Duane Ehmer rides out to talk to the press after the death of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum. (Photo courtesy of David Byars/PBS)

Oregon history has been in the spotlight lately, thanks to the success of the Netflix documentary series, "Wild Wild Country," which revisits the bizarre saga of what happened when the Rajneeshees came to Wasco County in the 1980s.

"No Man's Land," a documentary that airs on PBS' "Independent Lens" series on May 7, explores a more recent, but equally controversial chapter of Oregon history, the Ammon Bundy-led armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.

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"No Man's Land" again tells the story that Oregonians remember well. When Eastern Oregon rancher Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven, were convicted of setting fires on public lands and given prison sentences, Ammon Bundy saw the case as a rationale for staging an anti-government protest. Bundy, with his brother, Ryan, and an increasing group of armed followers, occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early January, 2016.

The supposed cause was solidarity with the Hammonds, but the standoff morphed into a battle over federal control of public lands.

The Bundys had already mounted an armed protest against the government. In 2014, rancher Cliven Bundy, Ammon and Ryan's father, led a group of supporters, some of whom carried weapons, in a standoff with federal rangers in Bunkerville, Nevada.

The showdown came after years of Cliven Bundy refusing government orders to pay fees and renew his permit to graze cattle on public lands. Ultimately, federal authorities chose to de-escalate the standoff, and released Bundy's cattle back to him.

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Photo courtesy of David Byars/PBS

The tower at the Malheur headquarters, from which occupiers watched the area

Filmmaker David Byars filmed occupiers during the 41-day standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, who talk about themselves as "patriots" who came from other states to Eastern Oregon to oppose federal "tyranny."

The film also includes interviews with journalists, including former Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Les Zaitz, who says it wasn't surprising that the standoff captured the attention of the media, not just in Oregon, but nationally and internationally.

As Zaitz says, the story had plenty of drama associated with it: "You've got cowboys with guns, taking over a bird sanctuary in the middle of the desert, screaming about American tyranny."

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Photo courtesy of David Byars/PBS

Armed occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

"No Man's Land" also shows the reaction by Burns residents, many of whom were alarmed by the invasion of out-of-staters who responded to social media calls to assemble, and who arrived in Eastern Oregon heavily armed.

As one local says in "No Man's Land," "I should not have to be scared in my own home town."

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward is also seen in the film, in news conferences during the standoff, and in interviews filmed after it ended.

"I felt wronged," he says, "when I saw people waving the American flag around and breaking the law at the same time, screaming that they were patriots."

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Photo courtesy of David Byars/PBS

Armed agents at the command center set up by the FBI to monitor activity during the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation.

"No Man's Land" also includes occupiers reacting to the climax of the siege, when spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was shot and killed during a confrontation with Oregon State police officers and members of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team.

We'll have more on "No Man's Land," including an interview with filmmaker David Byars, next week.

"No Man's Land" airs at 10 p.m. Monday, May 7 on the PBS/10 series, "Independent Lens." The film will begin streaming online on Tuesday, May 8. Go to pbs.org/independentlens/films/no-mans-land/ for more details.

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The Oregonian/OregonLive file

Read The Oregonian/OregonLive's coverage of the Malheur refuge occupation

The Oregonian/OregonLive provided extensive coverage of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation, and we continue to report on the trials and legal proceedings that followed the siege.

Here's a link to our timeline of the 41-day standoff and its aftermath: oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/10/oregon_standoff_timeline_41_da.html

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"American Standoff"

"No Man's Land" is the third documentary about the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation to come to TV. In April 2017, "American Standoff," an AT&T Audience Network documentary, aired on DirecTV and AT&T.

Director Josh Turnbow told us that in making the documentary, "We weren't trying to take a side. We were trying to accurately portray what caused the standoff."

You can read my interview with Turnbow on OregonLive: oregonlive.com/tv/2017/04/american_standoff_director_on.html

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"American Patriot: Inside the Armed Uprising Against the Federal Government"

In May 2017, the PBS series "Frontline" aired "American Patriot: Inside the Armed Uprising Against the Federal Government." The film explored the anti-government militia movement and the Malheur refuge occupation.

Rick Rowley, who wrote the produced "American Patriot," spoke with us about the process of making the film, which revealed information about FBI agents who posed as documentary filmmakers to interview occupiers.

Rowley's film includes original interviews with Ammon Bundy, filmed while Bundy was in jail in Multnomah County, before he, his brother Ryan Bundy, and five co-defendants stood trial. The Bundys and the other five were found not guilty on federal conspiracy and gun charges.

"American Patriot" also features interviews with The Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Maxine Bernstein, Ryan Lenz of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and founders of the Pacific Patriot Network.

You can read my interview with Rowley at OregonLive: oregonlive.com/tv/2017/05/frontline_documentary_on_orego.html

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The Oregonian/OregonLive file

"Wild Wild Country"

Want more Oregon history? Watch the Netflix six-part documentary series, "Wild Wild Country," which tells the still-amazing story of what happened when Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh came to Oregon, accompanied by devout followers and his controversial lieutenant, Ma Anand Sheela.

Here's my review of the film, which effectively revisits a story that remains enraging and engaging, especially for Oregonians who lived here in the early 1980s, when the Rajneesh came to the state.

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The Oregonian/file

The Rajneeshees in Oregon: Photos through the years

The Oregonian also covered the story of the Rajneeshees in Oregon in great detail. Check out this fascinating gallery of photos taken by Oregonian staffers from the early 1980s.

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