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Michigan State University

Native American Studies Research Guide: Native American Documentary Films

Contents

A compilation of film resources about Native Americans available in the MSU Libraries.  Additional films such as The Menominee and The Potawatomi from the Library of Michigan are also listed in our union catalog.

Streaming Videos

The MSU Libraries own many more streaming videos besides the ones listed to the right.  If you want to explore Native American films in Canada or the Latin America, for example, or if you want to explore different topics,  take a look at :

Kanopy Native American Film Collection, currently featuring 243 streaming films.  View the entire Kanopy Film Catalog.

Filmakers Library Online / Alexander Street Press.  This collection provides award-winning documentaries with relevance across the curriculum—race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more. It presents points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions world-wide. This release now provides 956 titles, equaling approximately 752 hours.  Other titles will be added as Alexander Street Press works out permission/ownership issues from the Filmakers Library.

Ethnographic Video Online / Alexander Street Press. This collection currently contains This release includes 803 videos totalling roughly 548 hours.  It too contains many videos relating to indigenous peoples around the world, a few of which are listed under Native American Documentary Films.  Be sure to check this resource as well if you are interested in streaming videos about Native Americans in Canada and Latin America.

PBS Video Collection contains numerous films related to Native Americans.

Creating Clips and Playlists with Alexander Street Press products.

Vanderbilt Television News Archive contains miscellaneous newscasts from NBC and CNN.   A few examples include:

Michigan / Chippewa Indians / Fishing Rights, NBC, July 9, 1971

American Indian Movement / Wounded Knee, NBC, February 28, 1973.

The Indians and the Fish, NBC, September 12, 1978.

Pequot Native Americans / Casino Success, CNN, August 15, 1992

Crosscountry Protests on 500th Anniversary of Columbus Day, NBC, October 12, 1992.

Gambling / Indian Reservations / Ojibwa Civl War, NBC, September 28, 1996.

Gambling / Native Americans, CNN, December 16, 2002.

Note : To use the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, it may be necessary to download RealPlayer on your computer.

More Native American Film Catalogs

The University of Arizona Libraries offers a very extensive list of North American Indian Films and Video.

Also check out Native Americans in the Movies: A Bibliography of Materials in the UC Berkeley Library. Covers both books and journal articles.

Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian Film & Media Catalog : The Film & Media Catalog provides information on films screened since 1995 at the National Museum of the American Indian in programs presenting indigenous media from North, Central, and South America, the Pacific region, and the Arctic Circle. The Catalog includes information about productions, the mediamakers and actors who created them, and the film and media organizations that support their creation.

Documentary Films, A-B

All Native American documentaries are located in the Kline Digital and Multimedia Center unless otherwise indicated.  Movies can be checked out unless reserved for a class.

6 Generations. [San Francisco, California, USA] : Kanopy Streaming, 2014. 1 streaming video via Kanopy.   57 min. : Ernestine De Soto is a Chumash Native American whose mother Mary Yee was the last speaker of her native Barbareno language. In 6 Generations, her family reaches back to the days the Spanish arrived in Santa Barbara and made first contact. Ernestine tells this history from the perspective of her female ancestors, making her a unique link with the past.... Famous anthropologist John Peabody Harrington, whose work focused on native peoples of California, started research with her family in 1913 and continued with three generations for nearly 50 years. This inspired Ernestine's mother to begin taking notes and, combined with mission records (which survived intact from the late 1700s), they form the heart of this story. Because of these circumstances, her story, possible only in California, is unique in America. The impact of loss of land, language, culture and life itself is made all the more clear as this story is told in Native American voices, who describe the events as they experienced them. Ultimately, it is a story of survival and the fierce endurance of Ernestine's ancestors, particularly the women.

500 Nations. 4 DVD videodiscs (372 min.)  E77 .F57 1995 VideoDVD (Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection): An eight-part documentary that explores the history of the indigenous peoples of North and Central America, from pre-Colombian times through the period of European contact and colonization, to the end of the 19th century and the subjugation of the Plains Indians of North America. 500 Nations utilizes historical texts, eyewitness accounts, pictorial sources and computer graphic reconstructions to explore the magnificent civilizations which flourished prior to contact with Western civilization, and to tell the dramatic and tragic story of the Native American nations' desperate attempts to retain their way of life against overwhelming odds.  A companion book is also available in the Main Library stacks.

Across the Americas : Indigenous Perspectives.  [San Francisco, California, USA] : Kanopy Streaming, 2015.  Streaming video via Kanopy.   45 minutes  : In this compilation, award-winning independent documentary filmmaker Robbie Leppzer chronicles indigenous people from North, South, and Central America speaking out about their common legacies of survival and contemporary struggles over land, human rights, and the environment.  Columbus Didn't Discover Us (the first film) :  The 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's historic voyage to America also marked 500 years of survival by indigenous people throughout the Americas, whose way of life was fundamentally changed by the European landing. In preparation for the Columbus Quincentennial, 300 Native men and women came to the highlands of Ecuador to take part in the First Continental Conference of Indigenous Peoples. Columbus Didn't Discover Us features interviews with participants, filmed at this historic gathering, representing a wide spectrum of Indian nations from North, South, and Central America. This documentary is a moving testimony about the impact of the Columbus legacy on the lives of indigenous peoples from across the hemisphere. Native people speak about the devastation of their cultures resulting from the "European Invasion," contemporary struggles over land and human rights, the importance of reviving spiritual traditions, and the need to alert the world to the environmental crises threatening the survival of the planet. Columbus Didn't Discover Us is an essential primer for understanding the Columbus legacy — past and present — from an indigenous point of view. Arctic to Amazonia (the second film) From the Arctic to the Amazon, much of our world's fragile ecosystem is at risk. Multinational corporations and government development projects often engage in practices which threaten not only the environment, but the survival of indigenous cultures. To discuss this growing problem, representatives of Native communities from around the world came to Smith College to attend the week-long Arctic to Amazonia Tribal Lands Conference. Arctic to Amazonia features Native activists from North and South America presenting first-hand information on the impact of industrial development upon their land and cultures. They review the history of European colonization in the Americas, critique destructive patterns of consumerism, and contrast indigenous perspectives on the environment with corporate world views. In excerpts from speeches presented at the conference, indigenous representatives talk about the struggles of Native communities to protect their land against ecological destruction. These battles range from northern Quebec, where the Cree and Inuit peoples are fighting massive hydro-dam projects, to Arizona, where the Havasupai oppose plans to mine uranium near the Grand Canyon, to the Brazilian jungles, where numerous Amazonian peoples have won important victories in the campaign to protect the tropical rain forest. As the threat of global environmental disaster looms over us, mainstream society can learn much from Native peoples. Arctic to Amazonia is an effective catalyst for discussion of environmental issues from an indigenous perspective.

Across the Creek.  Lincoln, Nebraska : Vision Maker Media, 2014.  Streaming Video available from Kanopy.  : Across the Creek explores both the unbridled dreams and the painful reality of Lakota people from South Dakota. In the face of unfathomable challenges, they are taking steps to better their lives. "It’s still here."That’s the assurance of Lakota elder Albert White Hat that the spirituality, songs and power of Lakota people are fully present today. "It’s still here,"he says again, for emphasis. These words seem at odds with appearances on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations, with their broken-down villages, deadly addictions and the sense of hopelessness...In Across the Creek, everyday heroes are turning around negative history and reclaiming traditional stories, visions and core values that once effectively guided healthy, productive tribal life. With few visible examples of positive action, the most powerful strategy is just walking the talk. Or, put another way, by crossing the creek.

After the Mayflower.  In 1621, Massasoit, sachem of the Wampanoags of New England negotiated a treaty with Pilgrim settlers. A half-century later, as a brutal war flared between the English and a confederation of Indians, this diplomatic gamble seemed to have been a grave miscalculation. Directed by Chris Eyre.  Part of the We Shall Remain package.

Alcatraz is not an island  / producer, Jon Plutte ; director, James M. Fortier ; writers, James M. Fortier, Jon Plutte and Mike Yearling with with Troy Johnson and Millie Ketcheshawno ; produced in association with the Independent Television Service, KQED Public Television and the Golden Gate National Parks Association ; produced by Diamond Island Productions.  [Pacifica, Calif.] : Diamond Island Productions, [2012?]    1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  E93 .A347 2012 VideoDVD : For thousands of Native Americas, the infamous Alcatraz is not an island . . . it is an inspiration.  After generations of oppression, assimilation, and near genocide, a small group of Native American students and “Urban Indians” began the occupation of Alcatraz Island in November 1969.  They were eventually joined by thousands of Native Americans, retaking “Indian land” for the first time since the 1880s.  ALCATRAZ IS NOT AN ISLAND is the story of how this historic event altered U.S. Government Indian policy and programs, and how it forever changed the way Native Americans viewed themselves, their culture and their sovereign rights.  Out of Alcatraz came the “Red Power” movement of the 1970s, which has been called the lost chapter of the Civil Rights era.  Among the many people interviewed are occupation leaders John Trudell, Dr. LaNada Boyer and Adam Fortunate Eagle, along with several other prominent participants, including Wilma Mankiller, Grace Thorpe, Leonard Garment and Brad Patterson.  Associate Producer and Historical Consultant Dr. Troy Johnson and Native American author/historian Robert Warrior provide much of the historical commentary in the film.  Also included in the documentary is an abundance of historical photos by Michelle Vignes and Ilka Hartmann and archival 16 mm footage –– much of which has never been seen by the public.  More information.

Aleut Story / a Sprocketheads Production.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2005.  Streaming video file (87 minutes) via Alexander Street Press :  In the turbulence of war, in a place where survival was just short of miraculous, the Aleuts of Alaska would redefine themselves -- and America. From indentured servitude and isolated internment camps, to Congress and the White House, this is the incredible story of the Aleuts' decades-long struggle for human and civil rights.Narrated by Martin Sheen and original music score by Composer Alan Koshiyama, the program draws compelling parallels to the present, as our country grapples with the challenging question of the balance between civil liberties and national security.

American Cowboys / produced by Wildbill Productions ; in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting ; Native American Public Telecommunications.   Lincoln, NE : Distributed by Vision Maker Video, [2005?]  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 27 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  F596 .A475 2005 VideoDVD : American Cowboys tells the stories of George Fletcher and Jackson Sundown, the first African American and the first Native American to compete in the World Title at the Pendleton Round-Up. This documentary reveals the glory of being the best, the frustration of being ignored, and the rewards for not giving up on a dream.

American Indian Comedy Slam : Goin' Native: No Reservations Needed / LOL comedy presents ; Payaso Entertainment presents ; with DRO Entertainment ; produced by Neal Marshall ; directed & produced by Scott Montoya.  [United States] : LolFlix : Payaso Productions, c2011.  1 DVD videodisc (82 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.   PN1969.C65 A44 2011 VideoDVD : In the spirit of the Kings of Comedy and the Latin Kings of Comedy, no reservations needed for this historical stand-up comedy event. Hosted by legendary Native American comedian Charlie Hill, this special showcases the best of the Native American Indian comedians performing today. This comedy special features legendary Native American comedians all on one stage for the first time : Charlie Hill, Larry Omaha, Howie Miller as well as the Pow Wow Comedy Jam members now making their own mark on the Native American comedy scene, Marc Yaffee, Jim Rule, Vaughn Eaglebear and JR Redwater.

 American Indians Confront "Savage Anxieties" (Moyers & Company, Season 3 Episode 52 | 24m 43s).   Earlier this month, as part of the $585 billion defense bill for 2015, Congress passed a measure that would give lands sacred to American Indians in Arizona to a foreign company. This week, Bill speaks with Robert A. Williams Jr., a professor specializing in American Indian law, about how such deals are a part of American Indian's tragic history of dispossession.

American Outrage.  Oley, PA : Bullfrog Films, 2008.  1 DVD videodisc (56 min.)  HD1251 .A44 2009 VideoDVD (Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection): Two elderly Western Shoshone sisters, the Danns, put up a heroic fight for their land rights and human rights.  This movie asks why the United States government has spent millions persecuting and prosecuting two elderly women grazing a few hundred horses and cows in a desolate desert? The United States Bureau of Land Management insists the sisters are degrading the land. The Dann sisters say the real reason is the resources hidden below this seemingly barren land, their Mother Earth. Western Shoshone land is the second largest gold producing area in the world.

American Red and Black  : Stories of Afro-Native identity / Native Voices presents a Talking Fish Production ; a film by Alicia Woods  [Seattle, WA?] : Native Voices, University of Washington, c2006   1 DVD-R videodisc (38 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E98.E85 A53 2006 VideoDVD : This intimate film follows six Afro-native Americans from around the U.S., as they reflect upon the personal and complex issues of Native and African heritage, ethnic identity, and racism within communities of color.

America's Prehistoric Civilizations : The Mound Builders.  New York, NY : Ambrose Video Pub., c2007.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 30 min.)  E73 .A44 2007 VideoDVD : Had they been made of stone, they would have been among the greatest wonders of the ancient world. These were the pyramids and effigy earthenworks by the Mound Building Cultures of the eastern half of the United States. This is the story of the 3000 year Native American tradition that culminated with the construction of cities rivaling any on the planet when Columbus landed in the New World.  The program begins with a look at the arrival of the first Native Americans to the North American continent after the retreat of the glaciers 12,000 years ago. Viewers will then examine an archeological site in Louisiana, where ancient hunter gatherers built their own city, and learn about the Woodland Mound Builders and the Mississippian Mound Building culture. Program includes a teacher's guide along with a timeline, maps and quizzes.

Ancient America Seattle, WA : Camera One, c1996. 4 VHS videocassettes (ca. 60 min. ea.)  E77 .A52 1996 Videocassette : This series looks at America before the arrival of the Europeans, discussing Native American peoples and cultures. "Eastern woodlands" discusses technological accomplishments of these tribes, such as Cahokia's Woodhenge and Monks Mound. In "Indians of the Northwest," the totem pole is explained. The Anasazi's structures, the city of Chimney Rocks, and Mesa Verde are some of the accomplishments featured in "The Southwest". "Nomadic Indians of the West" surveys Medicine Wheel and covers the transition of the Great Basin from the Ice Age to desert.

Ancient Pueblo People : the Anasazi.  Library Video Company, 2007.  1 dvd; 30 min. E99.P9 A53 2007 VideoDVD : They stand today much as their builders left them 500 years ago. These are the cities of the Anasazi, the ancient Pueblo people of the four corners region of the western United States. Their history is the history how a civilization, against all odds, became so successful at agriculture they were able to produce a leisure society capable of not only building these incredible cities, but also producing some of the greatest pottery, rock art and trading networks the world has ever seen. How the Anasazi did this with a social organization not governed by kings or queens or other hierarchical rulers is one of the great mysteries of ancient history.  Viewers will learn about the rise of the maize culture that enabled the Anasazi to become skilled artisans and builders of North America's most distinctive buildings prior to the arrival of European colonists. The program explores the architecture of Anasazi buildings and look at how, in the absence of written records, these structures are evidence of this culture's remarkable accomplishments and social structure. Program includes a teacher's guide along with a timeline, maps and quizzes.

Arctic to Amazonia : Video 2 of playlist "Across the Americas - Indigenous Perspectives".  Documentary Educational Resources, 1993.  23 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy. : Arctic to Amazonia features some of the best minds working on present struggles facing Native people. Development is supposed to signify advancement--the bettering of a condition--but to indigenous peoples of the world, development has caused the exact opposite. The presenters in the video illuminate the need for reassessment of present-day technology, as its effects are not only limited to indigenous peoples, but will impact the whole world." -- Ingrid Washinawatok (Menominee), co-chair, Indigenous Women's Network

Awake : A Dream from Standing Rock Bullfrog Films, 2017. 89 minutes.   Streaming video available via Alexander Street Press (Also available as streaming video via Docuseek 2 : The Dakota Access Pipeline is a controversial project that brings fracked crude oil from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota through South Dakota, Iowa and eventually to Illinois. The Standing Rock Tribe and people all over the world oppose the project because the pipeline runs under the Missouri river, a source of drinking water for over 18 million people, and pipeline leaks are commonplace. Since 2010 over 3,300 oil spills and leaks have been reported....  Moving from summer 2016, when demonstrations over the Dakota Access Pipeline's demolishing of sacred Native burial grounds began, to the current and disheartening pipeline status, AWAKE, A Dream from Standing Rock is a powerful visual poem in three parts that uncovers complex hidden truths with simplicity. The film is a collaboration between indigenous filmmakers: Director Myron Dewey and Executive Producer Doug Good Feather; and environmental Oscar-nominated filmmakers Josh Fox and James Spione.... The Water Protectors at Standing Rock captured world attention through their peaceful resistance. The film documents the story of Native-led defiance that has forever changed the fight for clean water, our environment and the future of our planet. It asks: 'Are you ready to join the fight?'

Before Columbus.  Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1993.  6 VHS videocassettes (168 min.)   E58 .B43 1993 Videocassette : This series of programs presents the other side of the "discovery" saga as the native peoples of the Americas tell their own story of the destruction of their culture and their lands and of their growing efforts to fight back.  [Pt. 1] Invasion -- [pt. 2] The right to their own lands -- [pt. 3] Temples into churches -- [pt. 4] Teaching Indians to be White -- [pt. 5] Rebellion -- [pt. 6] The Indian experience in the 20th Century.

Beyond Standing Rock from Fast Forward Films, 2017. Available for Rental from Vimeo. : BSR brings Native American struggles for tribal sovereignty and self-determination to the forefront. BSR takes a close look at the Dakota Access pipeline, Bears Ears National Monument and other US/tribal clashes across the country. The films take viewers to the front lines of the protests on the North Dakota plains and also investigates the ongoing legal struggle behind the protests. In addition to the Dakota Access pipeline controversy, BSR looks at how Colorado’s Southern Ute Tribe has taken control over their own oil and gas resources, creating an economic powerhouse and changing the lives of tribal members. Finally, BSR puts viewers right in the middle of a heated land war over the new Bears Ears National Monument in Southeast Utah. Utah lawmakers want President Trump to overturn the designation of the new monument, while a coalition of tribes argues for collaborative management of monument lands. BSR shines a spotlight on tribal sovereignty issues and the tribe’s 170-year long conflict with the U.S. government over independence and control over land and resources.  Trailer.

Blackfeet Encounter / The Going-to-the-Sun Institute and Native View Pictures ; written, produced and directed by Dennis Neary and Curly Bear Wagner.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2006. 57 minutes.   Streaming video from Alexander Street Press :  In the summer of 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition headed home from the Pacific Ocean. But Meriwether Lewis had not yet accomplished a mission from Thomas Jefferson, which would take him into the heart of Blackfeet country in what is now Montana and force him into the expedition's only life-or-death encounter with a party of Blackfeet Indians. Not only did this chance confrontation put a new perspective on a peaceful expedition, it impacted the fate of the Blackfeet people forever.  A Blackfeet Encounter uncovers the rich Blackfeet history and culture, traces the aftermath of the expedition's arrival and illustrates the challenges and triumphs of the Blackfeet people today.

Black Indians : An American Story / Rich-Heape Films.  Dallas, Tex. : Rich-Heape Films, c2002. 60 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy  (Also available as part of ROVI Movie Collection) : This video explores the issue of racial identity among Native Americans and African Americans, and the coalescence of these two groups in American history. Perhaps the two most misunderstood and mistreated of minorities, Native and African peoples have often shared a common past. Yet today they are all but invisible-their heritage ignored, unknown and frequently denied by most Americans, many Native- and African- Americans and sometimes by Black Indians themselves. The video features interviews with Black Indians from many tribes (including Narragansetts, Pequots, Seminoles, Cherokees and others) who discuss such issues as blood versus culture, detribalization, and personal identity in an increasingly multicultural world.

Blood Tests : Native American Gamble / BBC Education & Training. Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c1997.  1 VHS videocassette (50 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  QH431 .B56 1997 Videocassette : Steve Jones investigates what constitutes Native American blood, then follows three individuals as they use DNA matching of a female gene in an attempt to confirm a genetic link between themselves and their Pequot ancestors.

Bones of Contention written by Danielle Peck and Alex Seaborne; produced by Alex Seaborne (London, England: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1995),49 mins  Streaming video via Alexander Streeet Press : This program provides an even-handed examination of the conflict between Native American groups and scientists, historians, and museum curators concerning the issue of the remains of more than 10,000 Native Americans unearthed at archaeological sites across the U.S. In doing so, it also provides an excellent survey of American Indian archaeology in the U.S.

Bones of Contention : Native American Archaeology / BBC ; written & produced by Danielle Peck and Alex Seaborne.  Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, [2004]  DVD-R  (49 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in  E77.9 .B664 2004 VideoDVD : The remains of more than 10,000 Native Americans unearthed at archaeological sites across the U.S. are in the possession of museums such as the Smithsonian. The bones have become the central issue in a war of ideas that pits scientists, historians, and museum curators against many Native American groups. Is the analysis of the bones valid scientific research, or is it a desecration of Native American culture? This program provides an even-handed examination of the situation, and also provides an excellent survey of American Indian archaeology in the U.S. 

Broken Rainbow  /    [New York] : Docurama : Distributed by New Video Group, [2006].  1 DVD videodisc (1 hr. 10 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.N3 B7 2006 VideoDVD (Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection) : "Passionate" and "compelling" (The New York Times) the Academy Award-winning Broken Rainbow is the heartbreaking tale of the forced relocation of 12,000 Navajos from their ancestral homeland in Arizona that began in the 1970s and continues to this day....It documents the impact of a law signed by President Ford (on a ski vacation) that forced relocation of thousands of Navajo from their tribal land. The reason? There was hundreds of millions of dollars of coal, natural gas, and oil in that land and therefore the needs of the Navajo were irrelevant in light of the outrageous profits that could be made....Broken Rainbow bears witness to the machinations of energy companies and their government proxies as they eagerly cast aside the peaceful Navajo to make way for oil, gas, uranium and coal exploration. In their own words, elders and outside experts discuss the rich culture and the history of the Navajo as well as their close friends and neighbors the Hopi. The film follows these Native Americans as they take their protest to Congress and join with the militant American Indian Movement, turning their tragedy into acts of heroic resistance. Beautifully photographed and scored, the film captures the sweeping majesty of sacred Native American lands and the people who inhabit them. Narrated by Emmy-winning actor Martin Sheen, Broken Rainbow compassionately illuminates a modern Trail of Tears, giving voice to the conflicts faced by indigenous peoples who struggle to survive in the face of Western imperatives. DVD Features: Update "2006: The Struggle Continues"; Filmmaker Biographies; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection.

Buffalo Dance (1894) / Thomas Edison Available as a streaming video from the Internet Archive  : "According to Edison film historian C. Musser, this film and others shot on the same day featured Native American Indian dancers from Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and constitutes the American Indian's first appearance before a motion picture camera." - Library of Congress.

The Buffalo War / produced by Buffalo Jump Pictures ; a film by Matthew Testa ; directed by Matthew Testa.  Oley, Penn. : Bullfrog Films, c2001.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in  SF401.A45 B84 2001 VideoDVD : The battle over the yearly slaughter of America's last wild bison outside Yellowstone National Park.  THE BUFFALO WAR is the moving story of the Native Americans, ranchers, government officials and environmental activists currently battling over the yearly slaughter of America's last wild bison. Yellowstone National Park bison that stray from the park in winter are routinely rounded up and sent to slaughter by agents of Montana's Department of Livestock, who fear the migrating animals will transmit the disease brucellosis to cattle, despite the federal Department of Agriculture's urging that this is unlikely....This film explores the controversial killing by joining a 500-mile spiritual march across Montana by Lakota Sioux Indians who object to the slaughter. Led by Lakota elder Rosalie Little Thunder, the marchers express their cultural connection to bison and display the power of tradition and sacrifice....Woven into the film is the civil disobedience and video activism of an environmental group trying to save the buffalo, as well as the concerns of a ranching family caught in the crossfire.

Buried Stories : A Native American Preserves Her Heritage / Co-Directed, produced and edited by Julie Kirkenslager and Emily Wick. Executive Producer: Allen Pastron.  2009.  34 minutes.  Streaming video via Alexander Street Press / Filmakers Library Online : Reveals the life story of a Native American (Ohlone/Esselen) Ella Rodriguez, who, in her seventies, still resents that she was taken from her rural California home at age thirteen and sent to an Indian boarding school. After running away from the school and becoming ensnared in the juvenile justice system, she was forced into marriage by a parole officer at eighteen, then labored as a migrant worker. In the 1970s, when Ella was 44, she protested for weeks to stop the destruction of a Native American cemetery site and dedicated her life to preserving her heritage....After two decades of working on endangered construction sites to oversee and protect Native American burial grounds, Ella obtained an informal but comprehensive education about her ancestors. Ella’s later years bridged her Native American past and modern archaeological research. A resilient and wisecracking woman in a hard hat, Ella fought to preserve her ancestors’ history. In the process, she connected with her painful personal past as she unearthed troubling official documents relating to her youth. Told through Ella’s charismatic and poignant lens, her story incites curiosity about the historical and cultural forces that shaped her destiny and identity.

Documentary Films, C

California's Lost Tribes. Jed Riffe Films, 2005.  56 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : The 1987 Supreme Court decision to open up Indian gaming nationwide had a dramatic economic impact on the lives of California's Indian tribes much like the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island had on their cultural identities. In a few short years, California Indians went from being the poorest people in the state to among the richest, and from being virtually invisible to being the state's most powerful political lobby.... For the Cabazon and Morongo tribes of Southern California, the plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court case, the wealth they have achieved through gambling casinos was unimaginable twenty years ago. Years of excruciating poverty have not been lost on three-time chairwoman Mary Ann Andreas of the Morongo tribe, whose reservation is near Palm Springs. As she remembers the dirt floor shack of her childhood, it would have been impossible to imagine the wealth and influence the tribe now holds. For Viejas tribal Chairman Anthony Pico, the abundance of today harks back to the times before contact with Europeans.... But even as some Native peoples prosper, the state wants to charge a gaming tax, which would be much greater than the standard corporate rate, a challenge to the newly found abundance of California's tribes. For Chairman Wayne Mitchum of the Colusa Tribe of Wintu, the largest employer in Colusa county, income from gaming has made possible the opening of the only dialysis center to service both native and non-native populations in the county. If Governor Schwarzenegger succeeds in raising gaming taxes, the dialysis center and the tribal-funded Wellness Center may be closed.... 'California's "Lost" Tribes' explores the conflicts over Indian gaming and places them in the context of both California and Native American history. The film examines the historical underpinnings of tribal sovereignty and the evolution of tribal gaming rights over the last 30 years. It illustrates the impact of gaming on Indian self-determination, and the challenges that Native people face in insuring that their newly found prosperity will be there for future generations. The film also provides insight into the thinking and motivation of those who oppose the expansion of Indian gaming. Concern over gaming is especially heightened by the development of rural lands for casinos, often placing tribes at odds with organic farmers and tract-home developers as stakes are claimed in the rush for the state's last rural lands.

Camp Forgotten  : the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan / written and produced by William Jamerson.  Traverse City, MI : Forgotten Films & Video, c1993.  1 VHS videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col., b&w ; 1/2 in.  S932.M4 C35 1993 Videocassette : Camp Forgotten explores the role of the CCC in Michigan. Some of their projects included the building of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Caberfae Ski Area, and the transport of moose from Isle Royale to the Upper Peninsula. The only Native American CCC camp in the nation was also in the state, Camp Marquette.  Camp Forgotten includes interviews with over a dozen CCC members who vividly describe life in camp and how the experience changed their lives. Combining archival footage and photographs with location cinematography of CCC-built structures, this timeless program tells the dramatic story of how young men discovered their potential as productive citizens while restoring Michigan's devasted wilderness

The canary effect  : kill the Indian, save the man / Ananda Entertainment, Bastard Fairy Films ; written by Robin Davey ; executive producers Dave Stewart, John Shanks ; produced & directed by Robin Davey & Yellow Thunder Woman.  [Los Angeles, Calif.] : Bastard Fairy Films, c2010.  1 DVD-R videodisc (65 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E93 .C36 2010 VideoDVD : The Canary Effect is a really accurate documentary film about the history of the Native American Indians from the time that Christopher Columbus stumbled into the "new world" and onwards. It does not just deal with the past misdeeds that the United States government committed against Indian peoples, but it also deals with current affairs in the 20th and 21st centuries such as life, poverty, and suicide rates on Indian reservations. In doing so, it effectively shows that the abuses against them are not just a thing of the past; they are happening now.  Featuring interviews with the leading scholars and experts on Indian issues including controversial author Ward Churchill, the film brings together the past and present in a way never before captured so eloquently and boldly on film....The grim legacy of America's treatment of its native peoples is explored in detail in this documentary. Filmmakers Robin Davey and Yellow Thunder Woman take the perspective that if one is to define "genocide" as the a deliberate effort by a government to exterminate a people, then the United States is clearly guilty of the crime given their actions against America's indigenous population over the past 300 years. Davey and Thunder Woman back up their argument with footage detailing the economic marginalization of American Indians, the consistent violation of legal agreements reached with native tribes, the mismanagement and consistent neglect of Indian reservations, the brutalization of Native Americans as they were segregated onto flinty soil and forced to live under substandard conditions, and the refusal of the mass media to report stories of suicide and Columbine-style school shootings among reservation youth. The Canary Effect was screened in competition at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.    YouTube Trailer.  Also available (at least for the moment) from Vimeo

Casting Calls / produced by Running Down Dreams Productions for Discovery Times Channel ; producer/writer, Lauren F. Cardillo.  Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c2004.  1 DVD videodisc (47 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  PN1995.9.V47 C37 2003 VideoDVD : "Does Hollywood's portrayal of villains reinforce racial stereotypes or does the industry give the public what it wants? This program explores the history of film's ethnic 'bad guy,' looking at sociopolitical and economic forces that create, perpetuate, and rehabilitate these characters. Special attention is paid to current depictions of Muslims onscreen [along with an historical survey of film depictions of African-Americans, Asians, and Native Americans]. A wide range of ilm clips from 'Birth of a Nation' to 'The Sopranos' provides many examples, along with commentary from critics, directors and actors ..."

