade.
- It's been a good week.
Let's treat ourselves to real Lucky Charms.
- Ooh, and real milk, not the powdered kind.
- * I just can't seem to get enough *
- Proud of you, Terry.
- Terry.
You want some cereal?
- No, thanks. I'm good.
- Don't forget Jimmy's lacrosse game today.
Jimmy, get your ass out of bed.
- Maya, I'm telling you,
you could get real money for that beadwork.
- I just do this to relax and spend time with Grandma.
- Relax? You're 12.
No 12-year-olds have stress.
Well, Malala,
and Greta what's-her-name, but that's it.
It's nice that Grandma's teaching you this,
but there's a saying:
teach a man to bead, you feed him for a day,
but teach a man the fundamentals
of supply-side economics--
- Dad, this is just for a friend.
Can you not be weird and just be cool for once?
- Bet you could get 350 for that.
400 from a white person. - Dad!
[upbeat music]
* *
[country music]
- You are the worst.
- Good morning to you, too, Reagan.
- Ha ha ha.
You're suing Nathan
after you told me you wanted to get on his good side?
Wait, are you using me to get to him?
- Of course not.
I wanted you on my team, and had you joined,
you'd have known about this lawsuit sooner.
- Okay, don't act like
you're not doing the things that you're doing.
- Sorry. Sorry I'm late.
I'm not used to walking from employee parking.
Ooh, that's a hoof.
- Jess, what are you doing here?
Wait, is Auntie Vonny okay?
- Oh, yeah, my mom's fine.
Although she'd be doing a lot better
if the Bruins were winning.
[laughter] - Okay, what's happening?
- My assistant Geraldine met someone on FarmersOnly.com
and wants to see where it goes.
I've hired Jess to fill in when she's away.
- Oh. - Which is great
'cause I have a garage full of leggings I can't move,
and no one's buying my raffle tickets on Instagram.
- See, Reagan? There's a benefit to casinos.
They provide good jobs to people in our community.
- Okay, yeah. I see what you're doing,
and I don't like it,
but my cousin really needs a job,
and I can't buy any more leggings, so thank you,
but also I am onto you,
and you're not gonna get away with this.
- Okay, sounds good.
[upbeat music]
* *
- I know it's your first day, but there's a lot going on,
and you'll have to play catch-up.
- Gotcha.
That reporter Josh Carter has been waiting in the lobby.
He's cute.
I heard that Reagan snagged out with him.
Ha! - Really?
Interesting intel.
Keep him on ice for ten minutes,
and don't offer him anything to eat or drink.
- That feels real mean. - It's tactical.
We need to control this narrative
before someone else does and paints us as the villains.
- Ah.
- So after you bring Josh in, set a call with the lawyers.
I need to see if we're any closer to tying Rutherford Inc.
to the lawsuit.
- Mm, smart.
Good idea.
Should I be writing this down?
- Just go. - Okay.
* *
- Josh, please, have a seat.
I've read some of your articles.
You're very good.
I particularly like the series on fake service animals.
- Thank you. That one was kind of personal.
I was attacked
by an "emotional support" lemur on an Amtrak train.
- Well, it was evenhanded.
You were very fair to that lemur.
What, uh, drew you to journalism?
- The money.
[both laughing]
Yeah, it's sad people know that's funny,
but seriously, not everyone gets to tell their story.
Journalism gives a voice to the voiceless.
- I appreciate your giving me a voice here.
The story behind the lawsuit is simple--
- Actually, I'd love to get some background first.
Maybe just tell me about you?
- Like how I got involved with the lawsuit?
- No, no.
Uh, I mean,
how did you get into this line of work?
[beeps]
- To be honest, I wasn't planning any of this.
I wanted to be a musician. I was actually in a band.
- Right, Rage Fuel. - You heard of us?
- Well, it came up in my research.
I couldn't quite tell how popular you were.
- Uh, well, have you heard of Soundgarden?
- Did you tour with them?
- No, but we sounded just like them.
Everybody said it.
We were pretty cool,
but that's in the past.
Now I'm a family man. Wife, two kids.
Everything I do is for them and their future.
- Are they your motivation for pursuing the lawsuit?
- Josh, the tribe is a sovereign nation
with its own government headed by a separate chairperson.
I've been asked to be the face of the lawsuit
because, spoiler alert, I'm a bit of a talker,
but this isn't Terry Thomas's plan.
I'm just the guy who happens to be here right now.
- Huh.
Sorry, help me with this,
because this article in "Indian Gaming Quarterly"
says exactly the opposite.
Quote, "There's stagnation in the tribe's desire
"to use the courts,
but I am determined to move us forward."
So which is it?
