Native American Films & Music: Documentary Films

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.

Trail of tears : Cherokee legacy: 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.

When Europeans arrived in North America, they encountered the Native people. Contrary to stereotype, American Indians were not simply ferocious warriors or peaceable lovers of the land. They were, like all people, an amalgam: charismatic and forward thinking, imaginative and courageous, compassionate and resolute, and, at times, arrogant, vengeful, and reckless.

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.

Documentary designed to introduce audiences to the beauty, artistry, athleticism, competition and drama of dance as displayed by Native American tribes and nation.

In the years following the U.S. Civil War, a hard-fought Sioux resistance to western expansion, led by warrior and healer Sitting Bull, seemed to have accomplished the impossible: a treaty in which the United States gave the Sioux control of their territory for all time.

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.

Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, this epic 'HBO Films' adaptation of Dee Alexander Brown's nonfiction masterpiece intertwines the unique perspectives of three characters--Charles Eastman, Sitting Bull and Senator Henry Dawes--while detailing the sprawl into the American West that tragically affected American Indian culture.

As early humans spread out across the world, their toughest challenge was colonizing the Americas - because a huge ice sheet blocked the route. It has long been thought that the pioneers, known as Clovis people, arrived about 13,000 years ago, but an underwater discovery in Mexico suggests people arrived earlier than previously thought - and by boat, not on foot. How closely related were these First Americans to today's Native Americans?

This documentary offers a deep, candid, and historical look at the Christian experience of America's largest and best-known indigenous tribes: the Dakota and Lakota.

On the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, science is revealing the truth behind the myth of John Smith, Chief Powhatan and his daughter, Pocahontas.