A Century of Genocide in the Americas : The Residential School Experience / Native Voices presents a film by Rosemary Gibbons & Dax Thomas ; directed by Rosemary Gibbons  [Seattle] : Native Voices at the University of Washington, c2003  1 DVD-R videodisc (18 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in  E96.5 .R47 2003 VideoDVD : A short but powerful documentary about how Indian Residential Schools became a haven for institutionalized sexual abuse.  The inspiration for the film comes from the First Nations survivors who have taken legal action against the institutions that perpetuated this destructive cycle; these are the very same institutions whose purpose and mandate was to "provide" for their well being. This video takes a historical look at how the systematic removal of First Nations children from their families and community not only made the them easy targets for pedophiles but also how these vile acts turned many of the victims into predators. The second half shows First Nations peoples taking legal action against not only the pedophiles, but also against the Canadian government and churches while at the same time using their traditional ways of healing in order to bring back joy and balance back within their own lives and also within their communities.

The Chaco Legacy directed by Graham Chedd, Graham. (Documentary Educational Resources, 1980.) 59 mins. Available as streaming video to the MSU Community as part of Ethnographic Video Online : In the kingdoms and fiefdom of Europe, it was called the year of our lord 1150. No one knows what the year was called here, or if it was called anything at all. In Europe in 1150 AD the people lived in wooden hovels in isolated villages and towns. Here in that same year the finishing touches were being put to some of the most spectacular masonry buildings ever constructed by man. Integrated townships with places of worship and work, debate and playing. This is the most famous of those townships Pueblo Bonito, beautiful town. The name given it by its discoverers, more than 600 years after its people abandoned it. In the territory that was to become, New Mexico. Its people’s own name for themselves, their townships, their land we will never know. Pueblo Bonito is just one of a dozen large buildings in the shallow canyon 15 miles long and mile or so across Chaco Canyon. Yet the people of Chaco spread far beyond the Canyon itself, holding sway over a region of 40,000 square miles. Establishing perhaps a hundred outlying townships linked by skillfully engineered roads and a system of long distance communication. All this 800 years ago, in an environment so arid it supports almost no one today. The full achievement of the Chaco people is only now being appreciated by archeologists. We’re trying to understand how and why such an astonishing cultured flowered in the deserts of the South West. And why abruptly it faded and disappeared.

Choctaw Code Talkers  / director, writer, producer, Valerie Red-Horse.  [Durant, Okla..?] : Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma ; Red-Horse Native Productions (Distributed by VisionMaker Video), c2010.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in  E99.C8 .T44 2010 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video via our Kanopy subscription)  : In 1918, not yet citizens of the United States, Choctaw members of the American Expeditionary Forces were asked by the government to use their Native language as a powerful tool against the German Forces in World War I, setting a precedent for code talking as an effective military weapon and establishing them as America's Original Code Talkers.

Circle of Stories : Native American Stories From the Four Directions / produced by Philomath Films and the Cultural Conservancy ; producers, directors, editors, Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller.  Berkeley, CA : Berkeley Media, 2012.  51 minutes.  Streaming video via Alexander Street Press : This unique and engaging documentary explores the extraordinary diversity and profound contemporary relevance of Native American storytelling. A feast for the eyes, ears, and mind, the film presents eight varied stories from the four directions and seasons. The collection includes "How and Why" stories, teachings from Spirit mentors, lessons in traditional ways, and instructions for environmental preservation. Circle of Stories is hosted by American Indian Studies professor and renowned advocate of cultural conservancy Melissa Nelson, Ph.D. (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), who introduces the stories and places each in the larger context of Native cultural and spiritual traditions. Loosely based on the award-winning PBS multimedia web site, the film presents many stories not available there and provides a rich and emotionally compelling viewer experience not possible on other media. Each segment in this collection of stories has a different style, depending on its content and original storytelling format. Some are filmed and edited in a lively documentary style and some are vibrant dramatic performances. The storytellers also relate why they tell stories, how they learned them, and the importance of the stories to themselves and their audiences. Among the stories is, from the North, Rosella Goodwill Archdale's tale "The Cooking Spirit," a lesson in preparing traditional foods with reverence. In a documentary verite segment, Rosella presents the exquisite fruits of her year-round labor -- dried mint, squash, corn, beans and venison. While describing traditional methods of food production, storage, and preparation, she demonstrates how a simple meal is deeply imbued with a connection to spirit. She also talks about the role traditional food can play in the health and vitality of her people. In another short segment, Rosella also shows her skill with beadwork and talks about the symbolism and social importance of beading. From the East, Tchin tells an amusing and lighthearted story called "The Rainbow," the tale of how the earth's colorful flowers came to be. The story is a lively performance, complete with props and vivid storytelling drama. In an interview, Tchin talks incisively about cultural identity, growing up with segregation, and finding his own voice. He also tells an amusing and cautionary "Animal How" story, explaining how Rabbit got long ears and a short tail. From the South, Hoskie Benally, Jr., a Dineh (Navajo) healer, imparts a story of spiritual wisdom called "The Five Sacred Medicines." It tells of the origins of the five sacred medicines -- cedar, sage, tobacco, yucca, and the eagle. Hoskie comes from a long line of traditional healers, but did not find his own calling until he went blind and subsequently became an alcoholic. Now recovered for many years, he is committed to helping drug- and alcohol-dependent Native youth from all areas of the country. He believes that a strong sense of identity and a cultural foundation is vital for true healing. He also tells a sacred story titled "The Four Waters." His stories are illustrated with evocative visuals and sound effects. From the West come poignant stories from Corbin Harney, a renowned Western Shoshone traditional healer and noted anti-nuclear activist. Filmed before his passing, Corbin offers songs to heal and connect with Mother Earth, and sings a Song for the Water in a dawn ceremony near Death Valley, California. He speaks about ceremonies for all living things and teaches that all people, Native and non-Native alike, need to love and celebrate nature. He also tells a riveting true story about meeting a bear in the woods and what he learned from that encounter. In addition to the eight stories in the main 50-minute film, the DVD contains 35 minutes of extras, including at least one additional story from each of the storytellers. Circle of Stories is a memorable cultural portrait that will engage and hold the attention of today's multimedia-age students.

Clans of the Anishinabe / written and produced by Robert A. Rozoff.  St. Germain, WI : DeltaVision Entertainment, c2000.  1 VHS videocassette (21 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Library of Michigan Audiovisual Collection E99.C6 C53 2000 : Tells that the word Anishinabe means "original people," and that it is the name adopted by the Ojibwa Indian tribes of the Lake Superior Region. Describes the clan system of the Ojibwa, covering what clans are, the origins of the various Ojibwa clans, what it means to be a clan member, what the animal symbols of clans represent, and the significance of totems.

Climate change threatens the tribe from 'Twilight'  / by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions.  Arlington, VA : MacNeil-Lehrer Productions, 2012.  7 minutes.  Available as streaming video to the MSU Community as part of via Environmental Studies in Video. : Located west of Olympic National Park, La Push, Washington is idyllic at first glance, but its beauty is matched by danger and vulnerability. Located at sea level, La Push lies directly in a flood and tsunami zone. Hari Sreenivasan reports on how the Quileute tribe is adapting to new climate challenges. A fictionalized version of the tribe is featured in the 'Twilight' series.

Club Native : How Thick Is Your Blood? / written and directed by Tracey Deer ; producers, Linda Ludwick, Christina Fon, Adam Symansky ; executive producers, Catherine Bainbridge, Ernest Webb ; produced by Rezolution Pictures Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada. Montréal] : Rezolution Pictures : National Film Board of Canada ; New York, NY : Distributed by Women Make Movies, [2008]  1 DVD videodisc (78 min) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.M8 C58 2008 VideoDVD :  "In Club Native, filmmaker Tracey Deer uses Kahnawake, her hometown, as a lens to probe deeply into the history and contemporary reality of Aboriginal identity. Following the stories of four women, she reveals the exclusionary attitudes that divide the community and many others like it across Canada. Deer traces the roots of the problem, from the advent of the highly discriminatory Indian Act through the controversy of Bill C31, up to the present day, where membership on the reserve is determined by a council of Mohawk elders, whose rulings often appear inconsistent. And with her own home as a poignant case study, she raises a difficult question faced by people of many ethnicities across the world: What roles do bloodline and culture play in determining identity?"  View Film Clip

Columbus Day legacy / a co-production of Trickster Films, L.L.C. and Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT) with major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting ; produced by Leighton C. Peterson ; directed by Bennie Klain. [Austin, Tex.] : Trickster Films ; Lincoln, Neb. : Distributed by Vision Maker, c2011.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 60 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E120 .C655 2011 VideoDVD : Since 1992, the Denver Italian-American community has proudly and publicly celebrated Columbus Day with a revived parade -- long a part of the city's history -- much to the dismay of the local American Indian Movement chapter who are equally determined to vilify the man credited with 'discovering' America. The history of this annual parade is peppered with both verbal and physical violence, challenging ideas of political correctness and freedom of assembly. Both the Italian and Native Americans are strong, vibrant, tight-knit communities, a point conveyed by the film as it uncovers conflicting notions of the freedom of speech, the interpretation of history and what it means to be an American Navajo filmmaker Bennie Klain takes viewers into this very personal yet very public conflict, asking tough questions about identity and history in America.   Trailer.

Columbus Didn't Discover Us (Video 1 of playlist "Across the Americas - Indigenous Perspectives).  Documentary Educational Resources, 1992.  24 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : The 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's historic voyage to America also marked 500 years of survival by indigenous people throughout the Americas, whose way of life was fundamentally changed by the European landing.... In preparation for the Columbus Quincentennial, 300 Native men and women came to the highlands of Ecuador to take part in the First Continental Conference of Indigenous Peoples. Columbus Didn't Discover Us features interviews with participants, filmed at this historic gathering, representing a wide spectrum of Indian nations from North, South, and Central America.... This documentary is a moving testimony about the impact of the Columbus legacy on the lives of indigenous peoples from across the hemisphere. Native people speak about the devastation of their cultures resulting from the "European Invasion," contemporary struggles over land and human rights, the importance of reviving spiritual traditions, and the need to alert the world to the environmental crises threatening the survival of the planet.... Columbus Didn't Discover Us is an essential primer for understanding the Columbus legacy -- past and present -- from an indigenous point of view.

Columbus on Trial  / by Lourdes Portillo with Culture Clash ; producer and director, Lourdes Portillo ; screenplay by Richard Montoya ... [et al.].  New York, NY : Distributed by Women Make Movies, 1993.  1 VHS videocassette (18 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E111 .C658 1993 Videocassette : A satire on the controversy surrounding Christopher Columbus as to whether he, indeed, did discover America and introduce European civilization and Christianity to the native populations there, or if he (from the Native American point of view) invaded their territories and began the systematic destruction of their cultures that has continued for the following 500 years. Set in the context of a trial presided over by a woman judge of Hispano-American descent. Performed by the comedy troupe, Culture Clash.

Coming to light : Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indians / a co-production of Anne Makepeace Productions, Inc. and Thirteen/WNET ; produced, written and directed by Anne Makepeace ; executive producer, Susan Lacy.  Oley, PA : Bullfrog Films, [2000]  85 minutes : Streaming video via Alexander Street Press : Edward S. Curtis was a driven, pioneer photographer who set out in 1900 to document traditional Indian life. He became the most famous photographer of his time and created an enormous body of work. This film tells the dramatic story of Curtis' life, his work, and his changing views of the people he set out to document. Native Americans who are using his photographs for cultural preservation respond to the pictures, tell stories about the people in the photographs and discuss the meaning of the images.

Conquest of America : Vitus Bering, Peter Menendez, Francisco Coronado, Henry Hudson, Jean Ribault / the History Channel.  [New York] : A & E Home Video, 2005.  2 DVD videodiscs (180 min.) : sd., col., b&w ; 4 3/4 in.  E101 .C725 2005 VideoDVD pt. 1 and 2   : After Columbus came conquest—from all corners of the world, explorers reached the shores of the New World to reap untold riches, seek new routes to the Far East, and gain the most elusive glory of all—a place in history...  CONQUEST OF AMERICA brings a stunning four-part series from THE HISTORY CHANNEL® to DVD for the first time. A sweeping saga of bravery, cruelty and pure folly, these are the stories of adventurers who stopped at nothing to conquer an unknown land and its peoples. Led by legendary cities of gold and mythical passages to China, foiled by international intrigue and mutiny on the high seas, men like Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Henry Hudson, Jean Ribault, and Vitus Bering left an indelible mark on a vast new continent. Straight from the explorers' journals, European diaries and oral histories of Native Americans, CONQUEST OF AMERICA presents an amazing, region-by-region account of extraordinary times and extraordinary men. Expert commentary and vivid on-site re-enactments complete this epic course in history.

Conquistadors / a Maya Vision International Production for PBS and BBC ; produced by Rebecca Dobbs ; written by Michael Woods ; director, David Wallace.  [Alexandria, VA] : PBS Home Video, [2006], c2001. 1 DVD digital videodisc (ca. 240 min.) : sd., col. and b&w ; 4 3/4 in.  E123 .C66785 2006 VideoDVD : One of history's most fateful chapters and greatest adventures. The exploration of the America's by Spanish soldier-explorers, and the experiences and tragedies they had once there.

Contrary Warriors  : a Story of the Crow Tribe / Rattlesnake Productions ; produced by Connie Poten and Pamela Roberts ; co-producer, Beth Ferris ; narration written by Beth Ferris and Connie Poten.  Bozeman, MT : Rattlesnake Productions, Inc., ; c1985 ; Ho-ho-Kus, N.J. : Distributed by Film Library, [1999?]  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. E99.C92 C66 1999 Videocassette :  Chronicles the Crow Indians' century-long battle for survival. In spite of every effort by the U.S. government to assimilate the people and acquire tribal land, the crows have persisted -- their language, family and culture intact. They continue to live on their ancestors' land in what is now southeastern Montana, but like tribes everywhere, the Crows' future is a high-risk gamble....This film brings the past into the present by focusing on the life of Robert Yellowtail, a 97-year old tribal leader whose courage and brilliance saved Crow lands and traditions. At four, Yellowtail was taken from his mother and sent to boarding school where it was forbidden to even speak Crow. He went on to teach himself law, and in 1910 began a seven-year battle before the U.S. Senate to save Crow lands. He succeeded and went on to spend 60 years shaping the course of the Crow tribe. The first Indian appointed Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent of his own tribe, Yellowtail used federal funds to restore traditions and bring back the buffalo. In his eighties, he was called on to unite and advise the tribe on the critical issue of coal development. Even today, Yellowtail speaks out for tribal autonomy and economic rehabilitation....Intimate ceremonies, never before filmed, demonstrate the spiritual strength and ties to the lands that sustain the Crow people. The filmmakers spent three years with the Crows filming Contrary Warriors. The result is a moving, intimate film that reveals Crow life and history from the inside.

Counseling and therapy with Native American Indians / Teresa LaFromboise.  North Amherst, Mass. : Microtraining Associates, [1995]  1 streaming video file (70 min.) via Counseling and Therapy in Video. : This lecture presented by Teresa LaFromboise focuses on three key issues: assumptions that Indians hold about psychologists, assumptions that psychologists hold about Indians and the counseling implications of different perspectives.

Cowtipping : The Militant Indian Waiter / A Third World Newsreel Workshop production ; written, edited and directed by Randy Redroad.. New York, NY : Third World Newsreel, 1992. 1 DVD videodisc (10 min.) : sound, color and black and white ; 4 3/4 in. E98.E85 C69 1992 VideoDVD : In this short drama, a Cherokee cafe waiter faces customers who insist on sharing their ignorance about American Indians -- or are they Native Americans?  His efforts to educate others often end in frustration, and a lousy tip.  Based on his own experiences encountering skewed perceptions and depictions of his people.  Redroad's story blends humor and rage and information.  Clips from movie westerns help make his point.  See trailer.

Crazy Horse - The Last Warrior.  [Burlington, VT] : A&E Home Video ; New York : Distributed by New Video, [2005]  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 50 min.) : sd., col. and b&w ; 4 3/4 in. E99.O3 C73 2005 VideoDVD  : He fought to the end to protect the lands that had been his people's since time immemorial. His death marked the end of an era. Crazy Horse cut his teeth fighting with the Olgala chief Red Cloud against United States troops in Wyoming. He earned a place in legend and signed his own death warrant for his role in Custer's last stand. BIOGRAPHY travels back to the waning days of the frontier for a revealing portrait of one of the great Indian leaders. Leading historians and elders of his Sioux tribe offer their take on his life and legend, while period accounts, art and artifacts show the fervor that marked his pursuit and capture by U.S. forces after the Little Big Horn. Join BIORAPHY for a stirring profile of a noble warrior who gave everything he had in a desperate and futile struggle to preserve the freedom and dignity of his people.

The Creek Runs Red / produced and directed by Bradley Beesley, Julianna Brannum, James D. Payne ; written by James D. Payne ; a co-production of The Creek Runs Red, LLC and KERA-Dallas/Fort Worth, in association with ITVS and NAPT.  [Dallas, Tex.] : KERA Unlimited, [2007], ©2007.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.  F704.P53 C74 2007 VideoDVD : TThe EPA calls the mining town of Picher, Oklahoma, the most toxic place in America, but the Quapaw Tribe still calls it home. Today, the town is divided by fears of serious health risks, environmental politics, civic pride and old racial tensions between the Quapaw people and the non-Indian community who share the town.

Culture and standardized tests : Native American issues and examples / Carlon Ami.  [North Amherst, MA] : Microtraining Associates, 2005.  1 streaming video file (43 min.) via Counseling and Therapy in Video. : Discusses how and why the use of research and evaluation in educational contexts (e.g. standardized testing) have been used inappropriately with Native Americans and other ethnic minority children, thereby leading to incorrect assumptions about students' educational gains and achievement in both K-12 grade system and higher education.

Documentary Films, D-F

The Dakota Conflict  / a production of KTCA TV St. Paul/Minneapolis ; Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.  [Bethesda, Md.] : Atlas Video, 1993.  1 VHS videocassette (VHS) (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E83.86 .D35 1993 Videocassette  : (1) In the majority of the history books, when you read of battles between white settlers/U. S. soldiers and the Dakota Sioux it is about the battles in Montana and the states of North and South Dakota. Rarely do you hear the state of Minnesota mentioned. And yet, a series of pitched battles between whites and the Dakota Sioux raged in Minnesota during the 1860's. Hundreds of white settlers were killed and many more fled Minnesota in fear of their lives. Like all other conflicts between the white encroachers and the Native Americans, it ended with a total white victory, destruction of most of the Dakota nation and another blot on the history of the United States. (2) This tape recounts this time in history and uses a unique approach. Garrison Keillor, who speaks in English and Floyd Red Crow Westerman, who speaks in Sioux, jointly narrate it. Vintage photographs and readings from the newspapers and diaries of the day help recreate what happened in the fateful year of 1862. It is a tragedy from several perspectives, there is the usual white greed and duplicity, and promises made to the Dakota were routinely broken. When well meaning people on both sides tried to find common ground, they were ignored or swept away. Once the fighting was over, 38 Dakotas were simultaneously executed in the largest mass execution ever carried out in the United States. That group included a Dakota who had risked his life to protect some white settlers from being killed by his fellow Dakotas. The order for the execution was signed by then President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln tried to find a middle ground between the white hysteria that demanded the extermination of the Dakota and treating the captured Sioux as enemy combatants. In the end, he settled on these executions as a form of political compromise. (3) This tape is an accurate recapitulation of yet another sad event in American history, where whites simply used their overpowering strength to destroy people who had a natural right to their property. In the end, a large group of Dakota warriors chose to die fighting rather than slowly die due to economic and cultural strangulation. This is their story that must be remembered, even though it generally is not.

Dakota Exile  / KTCA/Video.  Saint Paul, MN : Twin Cities Public Television, c1995.  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. E83.86 .D34 1995 Videocassette : This documentary, sequel to The Dakota Conflict, traces the paths of Dakota prisoners and refugees. Through the words of Dakota elders and tribal historians it tells of the struggle to remain Dakota in the face of government efforts to destroy their language and culture.

Dancing in Moccasins / producer/writer, E. Lenita Johnson ; director, David Vandivort. Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2003.  1 DVD videodisc (49 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. E77 .D263 1993 VideoDVD : "For nearly 2 million Native Americans, representing 500 Indian nations, life in the U.S. today is a frustrating struggle to retain their ancient ways while functioning in the modern world, to carve out an identity in an overwhelmingly non-Indian culture. This program examines the needs and problems of today's Native Americans, both those who live on the reservation and those who have chosen the mainstream. The conclusion focuses on celebration and survival as reflected in the continuing tradition of the Pow Wow".

Dead reckoning : Champlain in America / a production of Mountain Lake PBS ; written and produced by Frank Christopher ; directed by Marc Hall.   [Plattsburgh, N.Y.] : Mountain Lake PBS, c2009.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 60 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in  F1030.1 .C4357 2009 VideoDVD : An award-winning animated documentary that tells the story of the explorer and cartographer Samuel de Champlain, and the people who taught him how to survive in the wilds of North America. Related resources.

Digging for the truth. Mystery of the Anasazi / produced and written by Ann Carroll ; directed by Graham Townsley ;produced by JWM Productions, LLC for History Television Network Productions.  [New York, NY] : History Channel : A & E Television Networks : Distributed in U.S. by New Video, c2005.  1 streaming video (ca. 50 min.) via American History in Video : The people who became known as the Anasazi began to farm the Four Corners Region as early as 1 A.D. For most of their history, they lived in small, scattered villages on the mesas and in the valleys. But in the middle of the 13th century, something happened. They began to cluster together and built high walls around their homes, or lived precariously on the cliff-sides. Then, a few decades later, they abandoned these homes, leaving behind most of their possessions, as if they intended to return. Instead, they disappeared from history. What happened? Did drought drive them away? Invading tribes? There is compelling evidence that the Anasazi might have had to turn to warfare and even cannibalism. Piecing together the story from both archaeologists and Native Americans, Josh Bernstein finally ends up, in his search for the truth, in the mysterious ruins of the Anasazi's greatest cultural center, Chaco Canyon, which for unknown reasons was abandoned around 1150 A.D.

Dineh Nation: The Navajo Story / Produced by Russell Richards. 1992. 26 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online  : This powerful film, with its haunting Native American music, o-graphed in the Sovereign Dineh Indian Reservation which stretches through parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Here the Navajo people have lived on vast deposits of oil, coal and uranium. Their religion considers Mother Earth sacred and forbids them from exploiting her resources. But outside forces are at work, strip mining the coal and polluting the water. The sweet wells on Dineh land are drying up. This land has also suffered a uranium spill larger than that of Three Mile Island.Tens of thousands of Dineh were relocated. Others were fenced off from the land they worship....The film emphasizes the spiritual essence of the Dineh, with their unique art forms, music and original lifestyle.

Don't get sick after June  : American Indian healthcare / Rich-Heape Films, Inc. ; executive producer, Steven R. Heape ; director, Chip Richie ; producers, Chip Richie & Steven R. Heape ; script, Dan Agent & Chip Richie. Dallas, Tex. : Rich-Heape Films, c2010..  1DVD  videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  RA448.5.I5 D663 2010 VideoDVD  (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy) : This well-researched documentary by Rich-Heape Films presents a troubling portrait - and indictment - of the U.S. government's dismal failure to provide health care in fulfillment of federal treaty and trustee obligations with American Indian nations....Peter Coyote narrates, inviting viewers to engage in the national dialogue on health care from a native perspective. The powerful images and voices from some of the most vulnerable communities in Indian Country provide historical evidence of just how poorly health care services have been funded and managed, while hundreds of treaties promising health care, education and protected status in exchange for millions of acres of land, have continued to be dishonored and ignored by the federal government. Current perspectives are equally disheartening: the introduction and substitution of food commodities for traditional native diets is discussed as a major contributing factor to the alarming increase in diabetes, heart disease and other native health concerns...."Don't Get Sick After June" is a quality feature film production, and its sobering message will provoke debate. As a native educator in higher education social sciences, I have shared the film in my coursework, and highly recommend it to anyone wishing to understand the historical and contemporary experience of Native Americans.

Down To Earth - Adobe In New Mexico directed by Mark Freeman (Documentary Educational Resources, 1995) 29:27 mins. Available online as streaming video for the MSU Community as part of Ethnographic Video Online : This fascinating multidisciplinary social history investigates the contributions of New Mexico's diverse cultures to the state's unique architectural heritage. Today adobe is often associated with wealth and the "Santa Fe Style." But adobe architecture also continues to play a vital role in Native American and Hispanic cultures in New Mexico. Adobe is not just a building material. Its formal and structural elements cannot be divorced from its social, cultural, and environmental functions. Down to Earth explores the increasing pressures of tourism and development and illustrates the relationship between the environment of New Mexico and the continuity of cultural tradition.

Earl's Canoe directed by Charles Weber and Thomas Vennum (Documentary Educational Resources, 1997) 50:09 mins. Available online as streaming video as part of Ethnographic Video Online : We meet Earl Nyholm, a member of the Ojibwe Nation, as he walks through the woods on Madeleine Island, Wisconsin. He's looking for just the right birch tree to select for the bark which will be used in the making of a traditional Ojibwe canoe. He talks about the respect that the Ojibwe People have for nature and for the spirit of the particular tree used in the making of a canoe following the traditions that had been handed down through the generations. We are told that this spot is a good one for building this canoe as Madeline Island was a sacred place and a center for the Ojibwe Nation in earlier times....We watch the entire process from peeling the bark from the tree to shaping the form of the canoe with heavy rocks and then the elegant stitching together of the canoe's parts. Earl tells us that artists have always depicted birch bark canoes with the distinctive white pattern of the bark on the outside. This is a myth, as they are actually made with the white, outer bark of the tree, on the inside of the canoe....While the task is arduous the work proceeds step by step with the help of other members of the Ojibwe Nation. The excellent camerawork allows us to see in great detail the ingenious process. While it is not as easy as going down to the local sporting goods shop and picking up an aluminum model, there is the sense of satisfaction knowing that the materials and the process are integrated with the natural environment and provide a spiritual link to the past. This program is suitable for all ages and will be very useful for anyone interested in canoe making, in the preserving of a Native American craft, in teaching Native American Studies, and anthropology.

Earth Speaks: Native Americans Speak about the Earth.  Rebecca Centeno, 2015.  12 minutes.  Streaming Video via Kanopy : Earth Speaks is a short documentary about the Earth as Mother and the impacts of oil and gas drilling on Native American tribal lands in the United States, particularly the Blackfeet Reservation in North Central Montana. Outside entities promise economic wealth and prosperity to territories whose unemployment rate hovers at 70%. Exploitation of people, land, and resources is not new to the Native American. How does seeing the Earth with a 'spiritual eye' affect the oil and gas industry of Native Lands? Is there a connection between those views and others that are more pragmatic, and what alternative is there for a world dependent on fossil fuels?

The Eastern Woodlands / Camera One ; produced, directed, edited & written by Gray Warriner.   Seattle, WA : Camera One, c1996.  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.)   Available as part of the Ancient America set :  A number of Indian cultures thrived in what is today the United States Mississippi Valley and the Middle Atlantic regions during Pre-Columbian times. Shows these different Indian cultures & how they were able to adapt to their environment.

Ella Mae Blackbear  : Cherokee basketmaker / Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa ; produced, written and directed by Scott and Sheila Swearingen.  Tulsa, Okla. : Full Circle Communications, c1990.   1 VHS videocassette (24 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E99.C5 E443 1990 Videocassette : Follows noted Oklahoma Cherokee basket maker, Ella Mae Blackbear, as she gathers native buckbrush, plants for dyes, and creates a traditional basket

The Exiles / [Sherman Alexie and Charles Burnett present] ; written, produced and directed by Kent Mackenzie ; a Milestone Film release.  [Harrington Park, NJ] : Milestone Film & Video ; [United States] : Exclusively distributed by Oscilloscape, c2009.  2 DVD videodiscs (approx. 180 min.) : sd., b&w ; 4 3/4 in.  E98.U72 E95 2009 VideoDVD  1-2 : An account of the problems encountered by Native Americans living in urban areas and caught between two conflicting cultures, as shown by footage of 12 hours in the lives of a group living in Los Angeles.

Facing the storm : story of the American bison / Big Sky Pictures presents ; a production of High Plains Films ; an ITVS / Montana Public Television co-production ; produced by Rita Pastore and Doug Hawes-Davis ; directed by Doug Hawes-Davis. Missoula, Mont. : High Plains Films, c2011. 1 DVD videodisc (79 min.) : sd., col. w/ b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. QL737.U53 F3 2011 VideoDVD : From the first North Americans who relied on bison for food, shelter and clothing for at least 10,000 years, to modern wildlife conservationists - descendants of those first North Americans among them - Facing the Storm introduces viewers to a rich history of human sustenance, exploitation, conservation, and spiritual relations with the ultimate icon of wild America. Facing the Storm is a Co-Production with The Independent Television Service (ITVS) & Montana Public Television.  Trailer.

False Promises : The Lost Land of the Wenatchi / A film by Rustin Thompson.  2002.  57 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online : Our Wenatchi Reservation was taken from us in 1894. Our hunting and fishing rights were also taken at that time, against our wishes. Many of our tribesmen are scattered in various parts of the State of Washington where the land is poor...We, the Wenatchi Indians, wish to have our fishing and hunting rights restored to us in the Wenatchee Valley and forests." (Chief John Harmelt, 1933)...This film makes an impassioned plea for the return of the land that was taken from the Wanatchi Indians of Washington State,. For generations they lived and fished on their land. In 1855, they were offered a reservation under the terms of the Yakama Treaty. The U.S. failed to honor that treaty as well as others which were made with the tribe. Historian E. Richard Hart has been working in Indian affairs for over thirty years. He knows of no other case where a tribe was promised fishing rights in a ratified treaty and again in a ratified agreement, and still does not have those rights honored. As a result of these injustices, the Wenatchis had to leave their land. Most moved to the Colville Indian Reservation...In 1937, Chief Harmelt died, but today his granddaughter and her children have taken up the fight along with other tribal elders of the Wenatchi Advisory Board and many others. About 28% of the land in the area that should have been a Wenatchi Reservation is still a part of the public domain. When will the U.S. right this historical wrong?

