Riding With Ghosts was a good film in that it I believe it serves its purpose of spreading understanding of the struggles that modern day native Americans face and that they are not all that different from the pre-reservation period.  

The narrations of several different Indian people really displayed their various points of view, genuine care, and wonder.    The film captured the will of Indian people to never let go and give up certain virtues that are valuable not only to the Indian people but in the dominant society as well such as: spirituality, respect for the natural world, appreciation for life etc.

Although this video display's the struggles of the Lakota people in the Rapid City, SD area, it is very indicative of the struggles that native people face each day throughout the country.  

The need for some of the young men to have a sense of belonging and brotherhood, being translated into "gang activity" is another example of misunderstood systems of belief as one of the young men explains that they were looked at by the "white people" as a gang however the direct translation of their group simply meant "people who care for each other" or something to that affect.   I am not naïve about the activities of such an organization and I don't personally believe in gang activity as being an effective way of bringing problems of unequal treatment of any group to light however I've never been in that type of situation of feeling like my back is to the wall and I have no other means of dealing with problems.

The messages of an ongoing belief and practice of traditional ways is very valuable for people, especially non-Indian to gain another perspective into the lives of Indian people, seeing some of the issues that they struggle with and more importantly seeing how Indian people have a strong belief in family, spirituality, community and peaceful existence.