2013 National Native American Heritage Month
“Guiding Our Destiny with Heritage and
Traditions: Leading the Way to Healthier Nations,”
National Native American Heritage Month began as an effort to gain a single day of
recognition for the significant assistance the first Americans made to the establishment of
the United States.
The following documentary and feature films highlight the triumphs and tribulations of
American Indians in the United States:
To you we shall return: Lessons about our planet from
the Lakota
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc. (BOCD)
Release year: 2010
Part memoir, part cultural manifesto, To you we shall return offers a comparison between
Euro-American attitudes, policies, and history regarding the natural environment to that of
ancient native North American beliefs and practices in relating to and living with that same
environment.
We Shall Remain: America through native eyes
Publisher: PBS Home Video
Production year: 2009
Release year: 2009
A provocative multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential part of
American history, Tells the history of the United States from the Native American
perspective.
At the heart of the project is a five-part television series that shows how Native peoples
valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture -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.
Comanche warriors
Publisher: History Channel
Release year: 2010
Production year: 2005
For more than 150 years, the Comanche of the Southwest were ferocious raiders who struck
terror into the hearts of the plains tribes, Mexican villagers, and frontier settlers. Provided
here is a revealing look at the motivation, tactics, weapons, and legend of the nomadic
Native Americans known as the 'Lords of the Southern Plains.'
The Wellbriety Movement: Journey to forgiveness
Publisher: White Bison
Release year: 2011
Journey to forgiveness Documents the journeys of the Sacred Hoop in 1999 and 2000. The purpose of
these journeys was to introduce the concept of Wellbriety: sober living and wellness plus a life that is
balanced emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and to encourage forgiveness and new beginnings.
Horseshoe Bend, Little Big Horn, and Wounded Knee, as well as the famous men who fought them,
including Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Wild Bill Hickok, Kit Carson, and George
Custer
Trail of tears a Native American documentary collection.
Publisher: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release year: 2010
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Trail of tears Documents the forced removal in 1838 of the Cherokee Nation from the
southeastern United States to Oklahoma. Shows the suffering endured by the
Cherokees as they lost their land and the difficult conditions they endured on the
trail. Describes how thousands of Cherokees died during the Trail of Tears, nearly a
quarter of the nation, including most of their children and elders.
Black Indians: Explores issues of racial identity between the mixed-descent peoples
of both Native American and African American heritage.
Native American healing in the 21st century: Learn from today's respected
physicians the crossover of ancient native remedies to present-day medical
practices. Explore for healing plants and herbs. Learn from tribal elders traditional
healing practices and philosophies.
Our spirits don't speak English: Imagine you are a child, taken from your home, your
family, taken from everything you know. In 1869, the U.S. government enacted a
policy of educating Native American children in the ways of western society. By the
late 1960's, more than 100,000 had been forced to attend Indian Boarding School.
The West
Publisher: PBS Home Video
Release year: 2003
Production year: 1996
Spanning from the first European advance into the wilderness to the dawn of the 20th
century, the series portrays the profound, often devastating impact the onrushing white
settlers, adventurers, and exploiters had on Native Americans and the land.
Reel Injun on the trail of the Hollywood Indian
Publisher: Mongrel Media
Release year: 2010.
Hollywood has an impressive track record, one that spans more than 4,000 films, of
blatantly misrepresenting Native people and their cultures. Featuring interviews with
filmmakers and activists such as Clint Eastwood, Jim Jarmusch and Russell Means, Reel
Injun delves into the fascinating history of the Hollywood Indian with razor-sharp insight
and humor, tracing its checkered cinematic evolution from the silent film era to today.
500 nations
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release year: 2004
500 Nations is an eight-part documentary that looks back at life in North America before the
arrival of the Europeans, then follows the epic struggles of Indian Nations as the continent is
reshaped by contact.
Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier story
Publisher: Artisan Entertainment Inc.
Release year: 2004
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. This film
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.
Bury my heart at Wounded Knee: The epic fall of the
American Indian
Publisher: HBO
Release year: 2007
A chronicle of how American Indians were displaced as the U.S. expanded west. Based on
the book by Dee Brown.
America before Columbus
Publisher: National Geographic
Release year: 2010
When Columbus stepped ashore in 1492, millions of people were already living in America.
It wasn't exactly a 'New World,' but an old one whose inhabitants had built a vast
infrastructure of cities, orchards, canals, and causeways. But after Columbus set foot in the
Americas, an endless wave of explorers, conquistadors, and settlers arrived, and with each
of their ships came a Noah's Ark of plants, animals, and disease. Here is an exploration into
the mysterious world of ancient American history.
The great Indian wars 1540-1890
Publisher: Brentwood Home Video/ Centre Communications, Inc.
Release year: 2005
From the Spanish conquistadors of the 16th century to the English colonists of the 18th, the settling of
America often came at the cost of Native American blood. But the 350-year conflict between European
settlers and Indian natives reached its apex with the territorial expansions of the 19th century, when the
notion of Manifest Destiny justified a series of battles and massacres that virtually wiped out the
indigenous population. This five-part documentary series chronicles the Indian Wars of 1540 to 1890
through archival photographs and voiceover narration, covering pivotal battles such as Tippecanoe,