Fight No More Forever / Ken Burns.  Arlington, VA : PBS, 1996.  86 minutes.  Available as streaming video from PBS Video Collection.  By 1874, railroads had brought millions of new settlers to the West and the federal government began consolidating its control over the region as never before. Washington mounted still another assault on the Mormons, forcing their prophet to choose between saving his church or sacrificing a spiritual son. Meanwhile, the American army pressed its campaign against the Indians, forcing most tribes onto reservations where they were dependent on government rations that often did not arrive, and on the whims of government agents who often did not care. But a few bands still held out, determined to live as they wished in a West that was already transformed. On the plains, a Lakota medicine man, who saw the Americans as his mortal enemies, would become a symbol of this defiant spirit and win the greatest victory of the Indian wars, only to see his people shattered by an avenging nation. While in the mountains, a Nez Perce chief, who had struggled all his life to keep peace with whites, would find himself helping to lead one of the most extraordinary military campaigns in American history. To subdue them, the government would call on an unlikely army made up of immigrants, fugitives, social outcasts -- and a dashing young hero of the Civil War, who came West pursuing a vision of invincibility and discovered there an enemy with visions stronger than his own.

Finding Dawn : Missing First Nations Women and the Highway of Tears.   Christine Welch, 2006.  National Film Board of Canada. 74 minutes.  Available as streaming video via Kanopy : Dawn Crey. Ramona Wilson. Daleen Kay Bosse. These are just three of the estimated 500 Aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada over the past thirty years. Directed by acclaimed Metis filmmaker Christine Welsh, Finding Dawn is a compelling documentary that puts a human face to this national tragedy. This is an epic journey into the dark heart of Native women's experience in Canada. From Vancouver's skid row, where more than 60 women are missing, we travel to the "Highway of Tears" in northern British Columbia, and onward to Saskatoon, where the murders and disappearances of Native women remain unresolved.Along the road to honour those who have passed, we uncover reason for hope. It lives in Native rights activists Professor Janice Acoose and Fay Blaney. It drives events such as the annual Women's Memorial March in Vancouver and inspires communities all along the length of Highway 16 to come together to demand change.... Finding Dawn illustrates the deep historical, social and economic factors that contribute to the epidemic of violence against Native women in this country. It goes further to present the ultimate message that stopping the violence is everyone's responsibility.

First Americans past and present.  [S.l.] : [s.n.], [between 1914 and 1928?]  1 online resource (9 min.) via American History in Video.  : Scenes of traditional ways of Native American life introduced by intertitles reflecting early 20th century attitudes.

The First People : History of Native Americans in the Blue Water Area / produced by: St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency. 1 videocassette (27 min.)  Library of Michigan Audiovisual Collection E78.M6 F57 2006 (Note - does not circulate) :  "This video explores the rich history of the Native Americans of Michigan's thumb region beginning with the Ice Age and concluding with a look at what life is like today".

The First People : The Last Word / A film by Torsten Jansen and Hanne Ruzou for DR TV.  2002.  44 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online : For the first time since their land was taken many Native Americans tribes have the opportunity of taking over the rights to the land they live on and creating a cultural consciousness . No longer do they fit the old stereotypical image of the impoverished, drunken Indian. They now play a new role in American society both culturally and economically....The filmmakers start their journey in the Dakotas, where 100 years ago the Oglala Sioux Nation was nearly wiped out at Wounded Knee. Today the Oglala Lakota College is the fastest growing college in South Dakota. Navahos that live on the country's biggest Indian reservation, covering parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, have chosen not to build casinos since their land is rich in coal, oil and minerals. Yet casino's remain the most refined revenge for past sins, enabling the East Coast tribes to systematically empty America's pockets....The filmmakers talk to an Indian attorney, a movie director, an artist, a nurse and others. The question remains will Native Americans be able to maintain their unique culture now that they are participating in the American dream.

For the Rights of All  : Ending Jim Crow in Alaska / a co-production of Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc., KAKM-TV Channel 7 Anchorage ; a Blueberry Productions film.  Anchorage, Alaska : Blueberry Productions, Inc. ; Lincoln, Neb. : Vision Maker Video, c2009  1 DVD videodisc (56 min., 46 sec.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in  E78.A3 F67 2009 VideoDVD  (Also available as streamng video via Alexander Street Press) : In the Alaska Purchase of 1867 the United States took on more than just the land. There were indigenous people living everywhere in Alaska. Like Native Americans in the lower 48, Alaska Natives struggled to keep their basic human rights as well as protect their ancient ties to the land. The Bill of Rights did not apply to them. Through extensive reenactments and rarely seen historic footage and photographs, 'For the Rights of All' reveals these remarkable people and their non-violent struggle for civil rights....This extraordinary story bridges the Civil War to World War II to today's Native leaders, who find inspiration in the efforts of the generations that preceded them. Those efforts culminated in the passage of the Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, one of the first such laws passed anywhere in America, and ten years before Brown versus Board of Education. Of particular note is a young Tlingit activist, Elizabeth Peratrovich, whose dramatic testimony on behalf of the Act is fully reenacted in this film by Jeffry Lloyd Silverman. Narrated by Peter Coyote. Trailer.

Forgotten war  : the struggle for North America / Mountain Lake PBS ; D. Damian Panetta, producer, director ; Eric Stange, supervising producer, writer.  [Plattsburgh, N.Y.] : Mountain Lake PBS, c2009.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 56 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E199 .F67 2009 VideoDVD :  Struggle for North America tells the little-known story of how the native people of North America controlled the outcome of this war that defined our history as a nation and a people. This one-hour special taps an international panel of experts to dig beneath the familiar history, and shed new light on the multi-cultural blend of natives, Europeans, and Africans that was the North America of the 1750's.  Cover.

From the Inside Out.   Documentary Educational Resources, 2003.  28 minutes. Streaming video via Kanopy.  :  In the Navajo language there is neither a word for religion nor art. The only word that could be used to describe both is "hozho" - beauty, balance, order and harmony. Navajo history is turbulent, and in order to survive the Navajo had to adapt. Baskets are a part of this history, changing throughout time and adapting with the people. They contribute to the balance, harmony, and beauty of Navajo life. Inititally purely functional pieces, baskets gradually became integrated into various ceremonies, elevating them to sacred and symbolic levels. Oppression, trade, and technology eventually led to dwindling numbers of basket weavers, but beginning in the 1970s Navajo basketry experienced a renaissance led by a group of families in the Douglas Mesa region of the Utah reservation.... Secularized basketry is now a thriving part of Navajo trade and traditional baskets continue to be an important part of Navajo ceremonial life. In intimate detail, From the Inside Out depicts both the new and old roles baskets play in the lives of contemporary basket-weavers.

Frontier : Legends of the Old Northwest / The History Channel.  New York : A & E Television Network, [1998], 1996. 4 VHS videocassettes (200 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  F596 .F76 1998 Videocassette v. 1-4 : To most Americans, the word "frontier" conjures up the sagebrush sagas of the Wild West. But before the young nation got that far, the Mississippi was the border of the great unknown, and the frontier was the Great Lakes area of the Midwest. FRONTIER: LEGENDS OF THE OLD NORTHWEST tells the oft-overlooked tales of adventurers, warriors and conflicts that shaped the nation in the late 18th century. Trace the many battles fought by Native Americans against the French, British, Spanish and Americans. Dramatic re-enactments at historic sites, expert commentary, authentic period artifacts and journals are all used to recreate the incredible events of the era that some historians have dubbed "America's true first world war," when forces of Europe's great powers, the fledgling United States and Native Americans fought one another for ascendancy in the New World. The four volumes in this comprehensive set are: (1) Roger's Rangers: the story of America's first special forces and the unorthodox leader who forged them. (2) Pontiac's Rebellion examine the Native American resistance of 1763, led by the Ottawa war chief, Pontiac. (3) Long Knives: The improbable saga of George Rogers Clark, who led a tiny force to a momentous victory at Vincennes, Indiana in 1799. (4) Tecumseh: The Dream of Confederacy the tragic tale of the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh and his ill-fated attempt to lead a united last stand among the Native Americans.

Fry Bread Babes  / Steffany Suttle presents ; a Native Voices film ; a film by Steffany Suttle.  Seattle, Wash.] : Native Voices at the University of Washington, [2008]  1 DVD-R videodisc [ca. 30 min.] : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E98.W8 F79 2008 VideoDVD : "In 21st Century American mass media where are the Native American women? The images that exist are stereotypical, so how does the lack of images in the mass media affect Native American women? Growing up without seeing other Native American women who look like your mother and aunties does [a]ffect your body image and sense of self. The filmmaker explores body image and identity in this powerful and intimate documentary."

Full Circle / by Qin Wen-jie (Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 2002) 27 minutes. Streaming video from the Ethnographic Video Online collection : In the summer of 2001, under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a totem pole in the Peabody Museum at Harvard University was returned to its original owners' ancestors, a Tlingit community in Southeast Alaska. The journey of the pole began a hundred years ago when it was removed by the Harriman Expedition from the deserted village of Gash at Cape Fox. The totem pole makes its way from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Ketchikan, Alaska, where the Cape Fox community holds a ceremony to welcome home artifacts taken by the Expedition.

Documentary Films, G-H

Geronimo : As the leader of the last Native American fighting force to capitulate to the U.S. government, Geronimo was seen by some as the perpetrator of unspeakable savage cruelties, while to others he was the embodiment of proud resistance. Directed by Dustinn Craig and Sarah Colt.  Part of the We Shall Remain package.

Geronimo and the Apache Resistance / a Peace River Films production for American experience ; produced and directed by Neil Goodwin.  Boston] : WGBH Boston Video, 2007.  1 DVD videodisc (56 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E99.A6 G47 2007 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video from PBS Video collection) : Separate myth from reality in the tragic collision of two cultures with dramatically different views of the world and of each other. For years, Apache tribes had resisted the advance of the pioneers and their threat to the traditional ways of life. But Geronimo fought the longest, becoming one of the most famous, feared and misunderstood Indian warriors in our history. Now at last, descendants of those Apaches who fought so long ago tell their story as it has never been told. They explain the mysteries of Apache power that made them so terrifying in battle, so skillful in escaping disaster. 

Ghost Dance / Stephen Ives.  Arlington, VA : PBS, 1996.   60 minutes.  Streaming video available from PBS Video Collection. : This documentary by Stephen Ives examines the Ghost Dance movement in the American West.

Gifts from the Elders : honouring the past for a healthier tomorrow / written & produced by Chantelle A.M. Richmond, James M. Fortier ; director, James M. Fortier, Wab Kinew ; a Turtle Island Productions film.  [London, Ont.] : University of Western Ontario, 2013.  1 DVD videodisc (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E99.C6 G545 2013 VideoDVD : Follows five Anishinaabe youth who interview their elders to research the impact that environmental and cultural dispossession has had on the loss of knowledge about traditional ways and the health of their people.  Also available online.  More information.

A Good Day to Die  / a Yocha Dehe Winton Nation production ; produced and directed by David Mueller and Lynn Salt.  New York, NY : Distributed by Kino Lorber, Inc., 2011.  1 DVD videodisc (90 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E93 .G66 2011 VideoDVD  (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy) : A Good Day to Die chronicles a movement that started a revolution and inspired a nation. By recounting the life story of Dennis Banks, the Native American who co-founded the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968 to advocate and protect the rights of American Indians, the film provides an in-depth look at the history and issues surrounding AIM's formation. From the forced assimilation of Native Americans within boarding schools, to discrimination by law enforcement authorities, to neglect by government officials responsible for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, AIM sought redress for the many grievances that its people harbored. Banks' personal struggle culminated in major armed confrontations at Custer, South Dakota and Wounded Knee -- climactic flash points which saw him standing steadfast as a leader for his cause. Bittersweet and compelling, A Good Day to Die charts the rise and fall of a movement that fought for the civil rights of American Indians.  Trailer. 

Good Meat / produced by Larry Pourier ; directed by Sam Hurst ; written by Sam Hurst and Beau LeBeau ; a co-production of Sam Hurst, Native American Public Telecommunications, and NET Television.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2011.  1 streaming video file (57 minutes) available via Alexander Street Press  : Good Meat follows an Oglala Lakota man's struggles and triumphs as he attempts to reclaim his health.

The Great American Foot Race / produced by BIG Productions in association with Native American Public Telecommunications and Independent Television Service ; produced by Dan Bigbee, Jr. and Lily Shangreaux. [S.l.] : Distributed by Visionmaker Video, c2002.  1 DVD videodisc (58 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  GV1063 .G74 2002 VideoDVD :   Documents an extraordinary 3,422-mile cross-country trek in 1928, won by 19-year-old Cherokee Indian Andy Payne, the shy son of an Oklahoma farmer who entered the race because “I just thought I could do it.”...Dubbed “The Bunion Derby” by sports writers of the day, this was a grueling competition in which 199 runners attempted to cross the United States. Facing scorching temperatures, intermittent supplies of food and water, competing without modern running shoes or equipment, only 55 men finished the 84-day race from Los Angeles to New York. The film not only describes Payne’s incredible achievement, but tells the story of a race that was filled with drama, hucksterism, and even the early beginnings of corporate sponsorship of amateur athletic events....One of the first roads to be designated a U.S. Highway was Route 66, running from Chicago to Los Angeles. Cy Avery of Tulsa, known as the Father of Route 66, and a member of the American Association of State Highway Officials, wanted to promote the fact that a network of roads had been created to link the U.S. from coast to coast. To calm people’s fears about driving long distances, the idea of a foot race across the country was born....The man chosen to organize and promote the foot race was Charles C. Pyle, the P.T. Barnum of sports promotion. When a $25,000 grand prize was announced, men from all over the world, including prominent long-distance runners from Finland, South Africa, and Canada signed up. Others who entered were unknown immigrants whose heads were filled with dreams of fame and fortune. Andy Payne’s family borrowed $125 for Andy to enter the race and he headed off for the training camp in Los Angeles....In the end he triumphed in the face of overwhelming odds, simply because he believed in himself.  Trailer.

The Great Indian Wars, 1540-1890.  [Minneapolis, MN] : Mill Creek Entertainment, c2009.  3 DVD videodiscs (approx. 235 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E81 .G74 2009 VideoDVD  1-3 : The year 1540 was a crucial turning point in American history. The Great Indian Wars were incited by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado when his expedition to the Great Plains launched the inevitable 350 year struggle between the white man and the American Indians. From the point forward the series of battles the United States and the Native American Indians began where blood was shed and thousands of lives were lost on both sides. The Battle of Tippecanoe, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, all three Seminole Wars, and the Battle of Little Big Horn were some of the most important conflicts that led up to the last official massacre the Battle of Wounded Knee where the defeat of the Indians was solidified. America's landscape would be forever changed.

The Great Movie Massacre / written, produced, & directed by Phil Lucas & Robert Hagopian. Lincoln, NE : GPN, c1979.  1 VHS videocassette (29 min.) PN1995.9.I48 G7 1979 Videocassette : First in a five-part series which examines the Indian stereotype portrayed in movies and questions what effect this Hollywood image has had on Indians' own self-image. This segment explores the beginning of the "savage Indian" myth in popular American literature which was perpetuated in the Wild West by Buffalo Bill and others, and on into the scripts written for the early motion pictures. The myth was used to advance the drama of the story without regard to historical fact in many cases.

Great Native American Civilizations.  [United States] : Tmw Media Group, 2005.  1 DVD videodisc (approximately 22 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in  ROVI Movie Collection CT7 D0105768 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy) : Explore the variety of civilizations in North America before European contact. Learn about the ways of life, government, economy, religion and laws of the early Native Americans. Provides a relevant picture of how Native Americans lived. Learn the origins of the first Native American. Learn about the Incas, Mayas & Aztecs- who they were, where they came to settle, and why?

The Great Tribes  / video produced by Laura Verklan.  New York, NY : A&E Television Networks, 1997.  1 streaming video (92 min.) via American History in Video. : Features the Cheyenne, Cherokee, and Navajo Indians.

Guns, Germs, and Steel (2004) / produced by Lion TV for National Geographic Television & Film ; series producer, Cassian Harrison.  [United States] : National Geographic, [2005]  2 DVD videodiscs (165 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. HM206 .G86 2005 VideoDVD  1-2 : An epic detective story that offers a gripping expose on why the world is so unequal. Professor Jared Diamond traveled the globe for over 30 years trying to answer this question. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Why did Eurasians conquer, displace, or decimate Native Americans, Australians, and Africans, instead of the reverse? Diamond dismantles racially based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for history's broadest patterns.

Half of Anything  / Native Voices presents a JNH Production of a Jonathan S. Tomhave film.  [Seattle, WA] : JNH Video Production : Native Voices at the University of Washington, c2005.  1 DVD-R videodisc (25 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in..  E98.E85 H35 2005 VideoDVD :  The question, “What is a REAL Indian?” seems at first blush to be a simple question about identity. However, any question about identity is never simple. A documentary in which four participants (Christina Entrekin, Sherman Alexie, Deborah Bassett, and John Trudell) examine the notion of how Indian identity is constructed from their individual and often very personal perspectives.

Harold of Orange  / Film in the Cities.  Lincoln, Neb. : Native American Public Telecommunications ; Vision Maker Video, 1984.  1 VHS videocassette (32 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  PN1995.9.C55 H358 1984 Videocassette : A satirical comedy that explores the interaction of American Indians and philanthropic organizations. Draws on trickster myths common to many Indian tribes to dispel Hollywood stereotypes of the "wild Indian" and the "noble savage".

The Healing Road / Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Inc. ; executive producer, director, author, Robert Ryan ; rEYEn Productions.  [S.l.] : Alexander Street Press, c2009.  1 streaming video file (61 min.)  via Counseling and Therapy in Video : Discusses Native American mental health issues and the combined use of traditional Native American healing techniques and western professional healing approaches. The video contains two sections, one dealing with the historical and cultural forces affecting Native Americans and a panel discussion in the second half. The panel includes four multicultural specialists, representing different racial/ethnic groups, discussing cultural differences between western professional helping approaches and the healing techniques used by other people and cultures.

Healing of the soul wound  : Native American psychology and its implications for multicultural theory and practice / Microtraining Associates.  [S.l.] : Alexander Street Press, c2009.  1 streaming video file (55 min.) via Counseling and Therapy in Video : Eduardo Duran discusses the Native American soul and how appropriate approaches through counseling can help patients heal.

History Lessons : processing American indigenous history : a consideration in three parts / written, directed and edited by Clark Miller ; a Native Voices production ; producers, Luana Ross and Daniel Hart. / written, directed, and edited by Clark Miller; a Native Voices production; producers, Luana Ross and Daniel Hart.  [Seattle, Wash.] : Native Voices, c2008.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 13 min.) : sd., b&w with col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E98.W8 H57 2008 VideoDVD : This powerful documentary explores how Native peoples are excluded in U.S. history, and how media and popular culture influence public perceptions.

A History of American Indian Achievement.   4 DVD videodiscs (240 min.)  E77 .H57 2008 VideoDVD  1-4 : This original, eight-part series on four dvds (released in 2008), documents the history of American Indian achievement, its defining role in the growth of the country, and its influence on current events. The series highlights the many contributions of American Indians that have influenced and shaped the history of the United States.  Disc. 1. Program 1: American Indians populate the North American continent ; Program 2: The golden age of ancient American Indians -- Disc. 2. Program 3. The great transition ; Program 4. Resistance and acceptance -- Disc 3. Program 5. The new Indian leaders ; Program 6: Plains Indians war -- Disc. 4. Program 7. The emergence of the American Indian hero ; Program 8: American Indian renaissance.

A History of American Indian Achievement.  Streaming video from Ambrose Digital : Eight half-hour shows chronicle the story of American Indians ... Their magnificent civilizations and accomplishments.

Homeland  : Four Portraits of Native action / Roberta Grossman.  Berkeley, CA : Katahdin Productions : Orchard Pictures, 2005.  1 videodisc (88 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  KF8210.E54 H64 2005 VideoDVD (Also available in the Schaeffer Law Library) : Filmed against some of America's most spectacular backdrops, from Alaska to Maine and Montana to New Mexico, this award-winning film profiles Native American activists who are fighting to protect Indian lands, preserve their sovereignty and ensure the cultural survival of their peoples. Nearly all 317 Native American reservations in the U.S. face grave environmental threats - toxic waste, strip mining, oil drilling and nuclear contamination. A moving tribute to the power of grassroots organizing, Homeland is also a call-to-action against the current dismantling of thirty years of environmental laws.  Study guide available.

Honorable Nations : The Seneca's Land Rights / Produced by Chana Gazit and David Steward.  1993.  58 minutes.  Streaming video from Filmakers Library Online : Salamanca is the only city in the United States that is situated entirely on land owned by Native Americans. For 99 years, the townspeople have rented the land upon which their homes stand from the Seneca Indians for $1 a year. They have gotten used to their right to live and to do business on Indian property. But on February 19, 1991 the lease expired....The Seneca Nation felt that it has been badly exploited by the old terms, and now insisted on huge increases - or else it would take back the land. Many of the townspeople were outraged at higher rents, especially as the town was suffering from a depressed economy. The film follows the five years of negotiation, as each side heatedly defended their position....Archival footage, historical photographs and interviews help tell the story of two communities caught in a web of historical injustice. Eventually, a landmark agreement was hammered out which enabled the town to survive. Among its terms is $60 million in reparation by the Federal government to the Senecas, the first Native American tribe to receive this acknowledgement of past wrongs.

Honored by the moon / presented by the Minnesota American Indian AIDS Task Force ; produced by Skyman-Smith ; producer/script development, Mona M. Smith.  New York, NY : Distributed by Women Make Movies, 1990, c1989.  1 VHS videocassette (15 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. HQ76.3.U5 H66 1990 Videocassette : Native American lesbians and gay men talk about their lives. They speak of their unique historical and spiritual role, and of the sacredness associated with being lesbian or gay and having the power to bridge the worlds of male and female.

Horse Dancing and Tasha / writer and director, Charles Nauman ; a Nauman Films production.  New York, N.Y. : Cinema Guild, c1995. 1 streaming video (26 min.) via Dance in Video : This video tells a story in dance about the two cultures -- Native American and Anglo-Saxon -- and about the evolution of dance itself, from nature. It features the confrontation between Horse Dancing, a young Native America, who is on a vision quest, and Tasha, a young Anglo woman, who is searching in the world of ethnic dance for creative inspiration. They engage in a dialogue of dance, which ranges from anger to trust and culminates as they begin to 'weave a robe' of their two dances. Based on a Lakota (Sioux) legend, the video tells the timeless story of opposites, of polarity and the never-ending process of creativity, and a multicultural celebration of ethnic differences.

Horse tribe / directed by Janet Kern ; produced by Janet Kern.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2014.  1 streaming video file (57 minutes) available via Alexander Street Press  : Legendary as one of America's greatest horse tribes, the 21st century Nez Perce decided to bring horses back to their land and lives with the unlikely help of a charismatic Navajo horseman, Rudy Shebala. His mentorship guides at-risk teenagers toward the strong medicine of horses, and his equine skills bring historic Nez Perce horse culture to modern renown. But his personal demons imperil both accomplishments. Horse Tribe is an epic story about the connection of human to animal, history to life, individuals to community, grief to resolve, and values to action.

How can I keep on singing? / produced and directed by Melissa Young.  New York, NY : Filmakers Library, 2001.  1 streaming video (55 min.) via Filmakers Library : This evocative film is a tribute to both the pioneering and Native American women in the West at the turn of the last century. Their stories offer glimpses of everyday life, and help recover the historical contributions of women. Striking images of the landscape are woven together with historical photographs and re-enactments of women s daily activities, and an unforgettable musical score. The women and girls who cooked, cleaned, taught, did laundry and milked the cows endured unbelievable hardships. In Jana Harris story "Cattle-Killing Winter" a settler woman describes the terrible blizzard that hit in the winter of 1889-90. In a particularly poignant story, a mother tries to teach her eldest daughter how to run the household as they lie buried in an avalanche. In another segment of the film, Mourning Dove of the Colville tribe writes "My birth happened in the year 1888 ... I was born long enough ago to have known people who had lived in the ancient way, before everything started to change." While describing her love of the summer gathering expeditions, she also conveys her experience in a residential Indian school. Acclaimed Canadian poet Jeannette Armstrong of the Penticton Indian Band takes us on a berry picking expedition with three generations of Okanagan women.

How to Trace Your Native American Heritage / a production of Rich-Heape Films ; executive producer, Steven R. Heape ; director, Chip Richie.  Dallas, Tex. : Rich-Heape Films, c1999.  49 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : Discusses how and where to research one's Indian lineage, how to obtain Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, and how to obtain tribal membership.

Documentary Films, I

Ice Age Columbus : Who Were The First Americans? / produced by Wall to Wall Media and Barna Alper.  [Silver Spring, MD] : Discovery Communications Inc., 2011  1 DVD videodisc (86 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in  E103 .I34 2011 VideoDVD  : Traditional history tells us that European settlers discovered America about the time of the Renaissance. But revolutionary new archaeological data and the latest DNA research reveal that Europeans visited our shores far earlier - some 17,000 years before Columbus was even born. Filmed in glorious high definition, this two-hour, epic drama follows an intrepid family of stone age hunters as they trek from their homeland in southwestern France, cross 3,000 miles of ocean and eventually make their first permanent settlement in what is today the northeastern U.S. Along the way, they overcome starvation and storms with the help of a revolutionary weapons technology they would later bequeath to the native peoples of the Americas. But awaiting the pioneers' arrival is a stark, empty continent, filled with a plethora of bizarre and lethal animals - all brought to life by brilliant computer animation. Firmly rooted in the latest scientific discoveries, it's a compelling vision of the greatest migration in human history.

Images of Indians  / written, produced, and directed by Phil Lucas and Robert Hagoplan.  Seattle, Wash. : KCTS-TV ; Lincoln, Neb. : NAPBC [distributor], c1979.  5 VHS videocassettes (30 min. each) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  PN1995.9.I48 I42 1979 Videocassette : A five-part series which examines the Indian stereotype portrayed in movies and questions what the effect of this Hollywood image has been on Indians' own self-image.  Contents :

[1] The great movie massacre -- Explores the beginning of the "savage Indian" myth in popular American literature which was perpetuated in the Wild West shows such as Buffalo Bill's, and on into the scripts written for the early motion pictures. The myth was used to advance the drama of the story without regard to historical fact in many cases.

[2] How Hollywood wins the West -- Explores the concept of "manifest destiny" or the taking of Indian lands which "nobody owned" by the white man in the early nineteenth century. The film clips used point out the lack of historical facts found in Hollywood films concerning this era have helped perpetuate the concept through generations of viewers.

[3] Warpaint and wigs -- Shows the sharp contrast between contemporary Native American actors and the policies of Hollywood. Emphasizes the treatment of American Indians in light of the stereotype perpetuated in the media

[4] Heathen Injuns and the Holywood gospel -- Emphasizes the beliefs and culture of American Indians are seldom portrayed accurately in the Hollywood motion picture

[5] The movie reel Indians -- Emphasizes the effect of the movies' image of the American Indian on Indians themselves and American society.

Imagining Indians directed by Victor Masayesva (Documentary Educational Resources, 1992) 60 mins . Available online as streaming video to the MSU community as part of Ethnographic Video Online : With an all Indian crew, Victor Masayesva visited tribal communities in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Washington and the Amazon to produce this film. Masayesva says, "Coming from a village which became embroiled in the filming of Darkwind, a Hollywood production on the Hopi Reservation, I felt a keen responsibility as a community member, not an individual, to address these impositions on our tribal lives. Even as our communities say no, outsiders are responding to this as a challenge instead of respecting our feelings....I have come to believe that the sacred aspects of our existence which encourages the continuity and vitality of Native peoples are being manipulated by an aesthetic in which money is the most important qualification. This contradicts the values intrinsic to what's sacred and may destroy our substance. I am concerned about a tribal and community future which is reflected in my film and I hope this challenges the viewer to overcome glamorized Hollywood views of the Native American, which obscures the difficult demands of walking the spiritual road of our ancestors."

In Lousiana rising seas threaten Native American land / by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions.  Arlington, VA : MacNeil-Lehrer Productions, 2012.  1 streaming video file (9 min.) via Environmental Studies in Video : Native American tribal lands along the Louisiana coast are washing away as sea levels rise and marshes sink. As part of our Coping with Climate Change series, Hari Sreenivasan reports from Isle de Jean Charles, a community that is slowly disappearing into the sea.

In the Light of Reverence  / produced and directed by Christopher McLeod ; written by Jessica Abbe ; produced in association with the Independent Television Service and Native American Public Telecommunications ; produced by the Sacred Land Film Project of Earth Island Institute.  Oley, PA : Bullfrog Films, [2002]  1 DVD videodisc (73 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E98.R3 I6 2002 VideoDVD (Also as streaming video available via Alexander Street Press) : Across the USA, Native Americans are struggling to protect their sacred places. Religious freedom, so valued in America, is not guaranteed to those who practice land-based religions. This film discusses the struggles of three indigenous communities to protect their sacred sites from rock climbers, tourists, strip-mining, development and New Age religious practitioners.  Special features include: New threats: Zuni Salt Lake & Quechan Indian Pass (short film update) (c2002, 12 min.); Vine Deloria Jr. extended interview; interviews with the filmmakers; classroom version: view any one of the three stories as a complete film; additional scenes; What you can do to protect sacred lands (weblinks)  Contents : Mato Tipila (Devil's Tower, Wyoming) (25 min.) -- Hopitutskwa (Hopi land, Northern Arizona) (23 min.) -- Bulyum Puyuik (Mt. Shasta, California) (26 min.)

In the White Man's Image  / presented by WGBH/Boston, WNET/New York and KCET/Los Angeles ; written and produced by Christine Lesiak ; a production of the Native American Public Broadcasting Consortium and the Nebraska Educational Television Network for The American experience. [Alexandria, Va.] : PBS Video, c1991.  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in. + student worksheet (1 fold. leaf) E97 .I67 1991 Videocassette : Stacy Keach narrates this program which examines the experiment of federal government boarding schools for Indian children. Native Americans who attended these schools help tell the story of this humanist experiment gone wrong.

