LibGuides: Native American Indian Heritage Month: Films

Infobase Films on Demand Series

Each video series covers a range of topics within the subject theme they can vary in number of Film Titles, Film length and copyright currency.

A Biography of America This series presents history not simply as a series of irrefutable facts to be memorized, but as a living narrative. Prominent historians -- Donald L. Miller, Pauline Maier, Louis P. Masur, Waldo E. Martin, Jr., Douglas Brinkley, and Virginia Scharff -- present America's story as something that is best understood from a variety of perspectives. Thought-provoking debates and lectures encourage critical analysis of the forces that have shaped America. First-person narratives, photos, film footage, and documents reveal the human side of American history -- how historical figures affected events, and the impact of these events on citizens' lives. Produced by WGBH Boston in cooperation with the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.
Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery—A Film by Ken Burns nvolving U.S. soldiers, Canadian boatmen, an African-American slave, and a female Shoshone guide, the journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark across North America was perhaps the most significant expedition in U.S. history. This two-part series from Ken Burns re-creates that early-19th-century search for the Northwest Passage—a quest which introduced Jeffersonian America to the continent’s interior and its deep-rooted indigenous societies. Distributed by PBS Distribution. 2-part series, 43 minutes each.
Native America Native America challenges everything we thought we knew about the Americas before and since contact with Europe. It travels through 15,000-years to showcase massive cities, unique systems of science, art, and writing, and 100 million people connected by social networks and spiritual beliefs spanning two continents. The series reveals some of the most advanced cultures in human history and the Native American people who created it and whose legacy continues, unbroken, to this day.
Native American Novelists In 1969, N. Scott Momaday, a Kiowa Indian writer, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel House Made of Dawn. This catalyzed the flowering of Native American literature in the United States. In this series of intimate portraits of four outstanding Native American novelists, N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Leslie M. Silko, and Gerald Vizenor seek to define themselves and their culture and to explain both the past and the present of their people. Each has experienced the tragedies of the Native American people—forced resettlement, loss of identity, loneliness, alcoholism, and despair—and has written about them with courage, understanding, and great literary sensitivity. 4 part series, 45–50 minutes each.
The Real West The History Channel brings to life the most legendary cowboys and notorious outlaws of America’s western frontier in this comprehensive video series. Get ready to draw, draw the line, that is, between the facts and fictions about the most fabled men and women from this bygone era. 49-part series, 45 minutes each. Distributed by A&E Television Networks.
We Shall Remain: America Through Native Eyes Produced for PBS’s American Experience, the miniseries We Shall Remain tells five heartbreaking yet inspiring stories. Together they highlight Native American ingenuity and resilience over the course of 300 years. This five-part series shows how Native peoples valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture. It covers Native American history from the Wampanoags of New England in the 1600s who used their alliance with the English to weaken rival tribes, to the bold new leaders of the 1970s who harnessed the momentum of the civil rights movement to forge a pan-Indian identity. This documentary represents an unprecedented collaboration between Native and non-Native filmmakers. Distributed by PBS Distribution. 5-part series, 60 minutes each.
The West: A Film by Stephen Ives In this panoramic documentary series, filmmaker Stephen Ives reveals the American West stripped of its Hollywood mythology, yet with intense drama and larger-than-life heroes and villains. The series portrays the impact the onrushing white settlers, adventurers, and exploiters had on Native Americans and the land. Packed with vivid imagery and personalities, The West reveals the triumph and tragedy of America's drive to become a continental nation. Presented and executive produced by Ken Burns. Distributed by PBS Distribution. 9-part series, 59–86 minutes each.
World Indigenous Art This colorful series offers a snapshot of three major indigenious art traditions, placing art making practices into their historical and geographical contexts. Viewers will also gain insight on the spiritual and cultural beliefs central to indigenous art making.

Native American Databases

Infobase Native American Studies Films

Famous Americans: Native Americans
Over 25,000 years ago, the first people began to arrive in what is now known as North America. This program examines the early civilizations of the Inuits, Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans, and the impact of the Europeans beginning with Christopher Columbus’s fateful voyage in 1492. Also covered are the Native American tribes of North America and their cultures; western expansion in the United States; life on the reservations, and much more. Explore the traditions of a proud people with a rich past and an uncertain future—the Native Americans. (30 minutes)
The Americas
Sun gods, human sacrifice and sacred beasts all played their part in the world of the Aztecs. This revealing program explores the mysterious history of the Mayans and tells the fascinating story of the Native Americans.

