Set against a background of rising tension and protest, a Lakota teenager learns first-hand what it means to lead a new generation and enter adulthood in a world where the odds are stacked against him. Filmed over a five-year period, On a Knife Edge provides a privileged view into the interior world of George Dull Knife as he becomes politically active with the American Indian Movement, confronts the challenges of growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and wrestles with accepting leadership of his storied family from his aging father.

On a Knife Edge is a coming-of-age story of George Dull Knife, a Lakota teenager growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. George is being raised by his single father, Guy Dull Knife, Jr. - a veteran of both Vietnam and the Occupation of Wounded Knee - and is inspired by his family legacy of survivors and leaders to help shape his own generation's fight for social justice. Each generation of Dull Knifes has produced its heroes, including Chief Dull Knife himself, who escaped forced relocation in 1878 by successfully leading a band of his people across 600 miles of plains in the dead of winter in a now-legendary flight to freedom. On a Knife Edge follows the contemporary chapter of the remarkable Dull Knife story and follows George as he becomes politicized and embraces his heritage. Abandoned by his mother, but guided by his father, George overcomes difficulties at school, and emerges as a promising young leader in the local American Indian Movement, fashioning himself in the warrior mold of his legendary ancestors. His growing political awareness leads him on a collision course with the police and the reservation's tribal council. But as he matures, George discovers that the responsibilities of manhood are more complex than simply confronting authority and he is forced to balance duty to his people with that of his immediate family. Filmed over four years, the documentary follows George's evolving sense of self, as his growing role of leadership in his family and community forces him to define the concepts of warrior, tradition, and duty in new ways.