In Whose Honor? / written and produced by Jay Rosenstein.  Ho-ho-kus, NJ : New Day Films, c1997.  1 DVD videodisc (46 min., 15 sec.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  E98.E85 I52 1997 VideoDVD : Discussion of Chief Illiniwek as the University of Illinois mascot, and the effect the mascot has on Native American peoples. Graduate student Charlene Teters shares the impact of the Chief on her family. Interviewees include members of the Board of Regents, students, alumni, current and former "Chiefs" and members of the community.

Incident at Oglala : the Leonard Peltier story / Miramax films, Spanish Fork Motion Picture Company presents a film by Michael Apted ; Studio Canal ; produced by Arthur Chobanian ; executive producer, Robert Redford.  Santa Monica, Calif. : Artisan Home Entertainment, c2004, c1992.  1 DVD videodisc (90 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E93 .I53 2004 VideoDVD : Examines the 1975 incident where armed FBI agents illegally entered the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, resulting in the deaths of a Native American and two FBI agents. Explores the controversy and potential abuse of justice surrounding the case of Leonard Peltier, who was the sole person in the incident convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Indian Country Diaries : Part One, A Seat at the Drum / produced in association with ITVS ; a co-production of Adanvdo Vision and Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc.  Lincoln, NE : Native American Public Telecommunications : Adanvdo Vision, c2006.    DVD.  87 minutes. E98.S67 I53 2006 VideoDVD  part 1 : In A Seat at the Drum, journalist Mark Anthony Rolo (Bad River Ojibwe) journeys to L.A., the city that filled his imagination as a child. There he meets many of the thousands of American Indian families who were relocated from poor reservations to the cities in the last half of the 20th century, creating the largest Native American community in the nation -- over 200,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Trailer.  Also available as streaming video from Alexander Street Press.

Indian Country Diaries : Part Two, Spiral of Fire /  produced in association with ITVS ; a co-production of Adanvdo Vision and Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc.  Lincoln, NE : Native American Public Telecommunications : Adanvdo Vision, c2006.    87 minutes. E98.S67 I53 2006 VideoDVD  part 2 : This documentary explores the challenges faced by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on their reservation in North Carolina. Through the eyes of Choctaw writer LeAnne Howe, we see how their fusion of tourism, cultural preservation, and spirituality is working to insure their tribe's vitality in the 21st century.   Also available as streaming video from Alexander Street Press.. 

Indian Country Diaries. Part 4, Compare : Modern vs. Traditional Dance / Native American Public Telecommunications, Adanvdo Vision ; producer-director Carol Cornsilk.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2005.  1 streaming video file (6 minutes)  available from Alexander Street Press. :  This special feature discusses Cherokee dance and powwows.

Indian Country Diaries. Part 5, Compare : Identity / Native American Public Telecommunications, Adanvdo Vision ; producer-director Carol Cornsilk.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2005.  1 streaming video file (6 minutes) available from Alexander Street Press.: This special feature discusses American Indian identity.

Indian Country Diaries. Part 8, Basket making / Native American Public Telecommunications, Adanvdo Vision ; producer-director Carol Cornsilk.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2005.  1 streaming video file (9 minutes) available from Alexander Street Press.  : This special feature includes Cherokee artists making a unique basket.

Indian Country Diaries. Compare : Spiritual Health / Native American Public Telecommunications, Adanvdo Vision ; producer-director Carol Cornsilk.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2005.  1 streaming video file (10 minutes) available from Alexander Street Press. : This special feature discusses Cherokee food and health.

Indian School  : A Survivor's Story / produced by American Indian Services, Inc.. Lincoln Park, MI : American Indian Services, c2011. 1 DVD videodisc (41 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E97.5 .I55 2011 VideoDVD :  During the late 19th and 20th centuries, across the United States and Canada, the federal governments habitually required Native American children to attend residential boarding schools. Beginning with the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania (1879), the goal was assimilation. The motto was, “Kill the Indian to save the man.” There were 519 schools in the U.S. and 126 in Canada. Indian Boarding Schools routinely subjected children, some as young as four, to emotional and spiritual abuse, corporal punishment and worse. The students’ alienation from their families resulted in a loss of culture, language, ritual and spirituality; which in turn led to inter-generational trauma and thus exacerbated the post traumatic stress disorder in many Native families today. This film, from the victims’ own voices, details the boarding school experience. ;Detroit Metro Times article describing film.

Indian Self-Rule: A Problem of History directed by Selma Thomas (Documentary Educational Resources, 1985) 58 mins. Available online as streaming video to the MSU community as part of Ethnographic Video Online (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy : After centuries of struggle, the Indians of North America own less than 2% of the land settled by their ancestors. Indian Self-Rule traces the history of white-Indian relations from nineteenth century treaties through the present, as tribal leaders, historians, teachers, and other Indians gather at a 1983 conference organized to reevaluate the significance of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The experiences of the Flathead Nation of Montana, the Navajo Nation of the Southwest, and the Quinault people of the Olympic Peninsula illustrate some of the ways Indians have dealt with shifting demands imposed upon them, from allotment to reorganization to termination and relocation. Particularly eloquent are Indian reflections upon the difficulties of maintaining cultural identities in a changing world and within a larger society that views Indians with ambivalence.

Indian Warriors: The Untold Story of the Civil War / The History Channel ; A&E Television Networks.  [New York, N.Y.] : A&E Television Networks : Distributed by New Video, [2007], c2006.   E540.I3 I53 2007 VideoDVD : Though largely forgotten, some 20-30 thousand Native Americans fought in the Civil War. Ely Parker was a Seneca leader who found himself in the thick of battle at the side of General Ulysses S. Grant. Stand Waite, a Confederate General and a Cherokee was known for his brilliant guerilla tactics. Also highlighted is Henry Berry Lowery, who became known as the Robin Hood of North Carolina. Respected Civil War authors Thom Hatch and Lawrence Hauptman help reconstruct these stories, along with descendants like Cherokee Nation member Jay Hanna, whose great-grandfathers fought for both the font Union and the Confederacy. Together, they reveal a new perspective and the very personal reasons that drew these Native Americans into the fray.

Indians of the Eastern Woodlands.   Part of the Ancient America package.

Indians of the Northwest.   Part of the Ancient America package.

Indians of the Southwest.   Part of the Ancient America package.

Indians, Outlaws and Angie Debo  / a co-production of the Institute for Research in History and WGBH/Boston ; produced by Barbara Abrash and Martha Sandlin ; written & directed by Martha Sandlin.  Alexandria, Va. : PBS Video, c1989.  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in.  E175.5.D32 I62 1989 Videocassette : A profile of historian Angie Debo. Focuses on her research in the 1930s uncovering a statewide conspiracy that deprived the Oklahoma Indians of their oil-rich lands and the efforts of officials and business interests to suppress her findings.  Part of the American Experience series.

Indigenous voices  : witnessing the wisdom of our "elders" / by Jean Lau Chin, Ed.D, ABPP, Teresa LaFromboise, Ph.D., Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D., Joseph E. Trimble, Ph.D., Melba J. T. Vasquez, Ph.D., ABPP.  Hanover, MA : Microtraining Associates, 2011.  1 streaming video (120 min.). : Powerful and inspiring, these pioneers paved the way for others with their tireless work to advance the field of multicultural counseling and psychology. Their stories of their upbringing, their work in counseling psychology, and their words of wisdom will inspire us all!

Injunuity / Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association with Vision Maker Media ; produced and directed by Adrian Baker ; producer, Manny Lieras.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2013.  1 streaming video file (32 minutes) via Alexander Street Press : A collage of reflections on the Native American world, our shared past, our turbulent present, and our undiscovered future. From Columbus to the western expansion to tribal casinos, we are taught that the Native way, while at times glorious, is something of the past, something that needed to be replaced by a manifest destiny from across the ocean. But in a world increasingly short of real answers, it is time we looked to Native wisdom for guidance. It is time for some Injunuity. Injunuity is a mix of animation, music, and real thoughts from real people exploring our world from the Native American perspective. Every word spoken is verbatim, every thought and opinion is real, told in nine short pieces and covering such topics as language preservation, sacred sites, and the environment. But rather than simply revisit our history, the goal of Injunuity is to help define our future, to try and figure out the path that lies before us, to focus on where we are going as well as where we have been.

Into the Circle  : an Introduction to Native American Powwows / State Arts Council of Oklahoma ; Full Circle Communications ; produced by Scott Swearingen, Sandy Rhoades.  Tulsa, OK: Full Circle Communications, 1992.  1 VHS videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. E98.D2 I58 1992 Videocassette : An introduction to Oklahoma powwows including an explanation of the meaning of powwow in Indian culture, how it has evolved, the role of the drum, the head singer and the songs in powwows and related celebrations.

Ishi, the last Yahi / a Rattlesnake Productions film presentation ; produced and directed by Jed Riffe and Pamela Roberts ; written by Anne Makepeace.  Newton, N.J. : Shanachie Entertainment Corp., c2002.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  ROVI Movie Collection AJ3 D0018821 VideoDVD : Presents a narrated version of the discovery of Ishi, last member of the Yahi Indian tribe, and events in his life after coming into the white man's world.  Part of the American Experience series, 1992.

It Starts With a Whisper / Bay of Quinte Productions ; written, produced and directed by Shelley Niro and Anna Gronau. New York : Women Make Movies, c1993.  1 VHS videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Available via interlibary loan through MeL  : This film follows a young woman who has grown up on a Reserve and her decision about which path to follow in life. To her the choice between traditional and contemporary values seems impossible. Guided by her ancestral spirits, she comes to realize that she may live her life in the present while remembering and respecting the people of the past and traditional ways.  Web page describing film.

Documentary Films, J-L

James Welch / a film by Matteo Bellinelli ; a production of TSI Swiss Television, Lugano.  Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c1995.  1 VHS videocassette (VHS) (48 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. S3573.E44 Z4 1995 Videocassette : The Native American experience is portrayed in conversations with James Welch.

Jim Thorpe  : The World's Greatest Athlete / a Moira Productions film in association with Dateline Productions. [Berkeley, Calif.] : Moira Productions ; Lincoln, NE : Distributed by Visionmaker Video, c2009.  1 DVD videodisc (56 & 86 min. versions) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  GV697.T5 J45 2009 VideoDVD : A biography of the Native American athlete who became a sports icon in the first half of the 20th century. Beginning with Thorpe's boyhood in Indian Territory it chronicles his rise to athletic stardom at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, winning two gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics, his fall from grace in the eyes of the amateur athletic establishment, and his rebound in professional baseball and football. Thorpe retired from pro sports at age 41 just before the stock market crash of 1929. He worked as a construction laborer before getting work in Hollywood as a bit part player. He became a representative for Indian extras in Hollywood, fighting for equal pay for Native Americans in the movies. In the 1940s, he crisscrossed the nation as a public speaker advocating for Indian self-determination. This is a film about a man who used his amazing physical prowess as a way to affirm his American Indian identity in the face of unrelenting efforts to eradicate Native American culture. It is the first documentary film to tell the story of Thorpe's life outside of his well-known athletic victories. The film uses in-depth interviews with Thorpe's surviving children, some simple recreations and images culled from over seventy-five archive sources, both stills and motion picture.  Trailer.

Keepers of the fire / Omni Film Productions in co-operation with the National Film Board of Canada ; written and directed by Christine Welsh.  Vancouver, BC : Moving Images Distribution, [2014?]  1 DVD videodisc (55 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.  E78.C2 K44 2014 VideoDVD : Profiles the work of warrior women, the keepers of the fire, by examining the role of women in First Nations societies. Documents Native American women's work in keeping the spirit and substance of their cultures alive.

Ken Burns Presents the West / directed by Stephen Ives ; written by Geoffrey C. Ward & Dayton Duncan ; produced by Stephen Ives, Jody Abramson, Michael Kantor ; executive producer, Ken Burns ; a co-production of Insignia Films and WETA-TV Washington ; in association with Florentine Films and Time-Life Video & Television ; The West Film Project, Inc., Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Inc.  [Alexandria, Va.] : PBS Home Video ; Hollywood, Calif. : Distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, c2004.  5 DVD videodiscs (707 min.) : sd., col. & b&w ; 4 3/4 in.  F591 .W44 2004 VideoDVD  1-5  : Historian-documentary director Ken Burns creates a careful and vivid portrait of westward expansion in this PBS nine-parter. Archival photos, old maps, and vintage music deepen the documentary's historical feel; actors' reading of first-person narrative fragments from old letters, newspapers, and other documents add intimacy to the experience.  To identify which sections cover American Indian interactions with white settlers, see the following Episode Index

Kennewick Man : An Epic Drama of the West / A film by Kyle Carver and Ryan Purcell.  2002.  86 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online : On July 28th, 1996, two college students stumbled upon an anthropological find that would change forever the way North Americans view their past. While sneaking into hydroplane races on the Columbia River in Kennewick, WA., Will Thomas and Dave Deacy noticed a human skull mired in the mud. It turned out to be one of the oldest and most complete skeletons ever found in North America. James Chatters, the anthropologist who eventually investigated the skeleton, determined that the skull had "Caucasoid" features. The word, "Caucasoid," and the subsequent carbon dating of the bones, which found them to be over 9,000 years old, ignited a firestorm of controversy....These events pitted science against religion and scientists against Native Americans. The scientists demanded the right to study the bones. The Umatilla Tribe believed the bones to be sacred and ancestral. They were adamant that the bones be repatriated to the tribes for reburial. The American government, seemingly caught in the middle due to the fact that the remains were found on Federal land, decided to repatriate the remains to the Tribe. Eight scientists then filed a lawsuit in order to block this repatriation, claiming that more study was needed to determine ownership....The documentary explores with humor and compassion the cultural assumptions and differing opinions among the various groups involved, and attempts to explain why so many have claimed the bones of Kennewick Man. The far-reaching implications for the future of American anthropology, our view of America's ancient past, and the present day relationship between Native and non-native people are addressed.

Kind Hearted Woman / a special co-presentation of Frontline and Independent Lens ; a David Sutherland production for WGBH/Frontline and the Independent Television Service ; produced, written and directed by David Sutherland.  [United States] : PBS Distribution, [2013]  2 DVDs (5 hrs.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.  E98.W8 K56 2013 VideoDVD  discs 1-2 : Follows Robin Charboneau, a 31-year-old Oglala Sioux woman living on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota. Portrays what it means to be a contemporary Native American woman living in two worlds.

King Philip's War - The History & Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict.  28 minutes.   Available as streaming video via Kanopy : An educational documentary examining the causes & effects of the America's first great Indian War.  King Philip's War, took place between June 1675 and August 1676 between the colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies of New England and the Native American, Wampanoag Tribe in what is considered the bloodiest war per capita in this country's history. King Philip was the name given to Metacom, the great chief of the Wampanoag Tribe. He was the son of Massasoit, the chief who made contact with the Puritans when they settled at the Massachusetts Bay colony of Plymouth. By 1675, friction between the Wampanoag Tribe of Southeastern New England and the English colonists had reached the boiling point. The increasing appetite for land by the growing population of colonists was usurping Native American territory. On June 20, Metacom, ordered an attack on the settlement at Swansea, Massachusetts, precipitating a war that destroyed his tribe and nearly bankrupted the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies. On August 12, 1676, Colonial soldiers under Benjamin Church surprised King Philip and his band at Mount Hope, where Philip was killed by the Pocasset, Alderman, with a bullet through the heart. On the orders of Church, King Philip's body was drawn and quartered and his head sent to Plymouth where it remained on display for 25 years. When the war ended with the death of Philip, 3000 Native Americans and 800 English had been killed, a staggering mortality given the population of that time. The Wampanoag tribe was devastated, with most of its members either killed or sold into slavery, including the wife and son of Philip. The Massachusetts Bay Colonies were nearly bankrupt. Native Americans and historians of the period believe this war was one of the most significant seminal events in American history. Who was King Philip? From which country had the New England colonists arrived? What was the primary cause of the war? How did the Native American concept of land differ from that of the colonists? How did the Native American style of fighting differ from that of the Colonists in the early stages of the war? When and where was Philip killed? What were the three main reasons why the Wampanoags lost the war? What were two significant consequences of the war?  Eric Schultz and Michael Tougias are best-selling authors of, King Philip's War: The History & Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict. Both authors provide narration and historical commentary throughout the program. Also featured are present day Wampanoag historians including Russell Peters, former head of the Wampanoag Council, Ella Sekatau, Narragansett historian, Linda Coombs and Nancy Eldridge, Wampanoag historians, and Richard Pickering, historian formerly of the Plimoth Plantation. Filmed live at Plimoth Plantation and other locations around New England. Includes informative maps illustrating battle sites and historical markers.

LaDonna Harris : Indian 101 / Naru Mui Films presents ; directed and produced by Julianna Brannum ; presentation of Vision Maker Media, ITVS.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2013.  1 streaming video file (66 minutes) via Alexander Street Press : The story of Comanche activist Ladonna Harris who led an extensive life of Indian political and social activism and is now passing on her traditional cultural and leadership values to a new generation of emerging indigenous leaders. LaDonna Harris was raised during the Great Depression - also a time of extreme change in Indian Country. The introduction of land allotments, boarding schools and the urban relocation program was successfully assimilating the Indian into white society. The complete destruction of a culture was in full force. During this time, the shy, reserved farm girl from Walters, Oklahoma, grew up watching and listening to people, both Indian and non-Indian - quietly studying their body-language and interests. She soon would use her knowledge of cultural differences coupled with her strong Comanche values in a way that would later make her one of the foremost activists for indigenous people's rights.

Lady Warriors / Produced by Corbis Documentaries, Directed by John Goheen.  2002.  56 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online : In addition to their stories are brief glimpses of Hopi and Navajo life. Sequences include scenes shot on the Hopi reservation as well as a Navajo puberty ceremony. This award winning film is about the will to succeed, about the importance of age-old traditions and the struggles of minority girls to grow up in today's America.

Lake of Betrayal / director of photography Stephen McCarthy ; written by Paul Lamont and Scott Sackett ; produced by Scott Sackett ; directed by Paul Lamont. [Lincoln, Nebraska] : Vision Maker Media, [2017] 1 DVD videodisc (approximately 60 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. E99.S3 L34 2017 VideoDVD : Lake of Betrayal explores the history of Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and its impact on the Seneca Nation of Indians. Completed in 1965, it was originally proposed to help mitigate flooding in Pittsburgh -- 200 miles downriver, but the 27-mile reservoir that formed behind it inundated vast tracts of the Seneca Indians’ ancestral lands, forcing their removal in breach of the United States’ oldest treaty then in effect. The film looks at the Seneca Nation’s fight to protect its sovereignty against the U.S. government’s Indian termination policy and overwhelming political and economic forces driving the post-WWII boom.  Trailer.

Lake Superior's fishery : "the big water" / produced by Robert R. Jackson ; written & directed by Robert A. Rozoff.  St. Germain, WI : DeltaVision Entertainment, c1998.  1 VHS videocassette (22 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. Library of Michigan Audiovisual Collection SH219.7.S8 L35 1998 : Tells of the great migration that brought the Anishinabe, or the "Original People," from America's east coast to the Lake Superior Region. Describes the development of the Lake Superior fishery and the Ojibwa connection to it and to efforts to keep it alive and thriving.

Language Healers = Heenetiineyoo3eihiiho' : The Story of Native Peoples Striving to Revitalize Their Languages / an EmpathyWorks Films production ; directed, produced by Brian McDermott. [Swarthmore, Penn.] : EmpathyWorks Films, c2014.  1 DVD videodisc (40 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. PM206 .H44 2014 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy: Heenetiineyoo3eihiiho' (Language Healers) is our recently completed 40-minute documentary that tells the story of Native Americans who are striving to revitalize their languages. From Alaska to Oklahoma and Wisconsin to Montana, we witness stories about the importance of saving Native American languages and meet some of the people who are working hard to heal these national treasures....Language Healers is one of the first films to focus upon the work the broader Native community is doing now to revitalize their languages. We learn about the importance of Native languages and cultures in Alaska from a Yup’ik dog musher and then from a Tlingit carver of wood and metal. The film then takes us to a school in Wisconsin where we hear the story of a seventh grade girl who was recently punished for speaking a few words of the Menominee language. We learn more about the fight against language loss through visiting a Euchee (Yuchi) immersion school in Oklahoma where only four fluent elder speakers remain. Finally, we travel to Montana where an inventive Arapaho professor has been perfecting a method to quickly save these disappearing national treasures.  Visit the film website and facebook for more information. Trailer. Available for education screenings at MSU.

Last Stand at Little Big Horn  / a Midnight Films production for American experience ; WGBH Educational Foundation and WNET/Thirteen ; produced and directed by Paul Stekler ; written by James Welch and Paul Stekler.  [United States] : WGBH Boston Video, [2004]  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 58 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E83.876 .L34 2004 VideoDVD  : The Battle of Little Big Horn, known as ''Custer's Last Stand,'' has been one of the most frequently depicted moments in American history—and one of the least understood, still shrouded in myth.  The battle has inspired over 1,000 different paintings and works of art, calendar displays, comic books and cereal boxes. The golden-haired general and his doomed 7th Cavalry have been wiped out by Indians in more than 40 films. Yet the battle that left no white survivors also left two very different accounts of Little Big Horn: one white; one Native. Using journals, oral accounts and Indian ledger drawings as well as archival and feature films, a Native American novelist, James Welch (Winter in the Blood, The Indian Lawyer) and a white filmmaker, Paul Stekler (Eyes on the Prize) combine talents to examine this watershed moment from two views: from that of the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne and Crow who lived on the Great Plains for generations; and from that of the white settlers who pushed west across the continent. Pulitzer Prize-winning Native American writer Scott Momaday narrates.  Also available as VHS recording.

Leslie Marmon Silko / a film by Matteo Bellinelli ; written by Andrea Belloni in collaboration with Claudio Belotti ... [et al.] ; a production of TSI Swiss Television, Lugano.  Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities, 1995.  1 videocassette (42 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  PS3569.I44 Z87 1995 Videocassette : Profiles best known Native American woman author Leslie Marmon Silko, whose work is strongly rooted in her own matrilineal tribal background. Like all writing of lasting value, it uses particular experiences and places to reveal universal truths. Here, Silko discusses her own background and the interrelationship between her smaller, immediate Indian world and the larger brutal surrounding world.

Liberation psychology  : an on-going practice in American Indian country / Eduardo Duran.  Hanover, Mass. : Microtraining Associates, Inc., [2007?]  1 streaming video file (55 min.) via Counseling and Therapy in Video. : This keynote presentation, from a Native American  perspective, explores different cultural metaphors for therapy with Native Americans.

Lighting the 7th Fire / produced by Sandra Johnson Osawa (Makah).  Seattle, WA : Upstream Productions, c1994.  1 VHS videocassette (47 min., 30 sec.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E99.C6 L54 1994 Videocassette : Examines how the Chippewa Indians of northern Wisconsin have struggled to restore the tradition of spear fishing and the opposition they have encountered. Relates the re-emergence of traditional fishing rights to the Chippewa prophecy that speaks of seven fires representing seven periods of time, the seventh being a time when lost traditions would be renewed.

Little Bighorn  : the Native American View / a Lou Reda production.  Chicago, IL : New Dimension Media, [2005?]  1 VHS videocassette (25 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. E83.876 .L58 2005 Videocassette : This program tells the story of the Battle of Little Bighorn from the Native American point of view, offering new insights into this battle commonly known as "Custer's Last Stand." Includes dramatic recreations of the battle, and insightful profiles of Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall.

The Long Walk  : Tears of the Navajo / producer-director-writer, John Howe ; director of production, Ken Verdoia. [Salt Lake City, Utah] : KUED 7, c2008.   1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.   E99.N3 L77 2008 VideoDVD : The year was 1864. Eight thousand Navajo men, women and children were forced from their sacred homeland to march over 300 miles to Bosque Redondo, a barren reservation in New Mexico along the Texas border. Many died along the way and during a four-year incarceration, aimed at crushing American Indian resistance in lands that would eventually become the states of Arizona and New Mexico. The Long Walk tells the story for the first time from the perspectives of Navajo Elders. It reveals the campaign of the U.S. military against the Navajo in the early 1860s, the events leading to it, and the aftermath of the Treaty of 1868, all of which would change the world of the Navajos....The Long Walk: Tears of the Navajo, produced by award-winning producer John Howe, tells one of the most important stories of the American West. It's a story of heartbreak and triumph against enormous adversity. Narrated by motion picture/television actor Peter Coyote, The Long Walk is produced in state-of-the-art high definition television with 5.1 surround sound....Distributed for KUED, public broadcaster based out of the University of Utah.

Looking toward home : an urban Indian experience / a cultural affairs production of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Television for the Nebraska ETV Network ; Conroy Chino and Dale Kruzic.  Lincoln, Neb. : Native American Public Telecommunications : Distributed by Vision Maker Video, 2003.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. E98.U72 L66 2003 VideoDVD :  A one-hour documentary which explains how government relocation programs in the 1950's enticed significant numbers of Native Americans to leave the reservation for life in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The life and times of urban Indians is shown primarily through the eyes of these individuals and subsequent generations as they maintain their tribal identity far away from the culturally nurturing climate of the reservation.

Lost Nation  : the Ioway / Fourth Wall Films ; producer, writer, director, editor, Kelly Rundle ; producer, writer, Tammy Rundle.  [Moline, Ill.] : Fourth Wall Films, c2008.  1 DVD videodisc (56 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. E99.I6 L67 2008 VideoDVD : Historians and archaeologists tell the story of the small tribe that once dominated the territory between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, from Pipestone, Minnesota to St. Louis, Missouri. What was once a quest for survival in the past has become a struggle to retain a unique Native American culture and language in the present.  Special features include Ioway language track, filmmakers' commentary track, Iowa history & culture, Ioway archeology, 10 minute version for kids, Oklahoma & Kansas Powwows, behind-the-scenes featurette.

Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris: Searching for a Native American Identity / produced and directed by Catherine Tatge ; a production of Public Affairs Television, Inc. ; a presentation of WNET/New York and WTTW/Chicago.  Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1994, c1988.  1 VHS videocassette (30 min.)  E98.E85 S42 1994 Videocassette : Bill Moyers interviews husband and wife writing team Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris who discuss their literary collaboration, their shared thinking based upon their like backgrounds as mixed-blood Native Americans, and the Native American characters who people their novels.

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Medicine Woman / producer, director, writer, Christine M. Lesiak ; producer, researcher, director, Princella P. RedCorn ; produced by NET Television ; a presentation of Vision Maker Media ; with major funding provided by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  [Nebraska] : NET, Nebraska PBS Station, [2016]  1 DVD videodisc (approximately 60 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in  R154.P53 M43 2016 VideoDVD   : Medicine Woman interweaves the lives of Native American women healers of today with the story of America's first Native doctor, Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865-1915). Doctor Picotte studied medicine at a time when few women dared. She graduated first in her class and returned home to serve as doctor to her Omaha tribe. It was a heartbreaking, violent time but she never gave up hope. The reverberations from her shattered world continue today as Native Americans suffer from alarming rates of disease, suicide and mental illness. Like Susan, these modern day medicine women from the Omaha, Lakota and Navajo tribes are fighting a war, sharing a confident, even joyful approach to the work of healing.   Youtube teaser.

Midnight Son: A Nunamiut Village in Alaska, by Wil Carson (Filmakers Library) 36 minutes.  Streaming video from the Ethnographic Video Online collection : Alaska has undergone a rapid transformation from traditional Eskimo life to modern living in an extraordinarily short period of time. The Nunamiut Eskimo village of Anaktuvuk Pass, is at once a microcosm of this larger transition and markedly unique. The three hundred residents of this small, isolated town are the only tribe of inland Eskimos in the world, comprising their own linguistic group and biological heritage. Unlike most traditional cultures which have been ravaged by Western culture, Anaktuvuk has balanced old ways and new horizons....The anthropologist lived among a family of four generations and captures with spontaneity their daily life. From the elders who remember hunting caribou and still speak only their native language to the youngsters who search the internet and participate in consumer culture, Anaktuvuk is two worlds in one. The film follows the day-to-day struggles of Juke and Julia, his pregnant girlfriend, as they try to come to terms with their future.

Minik - the Lost Eskimo / WGBH, Boston ; a film by Axel Engstfeld ; reversioned by Susan Bellows.  Boston : WGBH Educational Foundation ; [S.l.] : PBS Home Video [distributor], c2008.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 60 min.) : sd., b&w & col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.E7 M655 2008 VideoDVD  : In 1897, Robert Peary returned to New York from his latest Arctic expedition with five Eskimos for study at the American Museum of Natural history. Anthropology regarded the Eskimos as a rare species. Within months, four of the Eskimos died, leaving a young boy, Minik, alone in a foreign land. This program offers a thought-provoking look at the intersection of race, culture and the budding science of anthropology at the turn of the 20th century.  Also available as streaming video via the PBS Video Collection.

Miss Navajo (2006) / produced & directed by Billy Luther ; a co-production of Billy Luther and the Independent Television Service, in association with World of Wonder Productions.  1 DVD videodisc (60 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences, 4 3/4 in.  HQ1220.U5 M576 2007 VideoDVD  : For most of us, pageants conjure up smiling beauty-queen hopefuls parading around in bathing suits or glittery gowns. But most of us have never witnessed the Miss Navajo Nation competition. Inaugurated in 1952, this unique competition redefines “pageant” as an opportunity for young women to honor and strengthen Navajo culture....Directed by Billy Luther, whose own mother was crowned Miss Navajo 1966, the film reveals the inner beauty of the young women who compete in this celebration of womanhood. Not only must contestants exhibit poise and grace as those in typical pageants, they must also answer tough questions in Navajo and demonstrate proficiency in skills essential to daily tribal life: fry-bread making, rug weaving and sheep butchering....Miss Navajo follows the path of 21-year-old Crystal Frazier, a not-so-fluent Navajo speaker and self-professed introvert, as she undertakes the challenges of the pageant. It is through Crystal's quiet perseverance that we see the strength and power of Navajo womanhood revealed. No matter who takes the crown, this is a journey that will forever change her life. Interspersed with pageant activities are interviews with former Miss Navajos, whose cheerful recollections of past pageants break the tension the current contestants are undergoing....As winners of the pageant, these women are challenged to take on greater responsibility, and their memories provide a glimpse into the varying roles Miss Navajo is called upon to perform: role model, teacher, advisor, and Goodwill Ambassador to the community and the world at large....This wonderful not-to-be-missed documentary reveals the importance of cultural preservation, the role of women in continuing dying traditions and the surprising role that a beauty pageant can play.