[tense music]
[knocks]
- Hey, sorry to bug,
but Reagan and Nathan are here.
- Reagan Wells? - Mm-hmm.
What did you want me to do with them?
- One moment.
Nathan, I'm a little busy right now.
- Trust me, I would have loved to have settled this sooner
had I known.
- Okay, once again,
Terry didn't tell me he was gonna mess with you.
- I'm not messing with anyone. None of this is personal.
- It feels a little personal, since you're suing my person.
- I think it's best if we let our lawyers untangle
the language in the founders' document
before we speak on this.
- I know every word of that document.
It's sitting in my museum. I teach about it.
I even wrote a rap about it.
Before "Hamilton."
- Then perhaps you remember a clause
where your family promised
to provide goods of appreciation
from the date of the town's founding in perpetuity.
- Oh, you mean this part?
* In exchange for land *
* We promised corn and pelts of fur *
* 'Twas a fair and honest deal, my good sir *
- Ay!
- Yeah, you should see it in costume.
Terry, that part of the contract was ceremonial.
- I recall a certain Founders Day speech
in which you shouted to the whole town
that the document was legally binding.
- Oh, shit.
- First of all, I wasn't shouting.
I was overcoming some challenging acoustics.
Second of all, the document is legally binding
when it comes to land settlement.
The rest is, like, jimble-jumble.
- Then let the lawyers sort out the jimble from the jumble.
Now if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of an NPR interview.
- Oh, with Josh Carter
with the beautiful face and the shoulders?
- Get it, cuz.
- Terry, there's gotta be a way we can find some time
to just hash this out.
Do you play golf? - No, I do not.
- Perfect, neither do I. We can take lessons together.
- Nathan, I'm not going to budge.
- Fine. Message received.
Come on, Reagan.
- I'm also storming out,
but I will peel off at the Cultural Center.
- No more interruptions.
This Josh is way more of a reporter
than I anticipated.
I don't want him to see Nathan make a scene.
* *
On second thought,
if Nathan returns, let him right in.
- Oh, I'm sorry. Were you still talking to me?
[tense music]
- I'm sorry, but that is a really beautiful necklace.
- Uh, my daughter, Maya, made it.
It's raised beadwork.
She's participating
in a cultural revitalization program.
We're very proud that the casino's revenue
helps fund programs like this.
- Yes, I'm sure the casino does a lot of good work.
- Let me ask you, ballpark,
how much would you pay for this?
- Oh, I'm not--
I don't feel comfortable with, um--
- Think about it.
You're walking in Carroll Gardens,
probably just had some ramen
and a can of natural wine,
and you walk by a store with this in the window.
How much are you shelling out?
- Okay, very specific.
Disconcertingly accurate.
Uh, I don't want to offend.
I'm guessing maybe 500 bucks?
- 500. Wow. [chuckles]
- So being business-driven
is obviously beneficial to running a casino,
but is it complicated culturally?
- How do you mean?
- Well, just that casinos have been
so divisive amongst Native people.
It seems like unfettered capitalism would be
at odds with a lot of your cultural beliefs.
- Well, Josh, it's a challenging situation,
but compromises have to be made.
I drive a car, I have a microwave,
and I'm somehow able to live with myself
and my cultural beliefs.
[watch beeps]
I'm sorry. Oh.
My son has a lacrosse game, and I should be there.
So I'll have to wrap this up early.
- I can wait. - Really?
- Yeah, I've got nothing but time,
and it's not like you're trying to avoid my questions.
You just have a lacrosse game, right?
- Right.
- Come on, defense. Yes! [cheering and applause]
Good defense!
Go, go, go. Nice pass.
You're late.
- I had a minor work issue.
- Come on.
- Hey, sweetie,
a guy at work said he'd pay $500 for this.
[whistle blows]
[cheering]
- Babe, if you keep pushing her,
she's just gonna dig in harder.
You gotta have a light touch.
Christ, Wade!
My grandmother could see that was a failure to advance,
and she has botched LASIK surgery!
- Shh.
- Rhonda, I beg you
for your own good, do not shush this woman.
- Oh, she should shush herself.
That blouse is louder than I could ever be,
but seriously, hon, don't sweat this Maya stuff.
- Look at Jimmy.
Good grades, champion powwow dancer, lacrosse king.
He's like Captain Minishonka out there.
Meanwhile, Maya gives away
her beadwork for free.
She's my daughter, and I would take a bullet for her,
but honestly, babe, I think she may be a dud.
She had the nerve to call me weird.
I'm the least weird dad.
Rick Leclaire, he roller skates to work.
- [chuckles]
I just think if we give her enough space--
that's raking!
So help me, Wade, I am in heels,
but I will run across this field and choke you!