Native American Religions
In this program, Dennis Wholey has a conversation about Native American religions with Suzan Shown Harjo, executive director of The Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C. Topics of discussion include the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978; some common aspects of the approximately 300 remaining Native American religions being practiced in the U.S. today; the concepts of a supreme being and associated sacred beings as they exist in Native American culture; the prophecies of the Cheyenne prophet Sweet Medicine and the historical impact of North America’s settlers on the land’s indigenous peoples; and the pressing need for all Americans, non-native and native alike, to create a better future together. (27 minutes)
Spirit Doctors
With a lifetime of experience in the ways of Native spirituality, Mary and Ed Louie are steadfastly committed to the practices that keep them accountable to the spirit world, their people, and mother earth. In Spirit Doctors, filmmaker Marie Burke journeys into their spiritual world of traditional Native medicine. In a twist of fate, sound recordist Don Howell is unexpectedly diagnosed with throat cancer during the filming process. He chooses to be treated with modern medicine and for the first time seeks spiritual guidance and healing from Mary and Ed Louie. Though many healing practices and ceremonies are considered too sacred to be filmed, Mary and Ed decide to allow Don’s doctoring to be recorded for the purposes of teaching others. From the lush Similkameen Valley of the interior to the cityscapes of Vancouver, British Columbia, Burke reveals a beautiful way of life rarely seen and explores the ongoing debate around the ethics of documenting such sacred ceremonial knowledge. (40 minutes)
The Warrior Tradition
The film tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. It chronicles the accounts of Native American warriors from their own points of view. (54:58 min.)

The Great Tribes
Cheyenne, Apache, Comanche, Sioux, and Navajo: their courage, spirit, and fight for survival are the stuff of American legend. This special reveals remarkable firsthand accounts and rare photographs that tell the real stories behind the 19th century's greatest warrior nations and the forces that destroyed their way of life. A part of the series The Real West. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (2:26 min.)

Native Voices—American Passages: A Literary Survey
Native Americans had established a rich and highly developed tradition of oral literature long before the writings of the European colonists. This program explores that richness by introducing Native American oral traditions through the work of three contemporary authors: Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo), Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), and Luci Tapahonso (Navajo).
N. Scott Momaday
N. Scott Momaday is the most widely published and read of the Native American writers, and the recipient of the most valued awards and prizes for both his poetry and his prose. A Ph.D. in English literature, he has combined his study of Western literature with the themes as well as the structures of his Kiowa Indian heritage. Here, Momaday discusses what it means to a Native American to be an American citizen and reveals the artist, thinker, and imaginative creator behind (or perhaps at the core of) his impressive and important body of work. (45 minutes)

Spirits for Sale: The Commercialization of American Indian Rituals
Western spiritualists often seek enlightenment through indigenous religions once practiced in different regions around the world. Native American rituals are especially popular, and Europeans stage ceremonies based on American Indian beliefs for which they charge admission. America’s original people are not pleased with this development, for they regard this practice as the exploitation of their heritage. They see these performances as “pay to pray” ceremonies with imposters playing the roles of American natives. Beautifully crafted and filmed, Spirits for Sale explores both sides of an unlikely dispute between native peoples and present-day interpreters of their rituals. (58 minutes)
Indian School: Stories of Survival
Proposing to “kill the Indian and save the man,” U.S. Army captain Richard H. Pratt envisioned an educational system that would erase Native American culture and “civilize” the continent’s indigenous people. His chosen method? Removing children from Pennsylvania’s tribal communities and confining them in barracks-style schools—initially the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which Pratt founded in 1879. In myopic terms it was a remarkably effective strategy, and Carlisle became a cruel model for institutions all over the U.S. and Canada, including Michigan’s Mount Pleasant Indian School. Subjected to emotional, physical, and spiritual abuse, Mount Pleasant students were inevitably alienated from their families, native languages, and tribal religions. This film combines archival materials with present-day interviews to make clear just how inhumane the system was. Survivors from Tlingit, Chippewa, Choctaw, and Lakota communities describe in raw, unflinching terms the impact on First Nations across North America. Contains occasional profanity. (41 minutes)
Upstream Battle: A Case Study in Native American Fishing Rights
The Karuk, Yurok, and Hoopa peoples live along northern California’s Klamath River, and each tribe’s ancient culture revolves around the majestic Pacific salmon. Today, four large hydroelectric dams have made salmon extinction a real and frightening possibility. This case study follows tribal members as they confront the owners of the dams—specifically, a global energy giant in Scotland, which is subsequently bought out by Warren Buffett’s corporate empire. Will tribal members manage to persuade the richest man in the world to save their salmon and their societies? Irrigation and commercial fishing also figure into this desperate battle over the life of a river. (53 minutes)

YouTube Videos

Tutorial on beading using a loom to create your design pattern (8:48 min.)