Mohawk Girls  / produced by Rezolution Pictures International in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada ; written and directed by Tracey Deer ; producers, Joanne Robertson, Linda Ludwick, Christina Fon.  [Montréal] : National Film Board of Canada [production company] ; New York : Distributed by Women Make Movies, 2005.  1 videodisc (DVD) (53 min) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  Available on interlibrary loan through MeL : Documentary explores the lives and reveals the challenges facing three teenaged girls of Mohawk heritage living on the Kahnawake Native Reserve in Quebec and includes home video footage of the director as she experienced similar conflicts of emotions.   Web page describing film.

More Than a Word : Native American-Based Sports Mascots.  Media Education Foundation, 2017.  71 minutes.  Streaming Video via Kanopy. : An exploration of Native American-based mascots, especially the Washington R_dskins, and their impact on real-life attitudes, issues, and policies. Through interviews with scholars, tribal leaders, lawyers, policy experts, activists, and Washington R_dskins fans, the film explores the history of the slanderous term "redskin," and delves into cultural stereotypes of Native Americans and their relationship to history. Ultimately, the film argues for representations that honor and celebrate the humanity of Indigenous people... John Little and Kenn Little, co-filmmakers and brothers, are both enrolled members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Together, they are writing Indigenous people into the historical and cultural narrative.

More Than Bows & Arrows.  1 VHS videocassette (52 min.)  E77 .M8 1994 Videocassette :  Deals with the role of the American Indian in shaping various aspects of American culture, ranging from food and housing to the democratic way of life.

Mystic Voices : The Story of the Pequot War (2004) / a film by Guy Perrotta & Charles Clemmons ; dramatic & artistic director, Guy Perrotta.  New York, NY : Cinema Guild, c2005.  1 videodisc (117 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E83.63 .M93 2005 VideoDVD  :  What led to the first declared war in America? Why is the slaughter seldom talked about? In May 1637, English Puritan colonists torch a Pequot Indian village at Missituck (Mystic), Connecticut, massacring 400-700 men, women and children in less than an hour. Pequots are forbidden to use their tribal name and are subjugated to other Native Tribes allied with the English. With the help of sympathetic English leaders, they eventually are able to reestablish their own communities, which become the first Indian reservations in America. Narrated in part by Roy Scheider, Mystic Voices tells the story of a pivotal event in the early history of the Colonial America that set the stage for the ultimate domination of Native Peoples by European settlers. Although this seldom told story was a small conflict by today's standards, the Puritans' rhetoric made their victory over the "heathens" a significant factor in the formulation of Colonial/American Indian policy over the next three centuries. Mystic Voices tells the story of this tragedy and presents viewpoints of historians and Native descendants as it investigates the underlying causes and legacy of the first declared war in America.   Trailer.

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Nanook of the North / produced by Robert J. Flaherty.  Claremont, Calif. : Criterion Collection, [1998], ©1998.  1 videodisc (79 min.) : black and white ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.E7 N3666 1998 VideoDVD : Presents a documentary on the life of an Eskimo family pitting their strength against a vast and inhospitable Arctic. Juxtaposes their struggle for survival against the elements with the warmth of the little family as they go about their daily affairs.  Originally produced in 1922 as a silent motion picture.  Also available via ROVI Movie Collection AF8 D0003031 VideoDVD

Nanook of the North ; The wedding of Palo and other films of Arctic life / Blu-ray produced by Jeffery Masino and David Shepard.  [Los Angeles, Calif.] : Flicker Alley, [2013], ©2013.  2 videodiscs (281 min.) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (31 pages ; 16 cm).   E99.E7 N17 2013 Blu-ray Video  discs 1-2 & booklet : Nanook of the North: videodisc release of the 1922 American/French silent motion picture by Revillon Frères.  The wedding of Palo: videodisc release of the motion picture originally released in Denmark by Palladium, 1935. This collection also contains six bonus films: Nanook revisited (1988 ; 64 min.); Capitain Kleinschmidt's Arctic hunt (1913 ; 15 min.); Primitive love (1927 ; 32 min.); Houses of the Arctic (1928 ; 11 min.); Eskimo hunters of northwestern Alaska (1949 ; 20 min.); Face of the high Arctic (1959 ; 14 min.). Also available via ROVI Movie Collection CY1 D0151317 Blu-ray Video  discs 1-2

Native American communities affected by climate change plan for the future / by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions.  Arlington, VA : MacNeil-Lehrer Productions, 2012.  9 min.   Streaming video via Environmental Studies in Video   : Native Americans from Maine to Washington State convened for a conference at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Their goal: to discuss the effects of climate change on tribal communities.

Native American healing in the 21st century  / A production of Rich-Heape Films, Inc. ; Executive producer, Steven R. Heape ; producer/director, Chip Richie ; writer, Howard Fisher.   Dallas, Tex. : Rich-Heape Films, c2004.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 40 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.   E98.M4 N38 2004 VideoDVD (Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection) (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy : A comprehensive look at the healing practices of American Indians and how many of those natural remedies are applicable to today's alternative health-conscious society.

Native-American History.  TMW Media, 2005.  26 minutes  Streaming video via Kanopy : Explore the fascinating history of the Native American people. Follow their history from migration to the Americas, to the development of civilizations throughout the American continent. Discover how every part of America was flourishing long before European settlers arrived. See the impact of early Native Americans in North and South America. Discover the "Cochise Effect" on the cultures of Arizona and Mexico.

Native American Influence on the U.S. Part of the Series: Native-American History & Cultural Series.  TMW Media, 2005.  27 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : Discover the fascinating ways in which the U.S. was profoundly affected by the native cultures that were here thousands of years before the Europeans. Explore the ways in which our government, economy, agriculture, medicine, language & legal system are still influenced by Native American contributions. Explore your first impressions of the world "Indian". Discover Native American contributions to medicine, agriculture & the environment.

Native American Men's & Women's Dance Styles.  / produced by Scott Swearingen, Sandy Rhoades.  Tulsa, OK : Full Circle Communications, [1994]  2 VHS videocassettes (120 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E98.D2 N38 1994 Videocassette  v.1 : Viewers can watch and learn contemporary powwow dance styles.

Native American Tech.  New York, NY : A & E Television Networks : Distributed by New Video Group, 2004.  1 electronic resource (50 min.). via American History in Video : Examines the lives of leaders including Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud and Sitting Bull. Describes the decimation of Custer's 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn and the Cheyenne sacking of Julesburg. Explore how medicine men and surgeons tended to the tribes and their warriors.

Native American Tricksters.  The Teaching Company/The Great Courses, 2015.  32 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : Go in-depth with the Trickster archetype. Although not exclusive to Northern American tales, the Trickster is the most popular character in Native American myths. There are likely more stories about him than about anyone else.  Episode 9 of Great Mythologies of the World Course

Native American wars. The Apache.  [United States] : History Channel, [2010]  1 DVD videodisc (50 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.  ROVI Movie Collection CV7 D0121347 VideoDVD :  The North American Apache tribes were remarkably successful, beating opponents who were wealthier, better armed, and more organized. Apache warriors gained an unrivalled reputation as fighters who used the landscape itself to help defeat outsiders. Historians explore two important battles to try and uncover the secrets of their success. Archaeologists and forensic scientists investigate and compare the weapons used by the Apache and their last enemy, the U.S. Army.

The Native Americans. Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, [1999], ©1999.   1 VHS videocassette (ca. 47 min.)  E77 .N35 1999 Videocassette :  This program explores the many similarities among tribal nations, including a profound respect for nature, myth, and tradition; matriarchal governance; a communal lifestyle; a belief in an afterlife; and the use of pictographs, symbols, and patterns rather than an alphabet-based language. Also featured are brief scenes of re-created warfare.

The Native Americans / TBS Productions ; producers, Michael Grant and Patricia Foulkrod ; director, John Borden ; writers, Hanay Geiogamah and Michael Grant.  Atlanta, GA : Turner Home Entertainment, 1994.  6 videocassettes (50 min. each) : sound, color ; 1/2 in.  E77 .N353 1994 Videocassette  cassettes 1-6   : v. 1. The nations of the Northeast -- v. 2. The tribal people of the Northwest -- v. 3. The tribes of the Southeast -- v. 4. The natives of the Southwest -- v. 5. The people of the Great Plains, part one -- v. 6. The people of the Great Plains, part two.

Native Americans.  John W. Burshtan, 2010. 27 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy. : What does it mean to be a Native American? Perhaps Native American model Stormy Hollingsworth (Ute) says it best, "to be proud, to know that our past and our whole history is a circle of life." This program introduces us to members of the Ute, Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Omaha nations, who reveal that Indians' lives are based on a circle which incorporates their beliefs in respecting their heritage, preserving their traditions and educating their young. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne), a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005, explains how the Grass or Omaha Dance has evolved over time to be commonly known as the Pow Wow; Nico Strange Owl-Hunt (Northern Cheyenne), Twyla LaFleshe Blackbird(Southern Ute), Cleatus and Clifford Cayou (Omaha) andWalter Fremont (Omaha) reflect on the significance of the Pow Wow, which allows Indian people to come in contact with their roots again; to help preserve their traditions.Alden Naranjo and Norman Lopez, whose heritage is the Southern Ute tribe, explain the importance of the eagle to Native Americans; then we view the tribe's "Sneak Dance"; we meet artist Frank Howell (Lakota), who tells of his personal evolution as an artist; then at the Eagle Plume and Mudhill Galleries we view a variety of Native American art, pottery and jewelry. Appropriately going full circle, Gene Poor Bear (Lakota) explains that he founded the Chipeta Park Pow Wow to help his son stay rooted in family values; then we learn the importance of the drum, how its shape and its beating have symbolic significance to all Native Americans.

Native Americans : a tribute / directed by James Stewart ; written by James Stewart & Wayne Clark ; produced by Native American Productions..  2008. S.l. : Native American Productions, [2008].  1 DVD-R videodisc (75 min.) : s.d., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E77 .N375 2008 VideoDVD  : Pays homage to Native Americans, examining their history, culture, and traditions through narration, music, and the paintings of George Catlin, Charles Bird King, and the amazing photographs of Edward S. Curtis.  Four chapters include: 1. In the beginning (15:32); 2. A Gathering of Nations (8:25); 3.  Wars and Rumors of Wars (19:38); 4. Native Americans in the 20th Century (28:24).  The DVD traces the early history of Native Americans and continues through the twentieth century, culminating with the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in 2004.

Native Americans  : Celebrating Traditions.  Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c2003. 1 DVD videodisc (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E98.S7 N37 2001 VideoDVD : "Once forced to hide their heritage, Native Americans now enjoy both an acceptance and a celebration of their history and culture. By presenting the experiences of Native Americans from a wide array of fields including artisans, performers, and teachers, this program shows how many tribes are returning to the traditions and spirituality of their ancestors. Among those interviewed are Kevin Locke, award-winning Native American vocalist; Wilma Mankiller, the first woman in modern history to lead a tribe; and Richard West, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian."

Native Nations  : Standing Together For Civil Rights / produced by Native Americans in association with B&B Productions for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Chicago : Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2008.  1 DVD videodisc (59 Min.) : sd, col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E98 .M6 N17 2008 VideoDVD : Native Nations, hosted by Peter Coyote, chronicles the American Indians' struggle for civil rights, and the creation of the National Indian Lutheran Board to raise funds and awareness for that struggle. From the controversy surrounding the 1862 trial when 38 Dakota Sioux were executed in the largest single-day mass hanging in United States history, to the confrontation of the 1960s when many Indian tribes joined together to speak out with a unified voice, Native Nations tells the story of standing together for sovereignty, justice and civil rights.  Trailer.

Native silence  / directed and produced by Jane Wells.  New York, NY : Filmakers Library, 2013.  1 streaming video file (24 min.)  Available online as part of Filmakers library online, volume 3.  :  Native Silence is a solemn account of the legacy of forced adoption on Native American children, torn from their tribal communities and placed in foster care and boarding schools. Joyce, is a recovered drug-addict and now mental health worker, and Paulette, a mother who ‘doesn’t associate’ with the Natives in her town. Their stories reflect the struggle that they and many others faced growing up as Native American within larger non-Indian culture.

Nature in Native American Myth.   The Teaching Company/The Great Courses, 2015.  30 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : Nature spirits take on a variety of forms in various cultures. Discover the maize myths and other stories about the origins of nature in the Americas. Learn how these stories demonstrate the way people answered questions about how the world came to be as it is. Episode 1 of Great Mythologies of the World

Navajo Code Talkers / produced by Triage, Inc. for the History Channel.  [New York] : A&E Television Networks : Marketed and distributed in the U.S. by New Video, [2006], c1998.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 50 min) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  D810.C88 N38 2006 VideoDVD : Describes the role of a select group of Navajo Marines who developed a code based on their own native language that provided a means for secure communications among American forces in the Pacific during World War II.  From the History Channel.  Also available as VHS recording.

Navajo Warriors : The Great Secret / A film by Michel Viotte for Bonne Pioche.  2003.  52 minutes.  Streaming video from Filmakers Library Online : The famous Navajo Code Talkers, memorialized by Hollywood in the feature film "Windtalkers," were an integral part of the armed forces during World War II. Navajo veterans who fought in the Pacific in World War II, used their unwritten Native American tongue as an unbreakable code language, essential in the American military intelligence machine. Richard West, President, Museum of the American Indian, says, "Ironically, the U.S. military used the Native American language as a potent instrument of war although the government had prohibited [native] people from speaking their own language for almost a century." ...Successive generations of young Navajo men who fought in the elite division of the U.S. Marine Corps, relate their stories in this film. Vincent and his brother enlisted in the 1970's; his brother died in Vietnam. Benjamin, Calbert and Michael are currently training as Marines in San Diego. The film reveals how their strong Navajo cultural identity and spiritual references correlated with traditional Marine Corps values and a passionate patriotism.

No More Smoke Signals / A film by Fanny Bräuning.  2009.  90 minutes.  Streaming video from Filmakers Library Online : Kili Radio, the "Voice of the Lakota Nation," is broadcast out of a small wooden house in the vast countryside of South Dakota. There, people converge to speak to the community about daily concerns and in doing so, strengthen their sense of identity. Daily existence on America's poorest reservation is hard. We meet people like Roxanne Two Bulls, who’s trying to start over again on the land of her ancestors after a difficult life nearly destroyed by alcoholism; and Bruce, the white lawyer who for thirty years has been trying to free an American Indian militant who’s been fighting for equal rights for his people....Everything comes together at Kili Radio. Instead of sending smoke signals the radio station transmits its own signals across a vast and magnificent landscape with a delightful combination of humor and melancholy. We hear native hip hop and complaints about broken windshields. Some of their pride has been restored with the radio broadcast; the listeners now feel that it really is acceptable to be Lakota. After all, "Kili" means awesome in Lakota. As the young DJ Derrick Janis who is discovering his gift for music says: "We once were warriors, I like to think about that. Back in those days I’d be a warrior on a horse. But today, I’m a DJ on a hill." A film about the role of media, as well as an up-close look at present day life on the reservation.

Nokomis  : Voices of Anishinabe Grandmothers / Cinnamon Productions; KTCA.  Westport, CT. : Cinnamon Productions, Inc., c1994. 1 VHS videocassette (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. E96.C6 N65 1994 Videocassette : Documents Ojibwe women's attempts to restore and preserve their Native American culture and heritage. They recall painful memories of growing up trying to conform to a white man's view of the world, a view that saw Indian ways as bad. They discuss the negative influence of the mission schools, the desecration of Indian sacred and ceremonial artifacts and grounds, and the movement by Indians to reassert their treaty rights.

Nomadic Indians of the West.  Part of the Ancient America package.

Documentary Films, O-Q

Ojibwe / produced by the Public Information Office of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission ; written by Sue Erickson with David Braga and Patty Loew.  Odanah, WI : GLIFWC, c2000.  1 VHS videocassette (25 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  Library of Michigan Audiovisual Collection E99.C6 O35 2000 : Provides information about the history of treaties between the United States and the Ojibwe, contemporary court decisions affirming treaty rights, off-reservation, treaty harvest statistics, off-reservation treaty regulation, and tribal off-reservation resource management activities.

Ojibwe Waasa-Inaabidaa : We Look in All Directions / producer/director Lorraine Norrgard ; scriptwriter, Jim Fortier  Duluth, Minn. : WDSE-TV, c2002.  6 DVDs.  60 minutes each.  E99.C6 O358 2002 VideoDVD : A landmark six-part television documentary series about the second largest tribe in North America, the Anishinabe-Ojibwe (Chippewa) Nation.  Each hour-long episode focuses on a unique central them, spanning 500 years of Ojibwe culture and history, culminating in contemporary times.  The series includes more than 100 interviews with tribal elders, historians, youth and leaders from the nineteen Ojibwe bands throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  These interviews, along with 3000 archival photographs, commentary by academic historians, original and historic artwork, and dramatic re-enactments, combine to stunningly illustrate the Ojibwe people, culture, and language through the past two centuries.,...The documentary is an in-depth portrayal of the second-largest tribe in North America, the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe (Chippewa) nation of the upper Great Lakes Region. [Disc 1]: Ojibwe Oral Tradition explains the importance of the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe language, its near disappearance and its renewal today. [Disc 2]: We Are All Related teaches about the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe relationship with the land, a relationship based on respect, sharing, humility and responsibility. [Disc 3]: We Gain Knowledge explores the connection between the traditional Anishinaabe/Ojibwe family structure and how individuals acquire knowledge thorough the four phases of life. [Disc 4]: A Healthy Way of Life explores the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe belief that a healthy way of life requires maintaining a balance between mental, physical, spiritual and emotional aspects of a person. [Disc 5]: Making Decisions the Right Way portrays the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe decision-making process, emphasizing the roles of the individual in relationship to the family, the community, the clan and the Creator. [Disc 6]: That Which is Given to Us explores the traditional Anishinaabe/Ojibwe subsistence lifestyle based on the seasonal cycle and the belief that the individual is dependent on the group, the group is dependent on nature and nature is dependent upon the supernatural

On Sacred Ground  / Aegis Film and Television Group in association with Gray Wolf Films presents a film by Charro Wongittilin film.  [Los Angeles, Calif.] : Aegis Film and Television Group, c2009.  1 DVD videodisc (56 min.) : sd., col. w/b&w sequences : 4 3/4 in..  E78.S63 O57 2009 VideoDVD : The peace and serenity that envelops Bear Butte Mountain in South Dakota seems an unlikely venue for activism. It is here, amid the bucolic grasses and flowers, the grazing Buffalo and wild life that the stage has been set for battle. ...While not Wounded Knee or Custer's Last Stand it is still the stuff of history - and just as important to Native Americans. Whether they be Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Cheyenne or Cherokee, Bear Butte is a strong symbol of religious freedom and opposition to the white man's continued ignorance, indifference and desecration of sacred Indian sites...."On Sacred Ground" follows the fight of the American Indian Nation and its supporters to overcome this ignorance through legislative efforts, use of media and hitting the pavement informing and enlightening those who, in many cases, have no idea the damage being done by their very presence....There is much to be gleaned from the elders who have gone before and those who would take their place in the hierarchy of the tribal lore. The red man and woman demand nothing - but elegantly requests respect for their beliefs, their shared history and sacred sites. www.aegisfilmgroup.com .

The Oneida Speak / producer, Michelle Danforth ; produced by Wisconsin Public Television for presentation by Native American Public Telecommunications. Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2006. 1 streaming video file (57 minutes) from Alexander Street Press. :  The instructional television program, The Oneida Speak, is based in part on oral interviews of Oneida Indian elders in Wisconsin conducted between 1939-1941, as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project sponsored by the federal government. Several stories from these interviews are reenacted in this program, which also includes interviews of contemporary Oneida historians, cultural preservationists, and elders by program producers. Oneida voices, both historic and contemporary, tell their own Oneida stories--stories of loss and rejuvenation over the past 150 years. Nominated for two Emmys.  Trailer.

Our Fires Still Burn : the Native American Experience : a documentary / by Audrey Geyer.  [Michigan] : Visions, c2013.  1 DVD-R videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in..  E78.M67 O83 2013 VideoDVD  (Also available as streaming video via Alexander Street Press and as  streaming video via Kanopy) :  This exciting and compelling one hour documentary invites viewers into the lives of contemporary Native American role models living in the Midwest. It dispels the myth that American Indians have disappeared from the American horizon, and reveals how they continue to persist, heal from the past, confront the challenges of today, keep their culture alive, and make great contributions to society. Their experiences will deeply touch both Natives and non-Natives and help build bridges of understanding, respect, and communication. The tragic history of Native Americans is considered by many to be our "American Holocaust." This can be seen in the history of the Boarding School Era, during which time Native children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed into boarding schools. Interviewees explain how this past trauma continues to negatively impact their emotional and physical health today and contribute to urgent social problems. To help heal this historical trauma, Native peoples are reclaiming their spiritual and cultural identity. In the documentary, an Ojibwa Firekeeper demonstrates the ancient healing ceremony of the Sacred Fire. Also, a Native American businessman, journalist, artist and youth advocate share how they use ancestral teachings to foster diversity and creativity as well as to educate and initiate social change. The stories shared in this documentary are powerful, startling, despairing and inspiring. They reflect an American history fraught with the systematic destruction of a people. Yet, amidst the debris of suffering and trauma, there is resilience and a profound remembering and healing taking place today, which will also benefit the next Seven Generations.

Our Lives In Our Hands / A film  by Carter Karen and Prins Harald (Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 1986) 49 minutes. Streaming video from the Ethnographic Video Online collection : Examines the traditional Native American craft of split ash basketmaking as a means of economic and cultural survival for Aroostook Micmac Indians of northern Maine. This documentary of rural off-reservation Indian artisans aims to break down stereotypical images. Basketmakers are filmed at their craft in their homes, at work on local potato farms and at business meetings of the Basket Bank, a cooperative formed by the Aroostook Micmac Council. First person commentaries are augmented by authentic 17th century Micmac music.

Our Spirits Don't Speak English : Indian Boarding School / Rich-Heape Films presents ; direction, Chip Richie ; producers, Chip Richie, Steven R. Heape ; screen writer, Dan Agent. Dallas, Texas : Rich-Heape Films, c2008. 1 DVD videodisc (80 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. E97.5 .O97 2008 VideoDVD (Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection) : Gayle Ross is a descendent of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation during and after the infamous Trail of Tears, the forced removal of many Southeastern Indians to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in the late 1830s. Her grandmother told stories and it is from this rich heritage that Gayle s storytelling springs. During the past twenty years, she has become one of the most respected storytellers to emerge from the current surge of interest in this timeless art form.

The Peyote Road  : Ancient Religion in Contemporary Crisis / a Kifaru production in association with Peacedream Productions with participation by Eagle Heart Productions ; production coordinated by the Native American Religious Freedom Project.   San Francisco, Calif. : Kifaru Productions, c1993.  1 VHS videocassette (VHS) (62 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in.  E98.R3 P49 1993 Videocassette : A documentary on the religious use of peyote by Native Americans and of efforts to establish protective legislation for practicing peyotism.

Pine Ridge : The Lives and Dreams of Today's Native American Youth / Torch Films.  2013.  78 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy : Filmed on the Native American reservation of the same name in South Dakota, where Americans with native blood live a life in the middle -- and yet outside -- of American society, PINE RIDGE explores what shapes the lives and dreams of today's Native American youth. Depicted on their own terms during a long warm summer, Lance Red Cloud, Kassel Sky, Cassandra Warrior, her young daughter Diamond Rose, and their friends and families know one thing for sure: their future is uncertain, and it resembles their traditional way of life less and less.

Pine Ridge, USA: A Frontier of the Forgotten / A film by SCEREN-CNDP.  2006.  26 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library : The 40,000 Sioux Lakota Native Americans living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are the poorest inhabitants in America. In this film, they describe the abysmal conditions there, with neither a bank, a store, an industry or technology of any kind. Unemployment has reached 95%, life expectancy is about 50 years of age and social problems are rife. They are shockingly isolated from the rest of the U.S. More than 90% of the land In Pine Ridge is rented and farmed by non-Indians who do not even live on the reservation....The closest city offering employment is Rapid City, South Dakota, the economic and financial hub of Western Dakota. It attracts Pine Ridge inhabitants but discrimination, lack of skills and low salaries keep most of them in a state of financial instability. On top of that, they have to endure the humiliation of tourists visiting the site of their historic defeat in the Black Hills.

Playing for the World  / produced by John Twiggs, KUFM-TV Montana PBS/ The University of Montana.  [Missoula, Mont.] : KUFM-TV Montana PBS/ The University of Montana, c2009.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 60 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in  E97.6.F66 P537 2009 VideoDVD : In 1902, a unique combination of Native women came together at a Montana boarding school. They used the new sport of basketball to help adjust to a rapidly changing world. Their travels and experiences led them to places they never imagined....After winning the state championship, they barnstormed to the St. Louis World's Fair where they defeated all challengers and were declared the "Champions of the World."...Along the way, they handled issues of race and gender with the same grace and skill they displayed on the court. They gained entry into mainstream society, all the while realizing they were always "on display". These were hard lessons learned that they carried for the rest of their lives. Ultimately, they played for something much bigger than themselves.  Trailer.

Pocahontas : Ambassador of the New World / a Perpetual Motion Films production ; a presentation of Non Fiction Films Inc. in association with A & E Network ; producer/directors, Monte Markham, Adam Friedman ; writers, Stephen Bankler-Jukes, Lee Fulkerson.  Burlington, VT : A&E Home Video ; New York : Distributed by New Video, 2005.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 50 min.) : sd., col. and b&w ; 4 3/4 in. E99.P85 P633 2005 VideoDVD : The legendary Pocahontas was the Native American princess who, at the age of 12, saved the life of English explorer Captain John Smith. Before her death at 23, she had single-handedly forged an improbable peace between two nations.

Power Paths / Specialty Studios presents a Looking Hawk production ; narrator, Peter Coyote ; producer/director/videographer, Bo Boudart. [South Dakota] : Looking Hawk Productions, c2009.  1 DVD videodisc (85 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. TJ807.9.U6 P68 2009 VideoDVD :  The story begins in the 1960s, when two massive coal mines open on Navajo and Hopi reservations in Arizona. Between them, they produce enough coal to satisfy the unquenchable energy thirsts of Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They also comprise the single largest strip-mining complex in the world. For more than 30 years, the mines—and the Mohave Generating Station they supply—scar sacred native land, drain the natural aquifers and pollute the Southwestern skies....Meanwhile, beneath the high-tension power lines that carry electricity to the neon-saturated Vegas Strip, Native American reservation dwellers have no electricity or running water....Sickened by the economic disparity and the mounting toll on their land and health, some Navajo and Hopi tribe members begin pressuring their tribal governments not to renew the mining leases, but to no avail. As a result, a handful of grassroots organizers from both tribes join forces with The Sierra Club, the Grand Canyon Trust and the National Parks and Conservation Association to fight back. Calling themselves the Just Transition Coalition, they take on wealthy and entrenched adversaries from Peabody to Southern California Edison....They succeed in closing the power plant (and subsequently the mines) in 2005. But the ecological and moral victory comes at a cost: About half of the adults on the reservations had worked for the mines, and are now unemployed....Undeterred, the Just Transition Coalition shifts gears and heads for California, where they win a legal battle to use the shuttered Mohave plant’s cap-and-trade pollution credits to finance investment in solar panels and wind turbines for their reservations....In one scene, a Navajo mother screws a light bulb into a kitchen socket for the first time and sees it light up, enabling her children to stop depending on sunlight or dangerous kerosene lanterns in order to do their homework. She weeps in relief and gratitude....Today, more tribes are seeking investments and partnerships to create green-energy economies on the reservation, with hopes that one day, renewable energy will replace casinos as a primary means for economic development and tribal self-sufficiency....As the nation at large struggles to disengage itself from the chains of a fossil-fuel-based economy, POWER PATHS signals cause for hope that an alternative is not somewhere in the future, but possible right now. And Native Americans are leading the way.  More information.

Documentary Films, R

Racing the Rez / produced by Wolf Hill Films for Native American Public Telecommunications ; producer, director, Brian Truglio.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2012.  1 streaming video file (57 minutes) via Alexander Street Press.  (Also available as streaming video from Kanopy):   Set against the iconic landscape of the Southwest, Racing the Rez promises to yield a powerful, intimate view of transformation and hope. In the rugged canyon lands of Northern Arizona, Navajo and Hopi cross-country runners from two rival high schools put it all on the line for Tribal pride, triumph over adversity and state championship glory. Win or lose, what they learn in the course of their seasons will have a dramatic effect on the rest of their lives. "For Native culture, running is much more than a sport," commented Truglio. "It's part of their creation stories and is woven into the cultural fabric of their lives. Whether distant or recent, every family's lore contains legends of runners." A co-production of Wolf Hill Films and Vision Maker Media, Racing the Rez moves beyond Native American stereotypes of the past and present by delving deep into the daily grind of these Native teenagers. Over the course of two racing seasons, you'll witness the boys striving to find their place among their Native people and the American culture surrounding them. The film sheds light on the many challenges that these runners face living on a Reservation and how they come to terms with having to make cultural choices that most American youth will never encounter. Tuba City cross-country runner Billy Orman stated that running is a way of escaping the screwed-up stuff that occurs on the Reservation. Collectively, the runners shared stories about the presence of alcohol, drug abuse, family deaths from overdosing, parental abandonment and living conditions among others. "All of the boys in the film showed a tremendous amount of courage in the things that they shared with me," Truglio added. "I think part of it is that they needed to share this stuff and wanted to." The two head cross-country coaches, Shaun Martin of Chinle High School and Carl Perry of Tuba City High School, recognized the opportunity for harnessing the immense running talent of Navajo and Hopi youth for obtaining more than just school championships. "These teenage years are a crucial and transitional point in their lives -- they're on the cusp of adulthood -- where they are caught between the traditional and modern worlds and have to come to a decision of whether they should leave the Reservation to seek opportunities elsewhere," they commented.