Yeah, I'm just happy the kids have time
for their culture and the community.
Isn't that the whole goal?
- Yeah, but how's she gonna make her way in the world?
- You know, when I was Maya's age,
my folks always told me,
"You'll never be Buffy Sainte-Marie,"
and I wasn't,
but I was Miss Indian World.
- How does that relate? - It doesn't.
I just wanted to remind you you married up.
- I'm cool, right? - Cooler than Billy Jack.
[cheers and applause]
Jimmy, yes! Yes, son!
- That's how you do it. - Whoo!
We're headed to the grocery.
- Get some of that fancy bologna you like.
- It's mortadella, and thank you.
- And your friend Benny's
lacrosse stick's looking ragged.
Buy a new one,
but tell him it's an extra you had from home.
- Thanks, Dad.
I can keep the change, though, right?
- Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, no.
And Maya, you come with me.
[soft music]
* *
I have a proposition.
I pay you to make 20 pieces of beadwork.
Five are yours to do with what you will.
- I would give them away.
- And the rest I sell for you,
unless you want to learn from your old man,
maybe start a company together?
I have some logo ideas.
No?
Okay. I sell them.
2/3 of the profits go to your college fund,
and the rest is yours to spend.
Deal?
- Counteroffer.
How about...I have no interest in starting a business.
I make 20 pieces, and I keep 20 pieces.
- Fine, then no more allowance. - Fine.
- And no more going to the Elder's Lodge
to bead with grandma.
- Are you serious? - No, of course not.
That would be mean. She's a very old woman.
- Why are you so obsessed with money?
Is everything, like, a deal to you?
[engine turns over] - Oh, good, the truck started
because I put gas in it,
which costs money
because literally everything costs money.
- Then why am I even in school?
I should just quit and get a job at a sweatshop.
- Maya, please,
you could never keep up with those kids.
[tense music]
- You're still here. - Yeah.
So back to the lawsuit...
[clears throat] [beeps]
What exactly is the tribe's game plan here?
- Well, Josh, I don't think it would be wise
to just give you all the details,
but I can tell you I'm optimistic.
- Well, what are you optimistic about when--
- Hey, Terry.
- Hello, again. - Nathan's here.
- Nathan, I'm occupied here,
but I think you know Josh.
- Yes, of course. Great shoulders.
I didn't realize you were still in your interview.
I came to make things right.
- Oh, well, that sounds promising.
- I think we both agree that the founders' document
stipulates the Rutherfords shall pay
the Minishonka three bags of corn
and a fur pelt every year, correct?
- I'll give you that. - Bobbie!
[door clicks open]
* *
- I present to you full remuneration.
Hundreds of bags of corn here,
couple of pallets at your loading dock,
and Bobbie will be getting even more furs
from my aunt later this afternoon.
I think it's pretty clear the Rutherfords
and the Minishonka are square.
- Mission accomplished.
- I appreciate the effort,
but no, mission not accomplished.
Corn and fur had significant value
at the time the agreement was made.
- Are you trying to tell me this is not a fair trade?
- Some of this popcorn is flavored,
and these fur coats are to die for.
- Since the agreement was made, the value of those goods
with interest compounded over hundreds of years
amounts to roughly $350 million,
and we intend to be repaid every penny.
Now, if you don't mind-- - That's insane.
You're making a huge mistake, buddy.
- How is that? - Well, you're forcing my hand.
I'm gonna have to pull out the big guns.
- Oprah. - No, not Oprah.
I don't know her.
You're not just messing with me
or even the whole Rutherford family.
You're messing with the whole Rutherford concept.
Okay, think of me as a little bear cub.
Behind the tree is a mama bear.
Don't poke that bear. Do you catch my drift?
I'm talking about Rutherford Inc., Terry.
Who has two thumbs and a seat on the corporate board?
This guy. I make one phone call,
a team of corporate lawyers comes up here
and squashes you like a bug.
- Thank you for the warning.
I will prepare accordingly.
- Prepare for the fight of your life.
Come on, Bobbie.
- [grunting]
[sighs]
Wonky wheel. I'll be back for it later.
- Popcorn. Can you believe it?
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a great low-calorie snack,
but it's bordering on offensive in this case.
- Terry, you're a smart person.
You have to know this isn't gonna work.
Nathan may be in over his head,
but I could cite at least 15 cases
where tribes sued for their treaties to be upheld
and lost.
I mean, what makes you think you can win
when things are so stacked against the tribe?
- Well, I actually want to go back
to what you asked me earlier about capitalism.
Your implication that being Indigenous
and growing a profitable economy are mutually exclusive.
- Oh, I--
I just meant that based on my research,
the tenants of capitalism don't exactly jive
with the traditional Minishonkan way of life.