Native American basketry has long been viewed as a community craft, yet the artistic quality and value of these baskets are on par with other fine art. Now Native peoples across the country are revitalizing basketry traditions and the country looks to California as a leader in basket weaving revitalization. There has been a revival in traditional basket weaving, thanks to the work of the California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA), which was founded in 1992 under the slogan “keeping the tradition alive.” This episode was made in partnership with the Autry Museum of the American West and CIBA. (2:22 min.)

On her second stop of the road trip, Jenna heads to Cherokee, NC and visits Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, known as the country’s oldest Native American artists’ cooperative. She rolls up her sleeves and sits down with some of the artist members to learn more about their craft, the cooperative, and Cherokee culture. (8:00 min.)

Wampum, a purple and white bead, comes from Native American culture in the southern New England area. Allen Hazard of the Narragansett tribe has been making wampum from quahogs, or hard-shell clams, for the past 40 years. He's knowledgeable in both traditional and modern ways of making wampum, and he sells his handmade wampum jewelry at The Purple Shell in Charlestown, Rhode Island. (8:00 min.)

Summer accessories inspired by little treasures of nature: shells and feathers (6:02 min.)

Easy Native American tipi craft for kids! (1:44 min.)

There's something magnetic in native Americans' culture. I decided to make a relaxing beautiful video with creation process of bracelets. (10:29 min.)

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month by creating your own corn husk doll. Corn plays a major role in both food and religious aspects of Native cultures in the Americas. These dolls were made by a number of indigenous groups across the Americas and are still made in various Nations all over the United States. For all ages. (5:12 min.)

Well before hip-hops fads like the dab and twerking were even a thing - pow-wow dancers have been rocking the beat for hundreds of years. Traditional men's pow-wow dancers are doing more than shaking their tail feather, they're telling a story through their movements and the regalia they wear. The story is usually of a hunt, a battle or a certain victory. (2:12 min.)

Rooted in tradition and ceremony, dance and regalia are an important part of Native American culture. Hundreds of dances exist, performed by tribes across the United States. In this segment, Russell Harjo, Leya Hale and Jennie Kappenman explore the meaning, history and regalia of three unique Native American dances. (6:36 min.)

The Native Pride Dancers educate, inspire, and motivate through the beauty and power of Native American music and dance! Learn about the dances, the regalia (dress), and the meaning and importance of the traditions of Native American peoples from cultural educators, musicians, dancers, and singers who are members of numerous tribal nations including: Meskwaki, Navajo, Dakota, Lakota, Ojibwe, Lumbee, Cree, Pueblo, Choctaw, and Chickasaw, to name a few. (59.13 min.)

Joining Nakota and Steve LaRance in this performance of Native American hoop dancing are Steve LaRance's granddaughter Shade Phea Young and nephew Quotsvenma Denipah-Cook. Speaker Biography: Nakotah LaRance began dancing as a fancy dancer, at the age of four. During his travels to pow wows, he met a world champion hoop dancer from his tribe, Derrick Davis. Mr. Davis helped Nakotah by making his first set of hoops and teaching him the basics of hoop dancing. Nakotah's father Steve LaRance took him to the annual Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in Phoenix, Arizona. He earned several awards in hoop dancing as a youth and won the adult division championship title for both 2015 and 2016. He is also an actor and toured with Cirque Du Soleil in 2009. He has been the master instructor for the Pueblo of Pojoaque Youth Hoop Dancers for the past three years. (50:58 min.)

The history of Native Americans is a drama as complicated and nuanced as any you have ever heard. Many of the over-simplifications you heard about in school don't do justice to a period of time that lasted thousands and thousands of years. Entire empires and nations rose and fell within the Americas. Some cities in Central America rivaled the greatest civilizations of the Middle East. And when Europeans came, the relationships between them and the natives was complicated to say the least. These are 25 little known facts about Native Americans. (4:31 min.)

View a colorful tapestry of Native American culture with these interesting Native American facts, including history, statistics, and much more. (2:55 min.)

10. They were primitive tribes of hunter-gatherers 9. They had no concept of land ownership 8. The European and later American settlers broke every treaty made with them 7. They lived in humble dwellings of earth, wood, and animal skins 6. They were a largely egalitarian society 5. The Southwestern tribes roamed the deserts and mountains 4. The New World was sparsely settled at the time of Columbus 3. The North American natives did not engage in warfare with each other 2. Their religions were based on a Great Spirit 1. They grew only simple crops to supplement their diets of meat and fish (14:07 min.)

In order to determine the most Native American states, we had to look at which states have the most Native Americans as a percentage of their state's total population. We also added in research on other Native American facts. The result is the most Native American states. (13:33 min.)