Radioactive Reservations, produced by Goldhawk Productions. 1996. 50:35 mins. Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online : The story of how the Indian tribes may become the repository for radioactive waste is yet another chapter in their sad history in North America. In this film tribal leader Ron Eagleye Johnny takes us to four reservations whose inhabitants chronicle the negotiations with the U.S. government to place Monitored Storage Retrieval sites on their land The large commercial power companies have run out of places to bury their nuclear waste....The lure to these impoverished people is quick money, jobs, and the promise of safety. Unhappily, it is often the tribal councils that will negotiate the deals and profit from them without the money filtering down to the rest of the population. The tour starts with the Paiute Shoshone reservation, near Fort McDermott, Oregon, goes to the Skull Valley Cosiute reservation outside of Salt Lake City, and takes us to New Mexico and Nevada where the Apaches, Navajos and Pueblos have long been recipients of nuclear fallout from weapons testing. Ron Eagleye Johnny also visits a power plant in Minnesota where conversation is monitored by lawyers and public relations people....Radioactive Reservations is an eloquent statement from the Native Americans themselves on the vulnerability of their very existence. Access limited to the MSU community and other subscribers.

Ramona : a Story of Passion and Protest / produced by Teya Ryan ; written by Nancy Wilkman.  Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c2004.  1 DVD videodisc (28 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  PS2107 .R33 2004 VideoDVD : Uses film clips to recap the plot and historical background to explain the immense popularity of Jackson's 1884 novel, which crystallized public opinion about the whites' maltreatment of Native Americans in much the same way that Uncle Tom's Cabin had done for African Americans.

Reclaiming Our Children: a story of the Indian Child Welfare Act / a film by Marcella Ernest ; produced by Native Voices.  [Seattle, Wash. : Native Voices, 2007?]  1 DVD-R videodisc (29 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in  E98.C5 R43 2007 VideoDVD :  The wholesale separation of Indian children from their families is the most destructive and tragic aspect of American Indian life today. Prior to 1978, Native children were placed in foster care at a rate of 10 to 20 times higher than any other group in the U.S. This documentary examines the impact of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the child welfare system, and the laws, policies, and attitudes that work against Native families.

Reclaiming Their Voice  : the Native American vote in New Mexico & beyond / producer, director, Dorothy Fadiman.  [Menlo Park, CA] : Concentric Media, c2010.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 42 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E91 .R43 2010 VideoDVD : Examines the history of Native American voting rights in the United States and New Mexico. It follows narratives including the history of the Pueblo revolt, the evolution of Native voting rights, the Laguna Tribe's 2004 voter registration drive, the passage of new legislation to support and protect Native American voting rights, and a battle to preserve sacred petroglyphs in Albuquerque.

Reel Injun / [presented by] Rezolution Pictures International Inc in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada, CBC Newsworld, Telefilm Canada... [et al.] ; directed by Neil Diamond ; produced by Christina Fon, Catherine Bainbridge, Linda Ludwick.  New York, N.Y. : Lorber HT Digital, 2010.  1 DVD videodisc (88 min.) : sd., col and b&w. ; 4 3/4 in. PN1995.9.I48 R44 2010 VideoDVD : Travelling through the heartland of America, Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond examines how the myth of the movie "Injun" has influenced the world's understanding - and misunderstanding - of Natives. With clips from hundreds of classic and recent films, and candid interviews with celebrated Native and non-Native directors, writers, actors and activists, including Clint Eastwood, Robbie Robertson, Sacheen Littlefeather, John Trudell, Charlie Hill and Russell Means, Reel Injun traces the evolution of cinema's depiction of Native people from the silent film era to the present day.

The Return of Navajo Boy (2000) / Groundswell Educational films in association with Native American Public Telecommunications in association with PBS ; directed by Jeff Spitz ; co-producers, Jeff Spitz & Bennie Klain ; story by Jeff Spitz.  [Chicago, Ill.] : Groundswell Educational Films, 2009.  1 DVD videodisc (57, 15 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.N3 R47 2009 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy) : "The Return of Navajo Boy ... reunited a Navajo family and triggered a federal investigation into uranium contamination. It tells the story of Elsie Mae Begay, whose history in pictures reveals an incredible and ongoing struggle for environmental justice. A powerful new epilogue (produced in 2008) shows how the film and Groundswell Educational Films' outreach campaign create news and rally supporters including Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform who has mandated a clean-up plan by the five agencies that are responsible for uranium contamination."

The Ride : The Annual Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride. Under the Milky Way, 2016. 88 minutes. Streaming video via Kanopy : After Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn and Chief Sitting Bull's subsequent surrender and execution, the Lakota Sioux set out on a 300-mile walk through South Dakota. Pursued by the Seventh Cavalry, they ended up at Wounded Knee where 350 Lakota were massacred, on December 28, 1890. Since 1986, young Lakota have retraced this 300-mile route on horseback as part of an annual tradition known as the Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride. In this intimate documentary, we accompany the riders - many of whom had ancestors at Wounded Knee - on this important journey....  Amid the stunningly photographed Badlands, the documentary captures the interactions between the young riders and the adult Lakota supervising the trek. The elders share their wisdom and knowledge, and reflect on their culture's history and traditions. For young riders, it's a transformational experience, as they open up about their fears and emotions and thoughts about the future.

Rising Voices/Hothaninpi / Florentine Films/Hott Productions & Vision Maker Media ; a film by Lawrence Hott and Diane Garey.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2015.  1 streaming video file (58 minutes) via Alexander Street Press  : The story about the imminent peril to the Lakota language, it braids together the struggles of Lakota to learn their tribal language today, the historical attempt by the United State to annihilate the language, the rise of immersion language schools, and the participation of outsiders in the rescue of the Lakota language. History is interwoven with present-day short films about the culture, created by Lakota filmmakers and artists.

River People : Behind the Case of David Sohappy / Produced by Michal Conford and Michele Zaccheo.  1991.  51 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online  : River Peopledocuments a timely issue - the clash between an ancient culture and modern society. It is the story of David Sohappy, a Native-American spiritual leader who was sentenced to a five-year prison term for selling 317 salmon out of season. For twenty years Sohappy has fished in open defiance of all state and federal fishing laws. He claims he has an ancestral right to fish along Oregon's Columbia River. As a result, he has become a symbol of resistance for indigenous people of the Northwest United States and beyond....River People uses Sohappy's case to explore the historic conflict over the resources of the Columbia and the political controversy involving fishing rights and the right to religious freedom. Behind the controversy is the story of a man caught in a conflict between two cultures, and two seemingly irreconcilable ways of looking at the world.

The River That Harms.  The Video Project, 1987.  46 minutes.  Streaming Video via Kanopy. : This illuminating film documents the largest radioactive waste spill in U.S. history - a national tragedy that received little attention...  With the sound of a thunderclap, 94 million gallons of water contaminated with uranium mining waste broke through a United Nuclear Corporation storage dam in 1979. The water poured into the Puerco River in New Mexico - the main water supply for the Navajo Indians that live along the river, and a tributary of the major source of water for Los Angeles. Navajo ranchers, their children, and farm animals waded through the river unaware of the danger. The River That Harms tells the story of this tragedy and the toll it continues to take on the Navajos, who lost the use of their water. To the Navajos, this event is also a prophetic warning for all humanity.

The Road to Andersonville : Michigan Native American Sharpshooters in the Civil War / Producer, David B. Schock. [Holland, Mich.] : penUltimate, Ltd., 2013.  1 DVD videodisc (111 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E540.I3 R62 2013 VideoDVD: A documentary on Native American soldiers who served in Michigan's Company K during the Civil War. Includes a segment about a trip by present day Native Americans to honor the Anishinabe of Michigan who died at Andersonville Prison....During the American Civil War, Union forces ran low on sharpshooters.  In Michigan, the answer was to change a law prohibiting Native American military service, and then—in 1863—to ask members of the Three Fires Tribes (Odawa [Ottawa]), Bodewadmik [Potawatomi], and Ojibway [Chippewa]) to enlist.  These were men who lived in peaceful coexistence with their neighbors, Native American and white alike, and who also possessed legendary woodland and hunting skills.  There existed among these men the important tradition of a warrior society, the Ogitchedaw, whose members were required to partake in battle....The Native Americans knew they were not likely to be well treated; they knew all too well the intentions of the whites who routinely effected displacements of other tribes resulting in horrific events such as The Trail of Tears in 1838.  The Native Americans knew their way of life was at risk, and their accumulating losses of lands and culture were everywhere apparent. However, they also knew that if the South was successful in its campaign during the Civil War, they would likely be relegated to the status of slaves.  Therefore, the members of the Three Fires Tribes responded with alacrity and in number: The first was Thomas “Big Tom” Kechittigo from Saginaw on May 3, 1863. Twenty five men from the Elbridge Reservation near Pentwater in Oceana County joined on July 4, 1863. Twenty-eight Ojibway from the Isabella reservation enlisted. A dozen Potawatomi also joined the ranks.  Some others traveled from southwest Michigan to enlist in Company K.  A few trekked from Canada. The Native Americans arrived at the Dearborn Arsenal to be trained into a cohesive fighting unit as members of Company K, First Michigan Sharp Shooters, the only all Native American unit in the North.  Not one member of the 139 was Ogitchedaw; that meant not one member had experienced battle....And these men saw hard service in most of the major battles remaining in the war.  In all, one fourth of the men of Company K were either killed or wounded in battle....While many gave the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield, some of the Sharpshooters were captured.  After the Battle of Petersburg, 15 of their number were sent to a living hell: the prison camp at Andersonville.  According to the National Parks Service, of 45,000 prisoners, almost 13,000 died of starvation and/or disease. Of the 15 from Company K, seven died and were buried there.  At the time of the beginning of this film, they had lain at Andersonville for nearly 150 years without receiving their burial ceremony....About a dozen descendants of Company K and others of the present day Anishinabe Ogitchedaw Veteran and Warrior Society traveled to Andersonville, Georgia, in May of 2010 to honor the graves of the men.  These travelers motored from Michigan to Andersonville to offer their prayers and pay homage and respect to the spirits of the men of Company K there buried....This film is the story of that journey and the telling of the tale of the 139 men who joined as members of Company K, their recruitment, the training, their battles, and their deaths and survival....In addition to members of the Ogitchedaw and other descendants of the men of Company K we hear from Company K historians Ray Herek (These Men Have Seen Hard Service) and Chris Czopek (Who Was Who in Company K). The Road to Andersonville trailer and description.  Another Trailer.

The Romance of a Vanishing Race; The Rodman Wanamaker expedition of citizenship to the North American Indian; Winter farm life on a Crow reservation / Rich-Heape Films. Dallas, Tex. : Rich-Heape Films, 2008. 1 DVD videodisc (63 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E77 .R665 2008 VideoDVD : This DVD includes three historic motion pictures of Native Americans and their life-style in the early 1900's. Featuring Tribal Chiefs who participated in the Last Great Indian Council and several who fought at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Originally produced on 35mm film, this priceless footage, recently discovered within the lost treasures of the National Archives is re-mastered to include an original music score and soundtrack to further preserve Native American history and culture.
Program #1, The Romance of the Vanishing Race provides a view of Indian life in the west featuring Navajo, Pueblo, Crow, and Hopi tribes. Released 1916. Running Time 29 min
Program #2, Rodman Wanamaker Expedition of Citizenship to the North American Indian Carrying the Flag and a Message of Hope to a Vanishing Race, Dr. Joseph Dixon explains the symbolism of the flag to numerous Indian tribes. Released 1913. Running Time 26min
Program #3, Winter Farm Life on a Crow Reservation featuring WWI French hero General Ferdinand Foch. Shows reservation life including butchering a cow, raising a teepee, and Native ceremonies. Released 1921. Running Time 8min

Documentary Films, S

Sacred Buffalo People.  Morris Plains, NJ : Lucerne Media, [199-?]  1 vVHS ideocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E78.G73 S23 1990z Videocassette : Engaging, heartbreaking, inspiring - this extraordinary documentary teaches us about our dependence on nature and nature's dependence upon us. A dramatic search into the relationship of the buffalo to the native people of America. This emotional and very moving film explores the powerful bond between Indian people of the Northern Plains and the buffalo. Once revered as a spiritual and cultural icon, today the buffalo serves as a living symbol of native survival.

Sacred Stick.   Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2013.  57 minutes.  Streaming video  via Kanopy.  (Also available as streaming video via Alexander Street Press : "Before there was light, before there was earth, the game was played." - Oren Lyons..Sacred Stick examines the historical, cultural, and spiritual aspects of lacrosse. From the ancient Maya to the world famous Iroquois Nationals team, this program explores a uniquely Indigenous sport that, like Native peoples themselves, adapted and endured within the dominant culture. As lacrosse surges in popularity, it has now become the fastest growing sport in North America. But for Native peoples, it has always been and continues to be much more than a game.

Savagery and the American Indian.  2 VHS videocassettes (101 min.)  E77 .S39 2000 Videocassette : Describes the impact of white settlement on the American Indian. Part 1 covers the period from 1620-1890 when the Indian population had fallen from 5 million to 250,000. Traces the expansion of white settlement; the resultant depletion of the native peoples and the way in which contemporaries recorded the events. Part 2 traces developments since 1890 when the Indian reservations were established and the residual tribes were compulsorily moved into them. The program talks of the native peoples efforts to retain more of their own culture in the face government endeavors to assimilate them, and the resultant cultural and social problems.

A Search for Vanished People directed by Elizabeth Patapoff (Documentary Educational Resources, 1982) 29:06 mins. Steaming video from the Ethnographic Video Online collection : Pioneering archaeologist, Luther Cressman, pursued the evidence that describes the lifeways of the earliest people of the Northern Great Basin. Cressman explores the caves where he discovered basket fragments, sagebrush sandals and ancient weapons. Carbon dating verified that people had lived in the region during the last Ice Age, 13,000 years ago. This film shows Dr. Cressman's more than 40 years of research on western prehistory....A Search For Vanished People is an important historical film about Native North Americans.

A Seat at the Table: Struggling for American Indian Religious Freedom / [produced by Gary Rhine for Kifaru Productions] ; written by Phil Cousineau.  2005.  Berkeley, Calif. : Berkeley Media LLC, 2005.  1 DVD videodisc (91 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.   DVD.  90 minutes.  E98.R3 S43 2005 VideoDVD : Professor Huston Smith is widely regarded as the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. In this thought-provoking documentary he is featured in dialogues with eight American Indian leaders....The film interweaves thoughtful commentary, sequences shot in threatened Indian sacred sites, and scenes from the Third Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town, South Africa. The result is a profound and poignant exploration of the myriad problems faced by contemporary Native Americans in practicing their religious ceremonies and beliefs....Each of the film's eight segments deals with an important obstacle to American Indian religious freedom. Taken as a whole, the film provides an outstanding overview of the spiritual ways of today's Native Americans. The Native leaders and the topics they examine with Prof. Smith are as follows: (1) Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), Senior Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund: A History and overview of the American Indian struggle for religious freedom; (2) Winona LaDuke (Anishinabe), Director, White Earth Land Recovery Project: Native religions and the earth; pollution and clear-cutting as religious persecution; (3) Frank Dayish, Jr. (Dine), President, Native American Church of North America: The triumph of the Native American Church's struggle for the religious use of Peyote; (4) Charlotte Black Elk (Lakota), Primary Advocate for protection of the Black Hills: Protection of The Black Hills and Native access to sacred sites; (5) Doug George-Kanentiio (Mohawk), journalist and activist: Destruction of Native languages and the resulting damage to Native ceremonies; (6) Lenny Foster (Dine), Director/Spiritual Advisor, Navajo Nation Corrections Project: Injustices faced by incarcerated Native Americans; (7) Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga), President, American Indian Law Alliance: The spiritual threat posed to indigenous peoples by the Human Genome Diversity Project; (8) Guy Lopez (Crow Creek Sioux), Coordinator, Sacred Lands Protection Program, Association of American Indian Affairs: Disrespect of Apache beliefs by University of Arizona and Jesuit astrophysicists....The film includes excerpts of messages by the Dalai Lama, South African President Nelson Mandela, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The ceremonial opening of the week-long Parliament flamboyantly displays the rich variety of religious traditions from around the world and includes a performance of an Iroquois ancestral song by noted American Indian singer Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida), who also delivers the articulate narration for the documentary....The menus on the DVD version of the film enable easy access to particular segments and encourage in-depth classroom discussion and analysis...."A Seat at the Table" is an exemplary teaching tool that will spotlight the issues of Native American religious freedom for a wide variety of courses in Native American studies, religious studies and comparative religion, cultural anthropology, American history and studies, and legal studies. The film is also the ideal enhancement to the new book by the same title published by University of California Press.  More information.

Seeking the First Americans (1980) / a production of Public Broadcasting Associates, Inc. ; written, produced and directed by Graham Chedd.  Watertown, Mass. : Documentary Educational Resources, 2010.   1 DVD videodisc (59 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E61 .S45 2010 VideoDVD  : The earliest inhabitants of the New World came across the Bering Sea land bridge that opened as a result of glaciation, which lowered the level of the sea and connected the continents of Asia and America. The question of when these people walked from Siberia is still debated by archaeologists. In 1932, a site excavated near Clovis, New Mexico, yielded the bones of extinct animals in association with man-made, skillfully fluted stone points. With the development of radiocarbon dating in the late 1940s, it was determined that "Clovis man" had lived between 12,000 and 11,000 years ago. Finely flaked Clovis stone tools have been discovered throughout North America, suggesting an extraordinarily rapid spread - either of ideas and technology, or of people. Presumably Clovis men and women moved across the land, hunting large animals (mammoth, bison, saber-toothed tiger) with stone points hafted to spears, and collecting wild fruits, thistle leaves, yucca pods, roots, and nuts....This film addresses a number of puzzles associated with the discovery of early man in America, in addition to the question of diffusion of ideas versus migration of people. What accounts for the rapid growth of Clovis culture across the continent, and for its rather quick demise: within a thousand years, American megafauna (except for bison) were extinct, and Clovis stone tool technology had been replaced by other forms. Does Clovis culture represent the earliest human occupation of this area, or did peoples perhaps 40,000 years ago leave less recognizable evidence of themselves?...If bone tools preceded stone, how can scientists determine whether a broken piece of bone has been modified by man, and not simply crunched by a large bear? What can we learn from experimental archaeology: making stone tools, or butchering a bison with a Clovis-style knife? These and other questions are explored by several archaeologists involved in the search for evidence of the earliest Americans, from the Old Crow Basin in Alaska, to sites in Texas and Wyoming. 

Sheep Eaters - Plants and Minerals / A film  by Gary Wortman (Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 2004) 30 minutes.  Streaming video from the Ethnographic Video Online collection : The Sheep Eaters relied heavily on the plants they could gather for medicinal and edible uses, often cooking food in a unique soapstone vessel....The spectacular Wind River Mountain Range of northwest Wyoming was once home to a little known but fascinating band of Shoshone Indians known as the Tuku Dika, or Sheep Eaters. As their name implies, these peoples were among the most successful hunters of North America’s wild sheep, the majestic Rocky Mountain ‘big horns’. These magnificent creatures still roam the rugged Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; however, the tribe that followed them for hundreds of years was relegated to life on the reservation by the turn of the nineteenth century. This four-part series examines the life ways of this ancient band of high mountain Shoshones.

Sheep Eaters - Trading and Tools  / A film by Gary Wortman (Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 2004) 30 minutes.  Streaming video from the Ethnographic Video Online collection : This film examines the skills of tanning, flint napping and bowmaking among the Sheep Eaters, who utilized dogs to help them travel and gather resources....The spectacular Wind River Mountain Range of northwest Wyoming was once home to a little known but fascinating band of Shoshone Indians known as the Tuku Dika, or Sheep Eaters. As their name implies, these peoples were among the most successful hunters of North America’s wild sheep, the majestic Rocky Mountain ‘big horns’. These magnificent creatures still roam the rugged Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; however, the tribe that followed them for hundreds of years was relegated to life on the reservation by the turn of the nineteenth century. This four-part series examines the life ways of this ancient band of high mountain Shoshones.

Self-Esteem for Native American Students. Part of the Series: Native-American History & Cultural Series. TMW Media,2005. 19 minutes. Streaming video via Kanopy : Designed to present the strength and importance of the native people of North America. Discover what it means to be a Native American & discover how to celebrate one's ancient ancestry while still keeping in touch with modern society.

Sitting Bull  : a stone in my heart / a LilliMar picture ; a film by John Ferry ; written, produced and directed by John Ferry ; co-written and co-produced by Grace De Soto Ferry.  Santa Barbara, CA : LilliMar Pictures, c2006.  1 DVD videodisc (83 min.) : col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.D1 S588 2006 VideoDVD : Sitting Bull's own words, over six-hundred photographs and a compelling original music score bring to life this great American Indian's struggle to save his people's way of life against an ever-expanding westward movement of white settlers. This is powerful cinematic journey into the life and spirit of a legendary figure. No other film captures him with such depth of character and personality.  In his own words, Tatanka-Iyotanka (narrated by Adam Fortunate Eagle)  talks about his life on the Northern Plains, the Battle of the Little Big Horn and finally, his complicated views of Euro- American culture. Except for a few lines of dialogue invented for cohesion, it is Sitting Bull s first-person account of his life and times. And what an amazing life and time it was. ... A standout leader even at a young age, he used his bravery and wit to defy the encroaching incursion into his ancestral lands. He reveled in the attention from performing in Buffalo Bill s Wild West show, selling his autograph for a dollar or more a pop. He loved fame and developed a appreciation for ice cream and White dancing girls. When he finally met with the Great White Father to explain the plight of his people back home in South Dakota, Sitting Bull was insulted by President Cleveland s dismissive demeanor. Not the treatment a man with his standing and outsized ego was willing to accept. Similarly, Sitting Bull found it astounding that a culture that calls itself civilized abused its children and allowed people to go homeless and hungry on city streets. The wealth he amassed as an entertainer was given away to the urban poor and those on the reservation in need, keeping none for his personal enrichment. It's clear that despite the allure of celebrity, he remained to his core a Hunkpapa Lakota chief; a devotion he eventually paid for with his life in 1890. It is anecdotes like these interspersed with archival photos, graphics and a powerful score by Steve Henry and Cory and Ernie Orosco, that leave you wanting to know more.   Cover.

Sitting Bull - Chief of the Lakota Nation.  [Burlington, VT] : A&E Home Video ; New York : Distributed by New Video, 2005. 1 DVD videodisc (ca. 50 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. E99.D1 S58 2005 VideoDVD  :  One of the last great leaders of the Native American Resistance, Sitting Bull earned his place in history with his stunning victory in the Battle at Little Bighorn-but his life encompassed much more than one battle. BIOGRAPHY® journeys back to the fading days of the Old West for a comprehensive history of the Sioux medicine man. Hear period accounts that narrate his many battles with early settlers and learn how he revised the Native American strategy and created more effective fighters. Discover how he masterminded the victory at Custer's Last Stand and trace the tragic last days of his life, from his position in Buffalo Bill's "Wild West Show" to his captivity and death. A moving and remarkable portrait of one of the last great Native American warriors.

Smokin' Fish / a co-production of Luke Griswold-Tergis and Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. ; producer, Luke Griswold-Tergis ; writer, Luke Griswold-Tergis ; directors, Luke Griswold-Tergis, Cory Mann.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2011.  57 minutes.  Streaming video file  via Alexander Street Press  (Also available via Kanopy subscription) : Cory Mann is a quirky Tlingit businessman hustling to make a dollar in Juneau Alaska. He gets hungry for smoked salmon, nostalgic for his childhood, and decides to spend a summer smoking fish at his family's traditional fish camp. The unusual story of his life and the untold history of his people interweave with the process of preparing traditional food as he struggles to pay his bills, keep the IRS off his back, and keep his business afloat. By turns tragic, bizarre, or just plain ridiculous, Smokin' fish tells the story of one man's attempts to navigate the messy zone of collision between the modern world and an ancient culture.

Son of the morning star  / Republic Pictures.  Los Angeles, CA : Republic Pictures Home Video, c1991.  2 VHS videocassettes (183 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. E83.876 .C6962 1991 Videocassette : Retelling of the legendary Battle of Little Bighorn, the meeting of Gen. George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Told from both the soldiers' and Indians' viewpoint, the battle proved to be the beginning of the end for the American Indians and their way of life.

Sousa on the Rez : marching to the beat of a different drum / a co-production of Desert Penguin Pictures & Vision Maker Media ; produced in association with the Center for Independent Documentary ; directed & produced by Cathleen O'Connell.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2012. 27 minutes. Streaming video via Alexander Street Press (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy subscription) : When you hear the phrase "Native American music" you may not think of tubas, trumpets, and Sousa marches. Yet, this rich musical tradition has long been a part of Native American culture...Experience the Native American music scene like never before and get an inside look at contemporary Indian life in this unexpected and engaging half-hour documentary, Sousa on the Rez: Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum.

Spirit in glass : Plateau Native Beadwork / co-production of Mimbres Fever Productions & Vision Maker Media ; produced, directed and edited by Penelope Phillips.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2014.  27 minutes.  Streaming video via Kanopy.  : 'Art has always been a way to showcase what is going on in a community. We have adapted beads to being our artform. It is definitely a part of our identity.' - Ervanna Little Eagle (Warm Springs) Celebrate the spectacular beadwork and culture of the Columbia River Plateau People through the eyes and hearts of the artists. Together, they share their history, motivation and the beadwork that plays and important role in binding their culture together. Native Plateau beadwork and culture is unique and its story of survival is a part of the rich tapestry of America. Narrated by Nez Perce storyteller Nakia Williamson, Spirit in Glass: Plateau Native Beadwork features artists from the Warm Springs, Yakama, and Umatilla Reservations.

The Spirit of Annie Mae - A Native American Activist. Catherine Anne Martin, 2002. 74 minutes.. Available as streaming video from Kanopy. : Anna Marie Pictou-Aquash was a leading Native American political activist. A Mi'kmaw Indian born in Nova Scotia, she was killed execution-style on a desolate road in South Dakota in 1976, when she was only thirty years of age. The murderer(s) remain mystery. She was a leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), a militant First Nations organization, and participated in the Wounded Knee uprising. This documentary chronicles the life of Pictou, including her efforts to obtain civil rights for aboriginal peoples and her poignant death.

The Spirit of Crazy Horse / produced by Michel Dubois and Kevin McKiernan ; directed by James Locker ; written by Milo Yellow Hair ... [et al.] ; a production of Parallax Productions and Access Productions in association with WGBH.  [United States] : PBS Video, c1990.  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.) MSU College of Law Library Reserve Video S : "The heart of everything that is." These are the words which the Sioux Indians use to describe their ancestral homeland, the Black Hills of South Dakota. Those million acres form the spiritual core of the Sioux culture, and it's a land they have struggled to reclaim for a century. The Spirit of Crazy Horse is an eye-opening vision of their quest, which has shaped the lives and destiny of the Sioux for six generations....It is a tale recounted by Milo Yellow Hair, a fullblood Oglala Sioux, whose great-grandfather fought General Custer at the Little Big Horn. While the story echoes with famous names like Wounded Knee -- the last major Indian slaughter a century ago -- this is more than a tale of long-lost wars. The Spirit of Crazy Horse reveals the modern Sioux struggle to regain their heritage, and how places like Wounded Knee became sites for a fight that still continues....The program carries us through the militant confrontations of the 1960s and '70s, the explosive results of 100 years of confinement on Indian reservations. The Spirit of Crazy Horse takes us past the clichés about the problems that plague life on the reservation, and puts the issues in a meaningful context of Indian culture....By investigating the simmering conflict of recent decades, The Spirit of Crazy Horse also offers a clear perspective on the crucial choices that lie ahead. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Black Hills were stolen from the Sioux, the fight for the return of the land rages on. In the shadow of Mount Rushmore , the Sioux vision of their sacred homeland still thrives, and The Spirit of Crazy Horse is a moving portrait of those hopes and aspirations. In the face of hard choices, the descendents of the famous warrior Crazy Horse carry his spirit on. (source: tape case copy)

The Spirit of Sacajawea / Naka Productions.  [Charlotte, NC] : Naka Productions, c2006.  1 DVD videodisc (59 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  F592.7.S123 S65 2006 VideoDVD : One of the most revered women in American history, Sacajawea has been romanticized and often misinterpreted by non-natives. Revolving around interviews with her tribal peoples as well as recognized historians, this documentary examines the many controversies regarding her life, how her role in the Lewis & Clark journey impacted her tribes, and how they are surviving today.

Spirits for Sale  / A film by Folke Johanssen.  2008.  58:25 minutes.  Streaming video from Filmakers Virtual Library : When Annika is given an eagle feather by a Native American visiting Sweden, she realizes it is a sacred object which should probably not be in her hands. These days Native American ceremonies are being commercialized for "outsiders," arousing resentment in the Native community....Annika sets out to find the feather's rightful owner, a quest which takes her to American Indian communities in Albuquerque, San Antonio and to Bear Butte in South Dakota. She meets many Native Americans who are bitter, believing they are "the forgotten people." But others are fighting to preserve their culture and their faith as well as to protect their land....Navajo Andrew Thomas, who manages the Albuquerque Pueblo Center, explains that certain tribes use feathers in special ways to communicate with "the Upper God." He fears modern Native Americans have lost touch with the ancient beliefs. In this film we hear from a professor of Native American history in San Antonio who discusses the five hundred tribes who lived in the US centuries ago and recalls the massacres they suffered. Gayle Ross, a respected Cherokeeteacher, feels Americans do not understand native people. Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota nation is deeply disturbed by the entire arena of cultural exploitation.