- America only champions one form for capitalism,
major corporations,
which I should point out pay no taxes while we do.
They keep all the money for those at the top.
Tribal capitalism distributes revenue,
in this case casino revenue, to everyone in the tribe.
- Sure, but isn't that what all capitalists say?
That them making money benefits the masses?
- Yes, but in our case, it's true.
Long ago, when our men would go out on a hunt,
the deer they'd bring back was divided
equally amongst the tribe.
Elders, women, and children first
so that everyone would survive.
We still get our share of the deer,
but this time, it's a check.
- But this isn't a deer, Terry.
This is a huge
multimillion-dollar corporation.
Don't you feel like by chasing the almighty dollar,
you're selling out your culture?
- Your brownies sold out.
- Great job. See you tomorrow.
- Mr. Tomlinson, I think you made a mistake.
You gave me $2. It should be $6.
- Yeah, sure, but I have rent,
insurance, ingredients.
You don't have any overhead.
In fact, I let you run your business on my property.
Some could say, hmm, you owe me.
- Okay, well, I'll take five.
- That's not how this works.
I tell you what's fair, and this is fair.
But hey, don't take it personally.
Everything's a business.
[solemn music]
* *
[beeps]
- What I'm about to say is
completely off the record,
but I want you to hear it.
For someone who claims to give a voice to the voiceless,
you have a real problem listening,
and while I appreciate you seem to have read
the entire Wikipedia entry
for our tribe, you will never grasp
a traditional Minishonka way of life
because you come from a society
that values the self over the whole.
Doesn't matter how you dress it up.
That's why you're choosing to focus
on some purity test
instead of what we're trying to actually achieve here.
Have you ever heard of the seven generations?
- I have an article about it somewhere.
- It's a practice to ensure that the Earth and our language
and our people will not only exist
but thrive seven generations from now,
that the decisions we make today will have an impact
long after we're gone.
Everything I do
and every move I make
is to ensure the success of my nation.
[somber music]
Growing up, I didn't get to learn
a lot of my traditional ways,
but I did get to learn the great American pastime,
which is power.
Power, Josh, is a zero-sum game.
If you have more of it, I have less,
and then you can treat me however you want.
If we want to ensure this tribe has a successful life,
one that can maintain our traditions,
art, and culture,
well, that takes power,
and unfortunately, power comes from money.
The casino is a means to an end.
It's the industry of this time.
400 years ago, it was fur trading,
50 years ago it was manufacturing,
and long after I'm dead, there will be Minishonka
figuring out how to master the next endeavor.
Because that's what we do, Josh,
those of us who fight this battle.
We do whatever we have to.
I've had to learn to play this game
through bare-knuckle necessity,
and while it might not make for a feel-good story,
I won't rest until my nation gets
every single thing
that was taken from them.
[beeps]
Josh, it's been so wonderful talking to you.
Would it be possible to get a copy of this for my files?
Please, reach out if you have any follow-up questions.
Jess has a number of publicity shots.
I'm partial to the one of me and Michelle Obama.
It's late. Thank you very much for coming.
I got a pretty exciting delivery
from Nathan Rutherford today.
- Do you mean the popcorn?
[laughter]
- I've been trying to find a way
to legally tie Rutherford Inc. to our lawsuit.
Earlier today, Nathan gave us a gift.
- I'm talking about Rutherford Inc., Terry.
Who has two thumbs and a seat on the corporate board?
This guy. I make one phone call,
a team of corporate lawyers comes up here
and squashes you like a bug.
- Now that we've found a way to connect them,
we can go after the real money.
With your permission, I'd like to add Rutherford Inc.
to the lawsuit.
I'll keep you updated as we proceed.
[excited chatter]
- Terrance, this is beautiful.
- Maya made it.
- Someone so young doing something this intricate?
You're raising her right.
- * If you think you're going to catch him now *
* You're living in a world of crazy daydreams *
* *
- * Nothing *
[laughter]
- Take care. - Thank you. I'll see you.
- How's Craig?
- Still working on that boat.
By the time he's done, the oceans will be empty.
No offense, Terry, but I wouldn't take you for a beader.
- They're a gift for Maya.
- Well, we have some beautiful charlotte cuts
coming in next week, size 15 like she's using.
- I'll let her know.
[scanner beeping]
- I used to love that album.
You guys were great.
You want to buy it?
- No.
I've got everything I need.
- * I've given everything I need *
* I'd give you everything I own *
* I'd give in if it could *
* At least be ours alone *
* I've given everything I could *
* To blow it to hell and gone *
* Burrow down in *
* And blow up the outside *
* Blow up the outside world *
[Soundgarden's "Blow Up the Outside World"]
* Blow up the outside *