Standing Bear's Footsteps / produced, written & directed by Christine Lesiak ; associate producer, Princella Parker (Omaha); videographer-editor, Pat Aylward. [Lincoln, Neb.] : NET Television ; distributed by VisionMaker, c2011.  1 DVD videodisc (56 min., 46 sec.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E99.P7 S73 2011 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video via Alexander Street Press) : In 1877, the Ponca people were exiled from their Nebraska homeland to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. To honor his dying son's last wish to be buried in his homeland, Chief Standing Bear set off on a grueling, six-hundred-mile journey home. Captured en-route, Standing Bear sued a famous U.S. army general for his freedom--choosing to fight injustice not with weapons, but with words. The Chief stood before the court to prove that an Indian was a person under the law. The story quickly made newspaper headlines--attracting powerful allies, as well as enemies.

Standing on Sacred Ground : Eight Cultures, One Fight /  Bullfrog Films, 2013.  4 DVD videodiscs, 228 minutes.  BL580 .S73 2013 VideoDVD : In this 4-part series, indigenous people from eight different cultures stand up for their traditional sacred lands in defense of cultural survival, human rights and the environment.  Indigenous communities around the world and in the U.S. resist threats to their sacred places--the original protected lands--in a growing movement to defend human rights and restore the environment.  In this four-part documentary series from the producer of In the Light of Reverence, native people share ecological wisdom and spiritual reverence while battling a utilitarian view of land in the form of government megaprojects, consumer culture, and resource extraction as well as competing religions and climate change.  Narrated by Graham Greene, with the voices of Tantoo Cardinal and Q'orianka Kilcher, the series exposes threats to native peoples' health, livelihood, and cultural survival in eight communities around the world. Rare verité scenes of tribal life allow indigenous people to tell their own stories--and confront us with the ethical consequences of our culture of consumption.  The titles in the series are:

  • Pilgrims and Tourists In the Altai Republic of Russia and in Northern California, indigenous shamans resist massive government projects that threaten nature and culture.
  • Profit and Loss From Papua New Guinea to the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, native people fight the loss of land, water, and health to mining and oil industries.
  • Fire and Ice From the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia to the Andes of Peru, indigenous highland communities battle threats to their forests, farms, and faith.
  • Islands of Sanctuary Aboriginal Australians and Native Hawaiians reclaim land from the government and the military, and resist the erosion of culture and environment.

Standing Silent Nation / by Courtney Hermann and Suree Towfighnia.  Watertown, Mass. : Documentary Educational Resources, 2007.  1 streaming video (52 min.) via Alexander Street Press. (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy subscription)  : When the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed an ordinance separating industrial hemp from its illegal cousin, marijuana, Alex White Plume and his family glimpsed a brighter future. Having researched hemp as a sustainable crop that would grow in the inhospitable soil of the South Dakota Badlands, the White Plumes envisioned a new economy that would impact the 85% unemployment rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation. They never dreamed they would find themselves swept up in a struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense....From the hemp fields of Pine Ridge to the US Federal Court of Appeals, the one-hour documentary Standing Silent Nation tracks one family's effort to create economic independence for themselves, their reservation, and their future generations. The hemp plant is like a new buffalo for the Lakota: a resource whose many uses from food to fuel to fiber, could enrich their sovereign nation. For three years, Alex White Plume and his family planted industrial hemp. But each year, their harvest was disrupted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which claims that hemp is marijuana despite the absence of marijuana's psychoactive properties....Standing Silent Nation challenges contemporary notions of Native America, while providing a compelling and engaging story rarely covered in mainstream media. DVD also includes deleted scenes, producer and director interviews, trailer and the 1942 Government film -- Hemp for Victory.

Sun, Moon & Feather / Metropolitan Arts ; a film by Jane Zipp, Bob Rosen.  [New York] : Cinema Guild, c1989.  1 VHS videocassette (26 min.)  E78.N7 S85 1989 Videocassette : Presents a musical comedy-documentary about three Native American sisters growing up in Brooklyn during the 1930s and 1940s.

Sunrise Dance / Producer/Director: Gianfranco Norelli.  1995.  28 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online : This unique and highly visual documentary shows an ancient, sacred Apache ceremony that has never before been filmed. The Sunrise Ceremony which marks the passage from adolescence to adulthood for young Apache women, is disappearing under the pressure of cultural assimilation. This documentary focuses on 13-year-old Maureen Nachu, who lives on the Fort Apache Reservation, in Whiteriver, Arizona....It captures the elaborate preparations for the ceremony: the mystical rituals of the Medicine Man who presides over the dance, the spiritual purification rites in the "Sweat Lodge," and the secret midnight appearance of the "Crown Dancers." The Sunrise Dance is a tremendous physical test, lasting three days. It proves that Maureen has the courage and strength of character to take her place in adult society. For Maureen, her family and her community, the dance is a reaffirmation of tribal identity and the celebration of the role of women in Apache society.

Super Chief directed by Nicholas Kurzon (Documentary Educational Resources, 1999) 75 mins. Available online as streaming video via Ethnographic Video Online : This documentary is about a campaign and election for a new tribal chairman of the White Earth Ojibwe Reservation....By 1996, millions of dollars that had come through the new casino on the White Earth Reservation seemed to stop at the tribal chairman's desk. The self-proclaimed "Super Chief", Darryl "Chip" Wadnea had been tribal chairman for the past 20 years. The tensions within the tribe had been building as members realized they had not seen any improvements in their social services or any services that should have resulted from a sharing of the wealth. A U.S. Prosecutor is trying to haul Wadnea into court and a Harvard educated reservation school teacher is determined to uncover his corruption....This long-in the making film project freezes a chapter of recent Minnesota history that's as important to non-Indians as it is to Indians. For Indians, it's a reminder of the frustration of taking on what seemed an insurmountable task: the unseating of a powerful incumbent. The film records the impact of people who were bent on change and fed up with the status quo. For non-Indians, "Super Chief" provides a telling glimpse into reservation life against the larger backdrop of the election....Nick Kurzon has accomplished what few filmmakers have: gaining the trust of American Indians so that their humor and thought processes are captured. He took things slow, allowing the people to see who he was. They in turn felt confident enough to show emotion and all that was at stake. Those intimately involved with the election provide the most interesting character profiles. Kurzon shows the hard work of the campaign and follows the tensions building like an orchestrated plot to an unpredictable end. He also manages the impossible: perhaps the first public filming in the state of Minnesota of the counting of ballots during a tribal election. This riveting film reveals much about politics and reservation life.

Surviving Columbus : the story of the Pueblo people / produced by KNME/Albuquerque and Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA).  Albuquerque, N.M. : Native American Public Broadcasting Consortium, 1992.  1 VHS videocassette (124 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E99.P9 S97 1992 Videocassette : Using stories from Pueblo elders, interviews with Pueblo scholars and leaders, archival photographs, and historical accounts, this program explores the Pueblo Indians' 450-year struggle to preserve their culture, land, and religion despite European contact.

Sweating Indian Style : Conflicts Over Native American Ritual / by Smith Susan, Center for Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California. (Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 1994)  57 minutes. Streaming video via Ethnographic Video Online.  (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy) : This documentary is about a group of non-Native women's search for self in "other". The focus is on a specific group of New Age women in Ojai, California who construct a new sweat lodge and perform their own ceremony. We meet each of these women as they prepare themselves for the ceremony, and hear about the reasons why they have chosen this path....We also meet and hear the various points of view of Native Americans. Some Native American groups report "declarations of war against the New Age". They believe their sacred ceremonial rituals should not be shared with outsiders, while others are open to "sincere non-native seekers of truth"....Other members of the video production team include Richard Grounds, a Yuchi-Seminole and a Henry Kendall Fellow with the departments of religion and anthropology at Tulsa University, and Rayna Green, a Cherokee who is director of the American Indian Program at the Smithsonian Institution.

Documentary Films : T-V

Tales of Wonder I; Tales of Wonder II : traditional Native American fireside stories / executive producer, Steven R. Heape ; director, Chip Richie.  Dallas, TX : Rich-Heape Films, [2004]  1 DVD videodisc (120 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E99.C5 T33 2004 VideoDVD : Fireside stories told in the Native American tradition by an acclaimed storyteller and linguist and accompanied by a flutist. A talented sketch artist creates drawings as the stories unfold.  Contents : Rabbit & the bear -- Why rabbit has a short tail -- Why possum's tail is bare -- The ruby necklace -- Origin of fire -- Pleiades and the pine tree -- Little grey bat -- Little turtle -- How deer got antlers -- Flying squirrel -- The ball game -- Dream catcher -- Daughter of the sun -- Democracy -- Sky people -- Strawberries -- Hawk and the hunter -- Origin of bluebonnets

Tecumseh's Vision. In the course of his brief and meteoric career, Tecumseh would become one of the greatest Native American leaders of all time, orchestrating the most ambitious pan-Indian resistance movement ever mounted on the North American continent. After his death he would live on as a potent symbol of Native pride and pan Indian identity. Directed by Ric Burns and Chris Eyre. Part of the We Shall Remain package.

The Thick Dark Fog  / a film by Randy Vasquez ; a co-production of High Valley Films, & Native American Public ; director, Randy Vasquez ; producers, Jonathan Skurnik, Randy Vasquez ; writer and editor, Paul Freedman.  [Colorado?] : High Valley Films, c2012.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E97 .T45 2012 VideoDVD  (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy subscription) :  Walter Littlemoon, a Lakota author and public speaker, attended a federal Indian boarding school in South Dakota 60 years ago. The mission of many of these schools in 1950 was to "kill the Indian and save the man." The children were not allowed to speak their language or express their culture or Native identity in any way. This is the story of how Littlemoon confronted his past so that he could renew himself and his community.   Trailer

Thieves of Time (1999).  ABC News Home Video, 23 minutes.  Bonus film available as part of A Thief of Time (2004) PS3558.I45 T49 2005 VideoDVD : Examines archaeological thefts from Navajo and Anasazi sites. Includes interviews with a convicted thief, art dealers, Navajo leaders, and archaeologists as well as a tour of several vandalized sites.

This May Be the Last Time  / Bond/360 ; This Land Films presents a film by Sterlin Harjo ; produced by Matt Leach, Christina D. King, Sterlin Harjo ; directed by Sterlin Harjo (With Public Performance Rights).   [S.l.] : This Land Films, [2013]  1 DVD videodisc (93 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + guide.  ML3557 .T54 2013 VideoDVD  disc & guide   : Traces the heartfelt journey of award-winning filmmaker Sterlin Harjo as he interweaves the tale of a mysterious death in 1962 with the rich history of the powerful hymns that have united Native American communities in times of worship, joy, tragedy, and hope.  Investigating the stories of these songs, this illuminating film takes us on an epic tour as we travel with the power of the music through Southwest America, slavery in the deep South, and as far away as the Scottish Highlands.  Teaser.    More information

This World is Not Our Home.  Wild Matters Productions, 1994.  14 minutes.  Streaming video  via Kanopy subscription. : This World Is Not Our Home is a short, immersive documentary film into the life story of Elvina Brown, the oldest member of the Pomo Indian Tribe in northern California. Narrated by her granddaughter and told first-hand by Elvina, This World Is Not Our Home shares Elvina's experiences, perspective and perseverance as a Pomo Indian through a century of change, including a US government relocation off the reservation to the city, the Native American takeover of Alcatraz Island and the transitions of modern day life back on the reservation. Utlimately, Elvina's respect for the heritage of her culture and her faith in Mother Earth and the Great Spirit help her and her tribe embrace change and prevail.... Created to supplement a curriculum of Native American studies and is appropriate for students of all ages.

A Thousand Roads / a Seven Arrows/Telenova Production ; produced by Scott Garen and Barry Clark ; directed by Chris Eyre. Washington, DC] : National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, c2005.  1 DVD videodisc (40 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  PN1995.9.I48 T56 2005 VideoDVD  : The lives of four Native Americans take a significant turn as they confront the crises that arise in a single day.  A young Inupiat girl, a Navajo homeboy, a Mohawk stockbroker, and a Quechua healer journey through the epic landscapes of Alaska, New Mexico, Manhattan, and Peru, drawing strength from their tribal pasts to  transcend the challenges of the day and embrace the promises that await  them. 

Through the eyes of the eagle  / written by Georgia Perez ; illustrated by Patrick Rolo and Lisa A. Fifield.  Atlanta, GA : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [2008]   7 minutes.   Government Documents Online Resource HE 20.7056:D 54

A Thunder-Being Nation : the Oglala Lakota of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation / Roaring Fire Films presents a film by Steven Lewis Simpson an Inlio Entertainment release.  [S.l.] : Roaring Fire Films, c2012. 1DVD  videodisc (ca. 86 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.. E99.O3 T48 2012 VideoDVD : The most comprehensive look at the journey from past to present of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, of the Oglala Lakota where people live under the harshest conditions within the USA. Produced by the award winning director of the movie Rez Bomb, also made on Pine Ridge and made over a 13 years period it's narrative is drawn from a broad cross-section of the local community from many different walks of life. Half of the documentary explores the history through key events like Wounded Knee 1890, Boarding Schools, confinement to the Reservation and Wounded Knee 1973 and the second half looks in depth at contemporary life today. Pairing the two it gives a detailed look at how contemporary conditions were created. This Special Edition contains 4 hours of extras (The Ultimate Edition holds over 10 hours of high value extras like full source documentaries, full interviews of elders that have passed on since filming and out-takes.) Special Featur5es : Commentary  by Steven Lewis Simpson Image Galleries : Past & Present Deleted Sequences : Kili Radio, Ghost Shirt Return, Misc. Out-takes, Red Cloud Takeover Featurettes : Pine Ridge - a Film-makers Journey, A Summer Week on Pine Ridge

Thunderbird Woman : Winona LaDuke / A film by Bertram Verhaag and Claus Biegert.  2003.  60 minutes.  Streaming video from Filmakers Library Online : This is an inspiring portrait of Winona La Duke, a unique and dynamic activist and member of the Anishinaabe tribe from the White Earth reservation in Northern Minnesota. Her father was a Native American who worked as a stuntman in Hollywood; her mother was a Jewish artist from New York....After completing her studies in economics at Harvard, Winona settled on the reservation. She traveled widely raising money to buy back land originally owned by Native Americans. In the film, we meet Native American activists Ralph Bear Killer and Alex White Plume who describe how the U.S. government in the late 19th century had defrauded the Native Americans of so much of their land, while suppressing their language and culture. The government had also slaughtered millions of buffalo upon which their agriculture depended. This destruction of the ecosystem is still being felt today....Winona organized resistance against uranium and coal mining on reservation lands. Nicknamed "No Nukes la Duke," in the 1980's she used the slogan "No Nukes" to united the Indian Movement with anti-nuclear protests. A published author, she was named one of America¹s fifty most promising leaders under forty years of age by Time Magazine. And, this impressive woman was chosen by Ralph Nader to be his running mate on the Green Party ticket in the l996 and 2000 elections!

Trail of Tears. Though the Cherokee embraced "civilization" and won recognition of tribal sovereignty in the U.S. Supreme Court, their resistance to removal from their homeland failed. Thousands were forced on a perilous march to Oklahoma. Directed by Chris Eyre.  Part of the We Shall Remain package.

Trail of tears : a Native American documentary collection.  [United States] : Mill Creek Entertainment, c2009.  2 DVD videodiscs (4 hrs., 23 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  ROVI Movie Collection CV8 D0120501 VideoDVD  discs 1-2   Contents : Disc 1. Trail of tears : Cherokee legacy / Rich-Heape Films ; written by Daniel Blake Smith ; produced by Chip Richie and Steven R. Heape ; directed by Chip Richie. (105 min.) -- Disc 2. Black Indians : an American story / written by Daniel Blake Smith ; directed by Chip Richie (52 min.) ; Native American healing in the 21st century / written by Howard Fisher ; produced and directed by Chip Richie(52 min.) ; Our spirits don't speak English : Indian boarding school / written by Dan Agent ; directed by Chip Richie (53 min.).

The Trail of Tears. Cherokee Legacy / Rich-Heape Films ; producers, Chip Richie, Steven R. Heape ; writer, Daniel Blake Smith ; director, Chip Richie.  Dallas, TX : Rich-Heape Films, 2006.  1 DVD videodisc (115 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.C5 T73 2006 VideoDVD  Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection  CP6 D0074684 VideoDVD  and as a Streaming Video via Kanopy : Thousands of Cherokees died during the Trail of Tears, nearly a quarter of the Nation. They suffered beyond imagination, and when they finally arrived in Indian Territory, they had almost no children and very few elders.  Presented by Wes Studi ; celebrity voices, James Garner, Crystal Gayle, John Buttrum, Gov. Douglas Wilder ; narrated by James Earl Jones.

Transitions : Destruction of the Mother Tongue / the Native Voices Public Television Workshop presents ; a film by Darrell Robes Kipp and Joe Fisher ; produced by Daniel Hart ; Piegan Institute and Native Voices Public TV.  Seattle, WA : Native Voices at the University of Washington, [2007?]. 1 DVD-R videodisc (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.S54 T73 2007 VideoDVD : This provocative film by Blackfeet producers explores the relationship between language, thought, culture, and examines the impact of language loss in Native American communities. The film chronicles the disappearance of the Blackfeet tribal language during the years of 1890-1990, with analysis of why the Mother tongue was destroyed.  The film points out the tremendous loss that is only now beginning to be realized, not only by tribal members, but also by the society around them. The film also illustrates the commonality of language loss amongst Indian Tribes and other ethnic groups in America.  Teacher's Study Guide from the University of Washington.

Tree  / New Directions in Cinema ; LIFT ; produced by Shelley Niro ; written and directed by Shelley Niro.  Toronto, Canada : V Tape, c2006.  1 DVD videodisc (5 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. E98.E85 T74 2006 VideoDVD : Silent film with musical soundtrack that shows a young Native American woman, personifying Mother Earth, walking through various environments showing the negative impact of mankind.

Tribal Nations : The Story of Federal Indian Law / a Signature Media Production ; Lisa Jaegar, executive producer and writer ; producer, David Raasch ; director, videographer, and editor, Igor Sopronenko.   Fairbanks, Alaska : Tanana Chiefs Conference, c2006.  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 62 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in    E98.T77 T75 2006 VideoDVD : This documentary is a beautifully illustrated introductory history of how federal Indian law has developed in the United States, from the arrival of Columbus through the current era of tribal self-determination. It is an excellent educational tool on basic federal Indian law for tribes, those who work with tribes, judges, attorneys, agencies, grades 11 through college, and the general public.

Tribal sovereignty : the right to self-rule / Tribal Eye Productions.  [Santa Ynez, CA] : Tribal Eye Productions, c2007  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 15 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 study guide  E98.T77 T765 2007 VideoDVD  disc + study guide   : This classroom-tested educational program answers the most-asked questions concerning the origin, history and legal development of tribal sovereignty and the basis for the existence of American Indian tribal governments. Within this fourteen minute program, a number of academic experts address these topics: What is sovereignty and how does it relate to Indian tribes? What is the legal foundation for tribal sovereignty? How has tribal sovereignty been modified during the past 100 years? What is the federal government's relationship to tribal nations? What is a federally recognized tribe? How did Indian gaming originate and how is it different than commercial gaming?  Trailer.

Two Rivers / produced and directed by Rodney Mitchell ; written by Rodney Mitchell, Diana Rico ; a Greenleaf Street production, Judith A. Mitchell, Rodney Mitchell. Chatsworth, CA : Greenleaf Street Productions, c2005. 1 DVD videodisc (ca. 57 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E98.R33 T96 2005 VideoDVD : Part history lesson, part deeply felt emotion, and part fascinating story of an unlikely solution to a dark time in American history, this award winning PBS documentary tells the true story of a Native American reconciliation group in North Central Washington State. Seeking to learn why there has never been any Indian presence or awareness in their community, a white couple begins a journey that starts as a small discussion group in their home. As the regions (and later the Nations) history of cruelty, racism, and ignorance toward Native Americans is told, the whites are deeply affected. Word begins circulating around the reservations that something unusual is happening among a group of whites and Indians. Curious whites hear about Indians traveling to their community, and start attending. What follows is an amazing story of changed hearts, friendships between enemies, and ultimately, astonishing community renewal and transformation. Two Rivers is a fascinating human story, with large implications: A true story of people from two different worlds who created profound and lasting changes because they were willing to learn new attitudes, new ways of connecting, and to speak, listen, and act from their hearts.

Two-Spirit People  : the Berdache Tradition in Native American Culture / produced, directed, and edited by Michel Beauchemin, Lori Levy, Gretchen Vogel ; Gender On A Stick Productions.  San Francisco, CA : Frameline, [2005?]  1 vDVD-R ideodisc (20 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. E98.S48 T863 1991 VideoDVD : Examines the concepts of gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation in Native American cultures, focusing on the tradition of berdaches.

Two Spirits (2009) / a production of Say Yes Quickly ; a co-production of Riding the Tiger, Just Media.  s.l.] : IndependentLens, 2010, c2009.  1 videodisc (54 mins.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. (DVD).  E99.N3 T96 2010 VideoDVD : Interweaves the tragic story of a mother's loss of her son with a revealing look at a time when the world wasn't simply divided into male and female and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders. Fred Martinez was nádleehí, a male-bodied person with a feminine nature, a special gift according to his ancient Navajo culture. But the place where two discriminations meet is a dangerous place to live, and Fred became one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at sixteen.

Unlearning "Indian" Stereotypes  / originally produced by the Council on Interracial Books for Children.  New York : Rethinking Schools, 2008.  1 DVD videodisc (15 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. LC1099.3 .U55 2008 VideoDVD : Young students focus on the real lives, real history, and real beliefs of American Indians and point out many misconceptions and stereotypes which have characterized attitudes towards Indians.

Unnatural causes  : is inequality making us sick? / produced by California Newsreel ; in association with Vital Pictures ... [et al.] ; presented by National Minority Consortia ; series creator & executive producer, Larry Adelman.  [San Francisco, Calif.]  California Newsreel, c2008.  1 DVD videodisc (236 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  RA448.4 .U53 2008 VideoDVD : A four-hour documentary series arguing that "health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status, people of color face an additional health burden, and our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice. Each of the half-hour program segments, set in different racial/ethnic communities, provides a deeper exploration of the ways in which social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives be improving them....In sickness and in wealth: "What connections exist between healthy bodies, healthy bank accounts and skin color? Follow four individuals from different walks of life to see how their position in society, shaped by social policies and public priorities, affects their health....When the bough breaks: "African American infant mortality rates remain twice as high as for white Americans. African American mothers with college degrees or higher face the same risk of having low birth-weight babies as white women who haven't finished high school. How might the chronic stress of racism over the life course become embedded in our bodies and increase risks?...Becoming American: "Recent Mexican immigrants tend to be healthier than the average American. But those health advantages erode the longer they've been here. What causes health to worsen as immigrants become American? What can we all learn about improved well-being from new immigrant communities?"...Bad sugar: "O'odham Indians, living on reservations in southern Arizona, have perhaps the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Some researchers see this as the literal 'embodiment' of decades of poverty, oppression, and loss. A new approach suggests that communities may regain control over their health if they can regain control over their futures....Place matters: "Increasingly, recent Southeast Asian immigrants, along with Latinos, are moving into long-neglected African American urban neighborhoods, and now their health is being eroded as a result. What policies and investment decisions create living environments that harm, or enhance, the health of residents? What actions can make a difference?" ...Collateral damage: "In the Marshall Islands, local populations have been displaced from their traditional way of life by the American military presence and globalization. Now they must contend with the worst of the 'developing' and industrialized worlds: infectious diseases such as tuberculosis due to crowded living conditions, and extreme poverty and chronic disease, stemming in part from the stress of dislocation and loss...Not just a paycheck: "Residents of Western Michigan struggle against depression, domestic violence and higher rates of heart disease and diabetes after the largest refrigerator factory in the country shuts down. Ironically, the plant is owned by a company in Sweden, where mass layoffs, far from devastating lives, are relatively benign because of government policies that protect and retrain worker.

Up Heartbreak Hill : Coming of Age in the Contemporary Native American World  / Long Distance Films, LLC, Native American Public DVD videodisc (ca. 82 minutes) : sound, color ; 12 cm.  E98.Y68 U6 2012 VideoDVD  - Also part of the ROVI Movie Collection CY4 D0148121 VideoDVD  (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy subscription)  : Teenage friends Thomas, Tamara, and Gabby wrestle with their decisions to leave their Navajo, New Mexico, reservation community to attend college. Going away means giving up strong cultural traditions, and even though life isn’t easy on the reservation, where the teens are exposed to poverty, alcoholism, and family problems, it’s the only life they know. Running is a way for Thomas to cope with the unrest, but his track coach and teachers worry that the elite athlete might not be mentally strong enough to compete in college. Tamara is academically ready, but she’s unsure about surviving on her own, and aspiring-photographer Gabby is also conflicted about leaving classmates and family. The profiled teens, seen interacting with family members, teachers, and friends, speak frankly about life on the reservation and their dreams, hopes, and fears in this insightful program that shows the challenges facing these youngsters, who “struggle to be both Native and modern."

Urban Rez.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2013.  1 streaming video file  (57 minutes) via Kanopy subscription. : Explores the controversial legacy and modern-day repercussions of the Urban Relocation Program (1952-1973), the greatest voluntary upheaval of Native Americans during the 20th century. During the documentary, dozens of American Indians representing tribal groups from across the West recall their first-hand experiences with relocation, including the early hardships, struggles with isolation and racism. Interviewees also speak about the challenges of maintaining one's own tribal traditions — from language to hunting — while assimilating into the larger society. Actor, musician and Oglala Lakota member Moses Brings Plenty narrates this insightful film about this seldom-told chapter in American history.

Vision Man : An Eskimo Hunter / An Aby-Long Production for TV2/Denmark. 1999.  51 minutes.  Streaming video from the Filmakers Library Online  : The 87-year-old Eskimo hunter, Utuniarsukak, looks out over the glacial expanse of his Arctic homeland and recalls for us a past way of life. He describes how he hunted polar bear with spear and harpooned walrus from his kayak. Like the walrus, he sustained himself with food from the frozen sea. But the modern world is encroaching even here. People buy food in supermarkets. The young people watch television. Against his stark glacial background, his face dark and weathered, and his eyes flashing, Utuniarsukak gives a stirring account of living in harmony, interdependent with other living creatures in a primal environment.

Documentary Films, W-Z

Waćipi Powwow  / Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.  St. Paul, MN : KTCA Video, c1995.  1 VHS videocassette (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + 1 curriculum guide (51 p. ; 30 cm.) E98.D2 W3 1995 Videocassette : "Each summer, thousands of Native American nations across the country celcbrate their connections to tradition and spirituality to the earth and to one another in a social, personal and spiritual meeting--the Powwow. All of it is centered in an emotional song and dance--the wacipi, which means 'dance' in Dakota".

Waila! : making the people happy / produced & directed by Daniel Golding.  Lincoln, NE : Vision Maker Media, 2009.  1 streaming video file (27 minutes) via Alexander Street Press.  (Also available as streaming video via Kanopy subscription ) : Central European immigrants brought polka music to America in the mid-19th century but the people in the O'odham Indian nations in Arizona's Sonoran desert have made the mixture of accordions, saxophones and percussion all their own. Taken from the word baila, which means dance in Spanish, Akimel and Tohono people have created waila, a form of music that embodies polka and Mexican tejano, cumbias and Norteno. And one family, the famous Joaquin Brothers, have taken waila (pronounced y-la) all the way to Carnegie Hall to show that "Indian music" is what culture and language make it to be.

Walking in Two Worlds: A Tale of Alaska's Tongass.  The Video Project, 2014.  1 streaming video file (approximately 63 minutes) via Kanopy subscription : Worlds collide in the Tongass National Forest, the largest temperate rainforest one earth, when the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) turns tribes into corporations and sparks a lengthy logging frenzy. Walking in Two Worlds journeys to the Tongass to reveal its splendor and shed light on the devastation and division resulting from the Settlement Act. The Tongass is rich with old-growth trees, salmon-filled rivers and wildlife. Alaska's Tlingit and Haida Indian tribes have depended on this forest for their culture and survival. The Settlement Act resulted from a massive collision of Washington bullying, big business and Native American naivete. The result was a swath of tragic scars in a magnificent forest wilderness. Natives struggled to adapt to new roles as corporate shareholders. For one Native brother and sister, this transition divided them. While the brother led the native corporation's clear-cut logging, his sister became a fierce leader in the battle to stop the destruction. Then a life-threatening illness drew them back together as one sibling offered the other a life-saving gift. A story of division and redemption plays out showing the possibility of healing both the forest and the native community.

The War That Made America (2005) / Spy Pond Productions ; Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc. ; presented by WQED Multimedia ; produced, directed and written by Eric Stange, Ben Loeterman.  [Alexandria, VA] : PBS Home Video, [c2006]  2 DVD videodiscs (ca. 240 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  E199 .W37 2006 VideoDVD  discs 1-2 (Also available as part of the ROVI Movie Collection) : The French and Indian War pitted French forces for almost a decade against the British, yet few Americans realize its historic contribution to the revolutionary fervor which swept the continent in 1776. Actor Graham Greene, an Oneida Indian whose ancestors fought in the war, narrates this gripping four-part documentary series. Episodes include "A Country Between," "Unlikely Allies," "Turning the Tide," and "Unintended Consequences."  Related materials.

Warrior in Two Worlds : The Life of Ely Parker / PBS.   Available via Interlibrary Loan :   Ely Parker was a Seneca chief, a legal scholar, an engineer, a Civil War hero, and a Cabinet-level commissioner -- all by the age of 40. At first glance, his story appears to be one of success and triumph. Yet Parker died in poverty far from the land of his birth. In later life he was estranged from his people and dismissed by political leaders he once considered friends. Today, American history remembers him as a mere footnote, and inside the Seneca community, he is a controversial figure -- considered a hero by some, branded a traitor by others.  This web site offers insight into Ely Parker -- the human being -- and his accomplishments, which reach an almost mythical level. In the timeline below (starting with "A Time of Crisis") you can explore Parker's thoughts, his youthful dreams, his front-line battle experiences with General Grant during the Civil War, and the reflections and regrets of his final years.  PBS website.

Water Flowing Together: Jock Soto / A film by Gwendolen Cates.  2009.  54 minutes.  Streaming video from Filmakers Library Online : Offers an intimate portrait of a remarkable dancer, Jock Soto, who retired from the New York City Ballet at age forty, after a twenty-four-year career. Soto's journey as an openly gay man of Navajo Indian and Puerto Rican descent provides a rare glimpse into the life of a dancer and the disparate worlds which shaped this important artist....Soto was asked to join the New York City Ballet by George Balanchine at sixteen after first studying at its School on a full scholarship. He was soon given his first solo roles in Balanchine's ballets, then Jerome Robbins featured him. In the course of his career, Soto became one of the most choreographed-on dancers in the company, as Balanchine, Robbins and Peter Martins were inspired by his capabilities. Lauded for his partnering as well, he formed memorable duos with Heather Watts and Wendy Whelan....The film captures his determination, ambivalence and occasional despair as he prepared to retire in 2005 and let go of his identity as a principal dancer. He was reluctant to return to the Navaho tribe in Arizona to visit his family as he feared Navaho "rules" about homosexuality but he did so and found that they were extremely proud of him and accepting. This was where his mother had first taught him the Navajo Hoop Dance. Jock may have left the stage, but says, "I will continue teaching at the School of American Ballet until I'm 104."

Way of the Warrior / National Endownment for the Humanities ; CPB ; a production of Wisconsin Public Television, in association with Native American Public Telecommunications ; writer, producer, Patty Loew.  [Lincoln, Neb.] : VisionMaker Video, c2007.  1 DVD videodisc (56 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in  E98.M5 W39 2007 VideoDVD  (Also available as streaming video from Alexander Street Press) : This documentary examines the visceral nature of war and the bravery of Native-American veterans who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War--and came to grips with the difficult post-war personal and societal conditions. The program honors the endurance and sacrifice of individuals such as Mitchell Red Cloud (Ho-Chunk), a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient; Ira Hayes (Pima), one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima; Phil Coon (Creek), a Bataan Death March survivor; and John Yahola (Creek), a member of the red Stick Warrior society. ...Their stories are examined through the prism of what it means to be "ogichidaa," one who protects and follows the way of the warrior. Dramatic historical footage, period photographs and sound effects juxtaposed with photos of veterans in more genial settings, away from combat with family and friends stateside, create portrait of not just the warrior, but the paradox of a warrior's motivations.  Trailer   More information.

The Way West : How the West Was Lost & Won, 1845-1893 (1995) /  Steeplechase Films, Inc. ; produced by Lisa Ades and Ric Burns ; written and directed by Ric Burns.  2 videodiscs (ca. 6 hrs.) : sd., col. and b&w ; 4 3/4 in.  F596 .W388 2006 VideoDVD  discs 1-2 :  Directed by Ric Burns.  Produced by PBS Paramount,  this four-part, six-hour series runs from 1845 – 1893 and covers the European push to further establish the United States at the expense of Native Americans.  The four parts are:  (1) Westward, The Course Of Empire Takes Its Way, 1845 – 1864; (2) The Approach Of Civilization, 1965 – 1869; (3) The War For The Black Hills, 1970 – 1876; (4) Ghost Dance, 1877 – 1893.  Covers historical events such as Custer's Last Stand, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud's War, Fort Laramie Treaty, Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bill...and so on. In addition, it provides the views of both red and white men.

The Way West  / a Steeplechase Films production for The American Experience in association with Channel Four Television ; written and directed by Ric Burns ; produced by Lisa Ades and Ric Burns.  Alexandria, Va. : Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1995.  1 streaming video (341 min.) via American History in Video. : The history of the western movement and the philosophy of manifest destiny -- how the  American west was lost and won from the time of the gold rush until after the last Indian wars at Wounded Knee. The first program presents the opening decades of expansion, key technological advances, and the uprooting of the native people, through the Civil War period; the second examines the four-year period immediately following the Civil War to reveal the conflict between white invaders and Native Americans up to the completion of the transcontinental railroad; the third follows the sequence of events leading to the battle of the Little Big Horn; and the last program chronicles the oppression of Native American  tribes, the rise of the Ghost Dance religion and the massacre at Wounded Knee.

We Shall Remain : America Through Native Eyes / executive producer, Sharon Grimberg ; WGBH Educational Foundation ; WGBH-Boston ; an American Experience film ; in association with Apograph Productions Inc., Tecumseh LLC and Native American Public Telecommunications.  [Alexandria, Va.] : [Distributed by] PBS Home Video, c2009.  3 DVD videodiscs (394 min.)  E77 .W47 2009 VideoDVD : They were charismatic and forward thinking, imaginative and courageous, compassionate and resolute, and, at times, arrogant, vengeful and reckless. For hundreds of years, Native American leaders from Massasoit, Tecumseh, and Tenskwatawa, to Major Ridge, Geronimo, and Fools Crow valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture. Sometimes, their strategies were militaristic, but more often they were diplomatic, spiritual, legal and political ... These five documentaries spanning almost four hundred years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective, upending two-dimensional stereotypes of American Indians as simply ferocious warriors or peaceable lovers of the land.  Portions of We Shall Remain are available via the Internet, including :

We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower, Pt. 1 of 5: In March of 1621, in what is now southeastern Massachusetts, Massasoit, the leading sachem of the Wampanoag, sat down to negotiate with a ragged group of English colonists. Hungry, dirty, and sick, the pale-skinned foreigners were struggling to stay alive; they were in desperate need of Native help.

We Shall Remain: Tecumseh's Vision, Pt. 2 of 5 : Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa came closer than anyone since to creating an Indian nation that would exist alongside and separate from the United States. The dream of an independent Indian state may have died at the Battle of the Thames, when Tecumseh was killed fighting alongside his British allies, but the great Shawnee warrior would live on as a potent symbol of Native pride and pan-Indian identity.

We Shall Remain: Trail of Tears Pt. 3 of 5 : On May 26, 1838, federal troops forced thousands of Cherokee from their homes in the Southeastern United States, driving them toward Indian Territory in Eastern Oklahoma. More than 4,000 died of disease and starvation along the way.

We Shall Remain: Geronimo, Pt. 4 of 5 : Born around 1820, Geronimo grew into a leading warrior and healer. But after his tribe was relocated to an Arizona reservation in 1872, he became a focus of the fury of terrified white settlers, and of the growing tensions that divided Apaches struggling to survive under almost unendurable pressures.

We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, Pt. 5 of 5 : On the night of February 27, 1973, fifty-four cars rolled into the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Within hours, some 200 Oglala Lakota and American Indian Movement activists had seized the few major buildings in town. The occupation of Wounded Knee had begun. Demanding redress for grievances--some going back more than 100 years--the protesters captured the world's attention for 71 gripping days.

We were children  = Nous étions des enfants / Eagle Vision and Entertainment One in coproduction with the National Film Board of Canada ; produced in association with Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.  [Montreal?] : National Film Board of Canada, c2012.  1 videodisc (83 min.) : sd., col., 4 3/4 in.   E96.5 .W4 2012 VideoDVD : As young children, Lyna and Glen were taken from their homes and placed in church-run boarding schools. The trauma of this experience was made worse by years of untold physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the effects of which persist in their adult lives. In this emotional film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed unflinchingly through the eyes of two children who wereforced to face hardships beyond their years. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.  Discussion questions.  Trailer.

Weapons of the Native Americans.  Los Angeles, CA : A&E Television Networks, 2003.  1 streaming video (22 min.) via American History in Video.

A Weave of Time: The Story of a Navajo Family.  Documentary Educational Resources. 1986.  61 minutes.  Streaming video available via Kanopy : A Weave of Time powerfully documents 50 years and four generations of change in one Navajo family. In 1938, noted anthropologist John Adair travelled to the Navajo reservation in Pine Springs, Arizona with a 16mm hand wind motion picture camera. There Adair met and filmed the Burnside family, creating a visual record of Navajo life in the 1930's. In an unprecedented composite, Adair's previously unseen historical footage is juxtaposed with contemporary scenes and in-depth interviews with family members 50 years later. As their story unfolds, the conflicts between past and present emerge.... The eldest family member, John Burnside, 84, fears that Navajo customs will disappear in a world of fast food and super highways. John is a traditional medicine man who spent most of his life learning the Blessingway -- the foundation of the Navajo religion. He speaks only Navajo -- his grandchildren speak only English. "I wonder if it will all be forgotten, those things I have learned. Today everyone speaks English. I do not speak English. I live in silence."

Weaving worlds / written & directed by Bennie Klain ; produced by Leighton C. Peterson ; a co-production of TricksterFilms and the Independent Television Service in association with Native American Public Telecommunications.   Lincoln, NE : VisionMaker Video, [2008], ©2008.  1 DVD videodisc (57 min.) : sound, color with black and white sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.N3 W388 2008 VideoDVD (Also available as streaming video via Alexander Street Press)  : Revealing the untold stories of creation and sales of Navajo rugs, Weaving Worlds presents a compelling and intimate portrait of economic and cultural survival through the art of weaving.

The West   see Ken Burns Presents the West.

White Shamans, Plastic Medicine Men : a Documentary / by Terry Macy and Daniel Hart. [Bozeman, Mont.] : Native Voices Public Television, c1995.  1 VHS videocassette (26 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in. E98.R3 W48 1995 Videocassette : Documentary exploring the popularization and commercialization of Native American spiritual traditions.

Who Owns the Past? [San Francisco, California, USA] : Kanopy Streaming, 2015. Streaming video available via Kanopy : The final decades of the twentieth century brought unprecedented changes for American Indians, especially in the areas of human rights and tribal sovereignty. In 1990, after a long struggle between Indian rights groups and the scientific establishment, the Native American Graves Repatriation and Protection Act was passed.  For American Indians, this was perhaps the most important piece of civil and human rights legislation of this century. Skeletons and grave goods that had been gathering dust in museums around the country could come home again, and Indian graves would be protected from further desecration.  But a case tested these claims, and 'Who Owns the Past?' focuses on the controversy that emerged. The discovery of a 9,000-year-old skeleton on the banks of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, reignited the conflict between anthropologists and Indian people over the control of human remains found on ancestral Indian lands. Anthropologists insist that these remains hold the key to America's past and must be studied for the benefit of mankind, while many Indian people believe that exhuming and studying them is a desecration of their ancestors. Kennewick Man has become a test case for NAGPRA and all that it symbolizes for American Indians. To a large extent, its outcome will determine Indian sovereignty over their past and their future in the 21st century. 'Who Owns the Past?' examines how two ways of seeing the world - scientific versus traditional - are clashing in the case of Kennewick Man.

William Kunstler : disturbing the universe / Arthouse Films, Curiously Bright Entertainment and LM Media GMBh present and Off Center Media Production in association with Chicken & Egg Pictures ; a co-production of Disturbing the Universe LLC and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) ; a film by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler ; written by Sarah Kunstler ; produced by Jesse Moss and Susan Korda ; produced and directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler.  [United States] : Arthouse Films : Distributed by New Video Group, [2010].  1 DVD videodisc (ca. 86 min.) : sd., col., b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.  KF373.K8 W55 2010 VideoDVD : In the 1960s and '70s, radical lawyer William Kunstler fought for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the 'Chicago 8' activists who protested the Vietnam War. When the inmates took over Attica prison, or when the American Indian Movement stood up to the federal government at Wounded Knee, they asked Kunstler to be their lawyer. Kunstler also represented some of the most reviled members of society, including rapists and assassins.

Wind River / an Ecology Center production ; a High Plains Films ; a Drury Gunn Carr documentary ; producer, director, Dru Gunn Carr.  [Oley, Pennsylvania] : [Distributed by] Bullfrog Films, [2016]  Streaming video available via Kanopy : Wind River is a modern-day story of cowboys and Indians. White ranchers on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming are fighting to protect their long-held water rights for irrigated agriculture. The Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes are fighting to save the de-watered Wind River and a part of their own heritage. This is a classic example of the changing face of the West, as environmentalists and Indian activists use the courts in an attempt to curtail some of the traditional, but harmful, practices of white ranchers and farmers.

With hand and heart : a portrait of Southwestern Native American artists / Bill and Deann Snyder.  New York : Mysic Fire Video, c1997.  1 VHS videocassette (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.  E98.A7 W84 1997 Videocassette : Among the native poeples who inhabit the unforgiving, rocky landscape of the American Southwest, a tradition of magnificent ceramics and crafts has evolved for over a thousand years.

Without reservations : notes on racism in Montana / a film by Native Voices.  [Bozeman, Mont.] : Native Voices Public Television, 2006, c1995.  1 DVD videodisc (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E78.M9 W58 2006 VideoDVD : This powerful documentary looks at racism against Native Americans in three stories - through the eyes of an Indian teacher, a Native police officer, and a Native/white couple. Produced by a group of eight Native Voices filmmakers, "Without Reservations" is a film that asks many questions regarding racism.  Is covert and ignorant stereotyping less racist than overt racism? And how is an entire culture degraded through the casual use of racist imagery? How are Native children hurt by the racist history taught in U.S. schools?  The film addresses these questions of racism between whites and Indians in a bold manner and an upbeat tone. This documentary is great for classroom discussions.

The World of American Indian Dance  / Four Directions Entertainment, presented by The Oneida Indian Nation ; written by Julia Brescia and SaSuWeh ; directed by Randy Martin.  Oneida, NY. : Four Directions Entertainment, Inc., 2003.  1 DVD (65 Min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in..  E98.D2 W67 2003 VideoDVD :  The beauty, artistry, athleticism and competition of Native American dance are illustrated dramatically in The World of American Indian Dance. This one-hour documentary highlights the many dance styles incorporated into the culture from various Native American tribes and nations. While having a powerful influence on US/Indian relationships, the dance demonstrates the ancient as well as the new struggles between intertribal cultures, progress, tradition, spirituality and commerce.  Cover.

Wounded Heart : Pine Ridge and the Sioux (2005) / Blue Wood Films presents ; produced and directed by Oliver W. Tuthill Jr.  Seattle, WA : Blue Wood Films, c2005.  1 DVD videodisc (70 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.  E99.D1 W68 2005 VideoDVD : On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in SW South Dakota, most American Indians don't live past the age of 50. Many die in their 20's and 30's. Pine Ridge has the highest mortality rate in the western hemisphere outside of Haiti and is located in the poorest county in the United States. In this penetrating look at Pine Ridge, American Indians and government officials discuss poverty, racism, domestic violence, child abuse, inadequate health care, and drug and alcohol problems that beseige Pine Ridge. Shot in ten days in the heart of Pine Ridge and Rapid City, the film offers insight into how Native Americans, and the Sioux in particular, view life on Pine Ridge. By embracing their Lakota culture and language they seek to determine their own destiny in the face of enormous challenges that lie before them.  Featuring Russell Means.  Includes public performance rights.

Wounded Knee. In 1973, American Indian Movement activists and residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation occupied the town of Wounded Knee, demanding redress for grievances. As a result of the siege, Indians across the country forged a new path into the future. Directed by Stanley Nelson.  Part of the We Shall Remain package.

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Feature Films

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Native Americans and Media

Native Americans by Pamela Watson from the Cinema and Media Studies module of Oxford Bibliographies Online.

Contents covers:

Representations and Stereotyping of Native Americans in Media and Popular Culture

  • Indigenous Peoples in the American Imagination
  • Early, Colonial, and Exhibition Images of American Indians
  • American Indians and Silent Films
  • Critiquing Hollywood Indians: Early Studies in the 1960s and 1970s
  • Critiquing Hollywood Indians: Studies since the 1990s
  • Representations of Native Americans on Television
  • Gendered Representations of Native Americans
  • Audiences, Reception, and Spectatorship
  • Native Americans in the European Imagination

Media by Native Americans: Self-Representations

  • Applied Anthropology and Native Media Production: The Navajo Film Themselves Project
  • Native-Produced Film and Video
  • Native-Produced Radio and Broadcasting
  • Native Americans in Journalism and Documentary
  • Native American Digital Media
  • Native Americans, Animation, Music, Graphic Comics, and Video Games

Approaches to and Issues in Native American Media Studies

  • Native Aesthetics in Visual Culture and Storytelling
  • Native American Use of Media for Cultural Resistance and Activism
  • Native American Use of Media for Cultural Identity and Media Sovereignty
  • Narrative Analysis and Auteur Studies of Native American Media
  • Bibliographies, Filmographies, and Resources Regarding Native Americans and Film

More Film Analysis

Celluloid Indians : Native Americans and film / Jacquelyn Kilpatrick.  Lincoln, NE : University of Nebraska Press, c1999.  261pp.  Main Library PN1995.9.I48 K56 1999 : Native American characters have been the most malleable of metaphors for filmmakers. The likeable Doc of Stagecoach (1939) had audiences on the edge of their seats with dire warnings about “that old butcher, Geronimo.” Old Lodgeskins of Little Big Man (1970) had viewers crying out against the demise of the noble, wise chief and his kind and simple people. In 1995 Disney created a beautiful, peace-loving ecologist and called her Pocahontas. Only occasionally have Native Americans been portrayed as complex, modern characters in films like Smoke Signals....Celluloid Indians is an accessible, insightful overview of Native American representation in film over the past century. Beginning with the birth of the movie industry, Jacquelyn Kilpatrick carefully traces changes in the cinematic depictions of Native peoples and identifies cultural and historical reasons for those changes. In the late twentieth century, Native Americans have been increasingly involved with writing and directing movies about themselves, and Kilpatrick places appropriate emphasis on the impact that Native American screenwriters and filmmakers have had on the industry. Celluloid Indians concludes with a valuable, in-depth look at influential and innovative Native Americans in today’s film industry. [ film ]

Engaged resistance : American Indian art, literature, and film from Alcatraz to the NMAI / Dean Rader.  Austin : University of Texas Press, 2011.   253pp.  Main Library E98.A73 R23 2011 : From Sherman Alexie's films to the poetry and fiction of Louise Erdrich and Leslie Marmon Silko to the paintings of Jaune Quick-To-See Smith and the sculpture of Edgar Heap of Birds, Native American movies, literature, and art have become increasingly influential, garnering critical praise and enjoying mainstream popularity. Recognizing that the time has come for a critical assessment of this exceptional artistic output and its significance to American Indian and American issues, Dean Rader offers the first interdisciplinary examination of how American Indian artists, filmmakers, and writers tell their own stories....Beginning with rarely seen photographs, documents, and paintings from the Alcatraz Occupation in 1969 and closing with an innovative reading of the National Museum of the American Indian, Rader initiates a conversation about how Native Americans have turned to artistic expression as a means of articulating cultural sovereignty, autonomy, and survival. Focusing on figures such as author/director Sherman Alexie (Flight, Face, and Smoke Signals), artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, director Chris Eyre (Skins), author Louise Erdrich (Jacklight, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse), sculptor Edgar Heap of Birds, novelist Leslie Marmon Silko, sculptor Allen Houser, filmmaker and actress Valerie Red Horse, and other writers including Joy Harjo, LeAnne Howe, and David Treuer, Rader shows how these artists use aesthetic expression as a means of both engagement with and resistance to the dominant U.S. culture. Raising a constellation of new questions about Native cultural production, Rader greatly increases our understanding of what aesthetic modes of resistance can accomplish that legal or political actions cannot, as well as why Native peoples are turning to creative forms of resistance to assert deeply held ethical values.

Hollywood's Indian : the portrayal of the Native American in film / edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor.  Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, c1998, c2003.  250pp.  Main Library PN1995.9.I48 H66 2003 : In light of recent inattention to the Western genre, the appearance of this volume is welcome. Recognizing the affirmative power of motion pictures "to define [and valorize] the Indian past in dramatic cinematic terms," the collection addresses the ways that mainstream cultural ideologies have nonetheless driven screen portrayals of indigenous peoples. Amply illustrated, the anthology contains 12 essays ranging from basic surveys of images of Native Americans in the movies to more focused readings of such key films as Broken Arrow, The Vanishing American, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, and Powwow Highway. As a whole, the essays are useful, enabling readers to construct a cinematic chronology of the Hollywood Indian and to comprehend the larger cultural forces at work interpreting the Indian-white past on screen. Some contributions--e.g., Hannu Saimi's piece on Westerns made in Finland and Pauline Turner Strong's on Pocahantas and The Indian in the Cupboard--extend and enrich the reader's sense of the genre. A number of the essays provide insightful postcolonial perspectives on mythologies of the frontier.  [ film ]

Images of American Indians on film : an annotated bibliography / Gretchen M. Bataille, Charles L.P. Silet. New York : Garland, 1985. 216pp. PN1995.9.I48 B3 1985

'Injuns!' : Native Americans in the movies / Edward Buscombe.  London : Reaktion, 2006. 272pp. Main Library PN1995.9.I48 B87 2006 : The indispensable sage, fierce enemy, silent sidekick: the role of Native Americans in film has been largely confined to identities defined by the “white” perspective. Many studies have analyzed these simplistic stereotypes of Native American cultures in film, but few have looked beyond the Hollywood Western for further examples. Distinguished film scholar Edward Buscombe offers here an incisive study that examines cinematic depictions of Native Americans from a global perspective....Buscombe opens with a historical survey of American Westerns and their controversial portrayals of Native Americans: the wild redmen of nineteenth-century Wild West shows, the more sympathetic depictions of Native Americans in early Westerns, and the shift in the American film industry in the 1920s to hostile characterizations of Indians. Questioning the implicit assumptions of prevailing critiques, Buscombe looks abroad to reveal a distinctly different portrait of Native Americans. He focuses on the lesser known Westerns made in Germany—such as East Germany’s Indianerfilme, in which Native Americans were Third World freedom fighters battling against Yankee imperialists—as well as the films based on the novels of nineteenth-century German writer Karl May. These alternative portrayals of Native Americans offer a vastly different view of their cultural position in American society.
Buscombe offers nothing less than a wholly original and readable account of the cultural images of Native Americans through history andaround  the globe, revealing new and complex issues in our understanding of how oppressed peoples have been represented in mass culture.

Killing the Indian maiden : images of Native American women in film / M. Elise Marubbio.  Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky, c2006.  298pp.  Main Library PN1995.9.I48 M37 2006 : Marubbio  surveys images of Native American women in films of the 20th century and, in her conclusion, into the 21st. She identifies three archetypal constructions and so names the book's three sections: "The Celluloid Princess," "The Sexualized Maiden," and "The Hybrid Celluloid Maiden." Basing her analysis on the groundbreaking work of frontier scholars such as Annette Kolodny and Richard Slotkin, the author extends paradigms of the feminine and the Other into a colonial framework in which cinema engages in a racial project that does the ideological work of oppression and colonial appropriation. She begins with silent films (images that often negotiate between savagism and civilization) and moves into the 1930s. Her strongest chapters analyze the Western as it emerged in the 1940s and continued into the 1950s-60s. Here Marubbio explores the tensions between the celluloid princess and the sexualized maiden as she critiques the films as "social narratives and politically inspired works of art that inform us about our society's fears, desires, politics, conflicts, and structures of power." Marubbio's study, with its careful scholarship, is a welcome, valuable addition to the discussion of images of Native Americans. Collections of popular culture or film history are incomplete without it. [ film ]

Making the white man's Indian : native Americans and Hollywood movies / Angela Aleiss.  Westport, Conn. : Praeger, c2005.  211pp.  PN1995.9.I48 A44 2005 : The image in Hollywood movies of savage Indians attacking white settlers represents only one side of a very complicated picture. In fact sympathetic portrayals of Native Americans stood alongside those of hostile Indians in the silent films of D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and flourished during the early 1930s with Hollywood's cycle of pro-Indian adventures. Decades later, the stereotype became even more complicated, as films depicted the savagery of whites (The Searchers) in contrast to the more "peaceful" Indian (Broken Arrow). By 1990 the release of Dances with Wolves appeared to have recycled the romantic and savage portrayals embedded in early cinema. In this new study, author Angela Aleiss traces the history of Native Americans on the silver screen, and breaks new ground by drawing on primary sources such as studio correspondence, script treatments, trade newspapers, industry censorship files, and filmmakers' interviews to reveal how and why Hollywood created its Indian characters. Behind-the-scenes anecdotes of filmmakers and Native Americans, as well as rare archival photographs, supplement the discussion, which often shows a stark contrast between depiction and reality. [ film ]

Navajo talking picture : cinema on native ground / Randolph Lewis.  Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 2012.  215pp.  Main Library E99.N3 L633 2012 : Navajo Talking Picture, released in 1985, is one of the earliest and most controversial works of Native cinema. It is a documentary by Los Angeles filmmaker Arlene Bowman, who travels to the Navajo reservation to record the traditional ways of her grandmother in order to understand her own cultural heritage. For reasons that have often confused viewers, the filmmaker persists despite her traditional grandmother’s forceful objections to the apparent invasion of her privacy. What emerges is a strange and thought-provoking work that abruptly calls into question the issue of insider versus outsider and other assumptions that have obscured the complexities of Native art....Randolph Lewis offers an insightful introduction and analysis of Navajo Talking Picture, in which he shows that it is not simply the first Navajo-produced film but also a path-breaking work in the history of indigenous media in the United States. Placing the film in a number of revealing contexts, including the long history of Navajo people working in Hollywood, the ethics of documentary filmmaking, and the often problematic reception of Native art, Lewis explores the tensions and mysteries hidden in this unsettling but fascinating film.

Reservation reelism : redfacing, visual sovereignty, and representations of Native Americans in film / Michelle H. Raheja.  Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c2010.  338pp. Main Library PN1995.9.I48 R34 2010 :In this deeply engaging account Michelle H. Raheja offers the first book-length study of the Indigenous actors, directors, and spectators who helped shape Hollywood's representation of Indigenous peoples. Since the era of silent films, Hollywood movies and visual culture generally have provided the primary representational field on which Indigenous images have been displayed to non-Native audiences. These films have been highly influential in shaping perceptions of Indigenous peoples as, for example, a dying race or as inherently unable or unwilling to adapt to change. However, films with Indigenous plots and subplots also signify at least some degree of Native presence in a culture that largely defines Native peoples as absent or separate....Native actors, directors, and spectators have had a part in creating these cinematic representations and have thus complicated the dominant, and usually negative, messages about Native peoples that films portray. In Reservation Reelism Raheja examines the history of these Native actors, directors, and spectators, reveals their contributions, and attempts to create positive representations in film that reflect the complex and vibrant experiences of Native peoples and communities.

Seeing red : Hollywood's pixeled skins : American Indians and film / edited by LeAnne Howe, Harvey Markowitz, Denise K. Cummings.  East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, c2013.  225pp.  Main Library PN1995.9.I48 S44 2013 : At once informative, comic, and plaintive, Seeing Red—Hollywood’s Pixeled Skins is an anthology of critical reviews that reexamines the ways in which American Indians have traditionally been portrayed in film. From George B. Seitz’s 1925 The Vanishing American to Rick Schroder’s 2004 Black Cloud, these 36 reviews by prominent scholars of American Indian Studies are accessible, personal, intimate, and oftentimes autobiographic. Seeing Red—Hollywood’s Pixeled Skins offers indispensible perspectives from American Indian cultures to foreground the dramatic, frequently ridiculous difference between the experiences of Native peoples and their depiction in film. By pointing out and poking fun at the dominant ideologies and perpetuation of stereotypes of Native Americans in Hollywood, the book gives readers the ability to recognize both good filmmaking and the dangers of misrepresenting aboriginal peoples. The anthology offers a method to historicize and contextualize cinematic representations spanning the blatantly racist, to the well-intentioned, to more recent independent productions. Seeing Red is a unique collaboration by scholars in American Indian Studies that draws on the stereotypical representations of the past to suggest ways of seeing American Indians and indigenous peoples more clearly in the twenty-first century.

Visualities : perspectives on contemporary American Indian film and art / edited by Denise K. Cummings.  East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, c2011  243pp.  Main Library E98.A73 V57 2011 : In recent years, works by American Indian artists and filmmakers such as Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Edgar Heap of Birds, Sherman Alexie, Shelley Niro, and Chris Eyre have illustrated the importance of visual culture as a means to mediate identity in contemporary Native America. This insightful collection of essays explores how identity is created and communicated through Native film-, video-, and art-making; what role these practices play in contemporary cultural revitalization; and how indigenous creators revisit media pasts and resignify dominant discourses through their work. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art draws on American Indian Studies, American Studies, Film Studies, Cultural Studies, Women’s Studies, and Postcolonial Studies. Among the artists examined are Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie, Eric Gansworth, Melanie Printup Hope, Jolene Rickard, and George Longfish. Films analyzed include Imprint, It Starts with a Whisper, Mohawk Girls, Skins, The Business of Fancydancing, and a selection of Native Latin films.

Wiping the war paint off the lens : Native American film and video / Beverly R. Singer ; foreword by Robert Warrior.  Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, c2001.  110pp.  PN1995.9.I48 S56 2001 : Native Americans have thrown themselves into filmmaking since the mid-1970s, producing hundreds of films and videos, and their body of work has had great impact on Native cultures and filmmaking itself. With their cameras, they capture the lives of Native people, celebrating community, ancestral lifeways, and identity. Not only artistic statements, the films are archives that document rich and complex Native communities and counter mainstream media portrayals....Wiping the War Paint off the Lens traces the history of Native experiences as subjects, actors, and creators, and develops a critical framework for approaching Native work. Singer positions Native media as part of a larger struggle for "cultural sovereignty"-the right to maintain and protect cultures and traditions. Taking it out of a European-American context, she reframes the discourse of filmmaking, exploring oral histories and ancient lifeways inform Native filmmaking and how it seeks to heal the devastation of the past. Singer's approach is both cultural and personal, provides both historical views and close textual readings, and may well set the terms of the critical debate on Native filmmaking.

Want to Make a Recommendation?

Feel free to recommend your favorite documentary or feature film for acquisition by the library.   Send an email to Erik Ponder (see above).

Better yet the Library will be happy to accept donations and they are tax deductible too!