Running Time:
4 hours
Grade Level:
7 - Adult
Captions:
Closed Captions
,
Spanish Subtitles
AVP Release Date:
June 2008
Producer:
Centre Communications/ Ambrose Video Publishing
Join host Tyler Christopher, a 21st Century American Indian, as he brings a new vision to a remarkable journey.
The journey is one that tells three stories: one of remarkable civilizations creating architecture, technology and art that matched the greatest success of any ancient culture. The second story is one of survival: overcoming attempts at extermination by the dominant culture. The final story is one of accomplishment.
Tyler chronicles the survival of the American Indian in spite of oppressive wars and destruction that attempted, but did not succeed, in removing the American Indians from their culture and their future. These programs bring little known American Indian accomplishments to the viewer in this enlightening tribute to the American Indian.
Supplementals: Closed Captioning, Spanish Subtitles, Printable Graphics, Teacher's Guide, Blackline Master Quizzes, Gallery of Images, Timeline, historical documents and Maps
- Disk One
- 12,000 B.C. - American Indians Arrive in What Will Become the United States
- 10,000 B.C. - Paleo Indians Become the Most Accomplished Stone Age Hunters
- 4000 B.C. - Old Copper Culture Initiates Metallurgy in the United States
- 2000 B.C. - Pecos Culture Produces Sacred Rock Paintings
- 1700 B.C. - Poverty Point Culture Founds First American City
- 1400 B.C. - American Indians Begin Shift to Agriculture
- 300 A.D. - Archaic Upper Great Lakes Cultures Begin Building Effigy Mounds
- 800 A.D. - Bow and Arrow Has Spread Across the Continental United States
- 1000 A.D. - Mississippian Culture Establishes Cahokia As Their Capital
Running Time: 60 minutes
Program 1: American Indians Populate the North American Continent
During the first ten thousand years of occupying North America, American Indians were the most accomplished Stone Age hunters, worked metal into tools and weapons, and created some of the world's greatest rock art.
Chapters:
Program 2: The Golden Age of Ancient American Indians
During the classic golden age of American Indians, they built some of the world's greatest cities and adopted agriculture and the bow and arrow.
Chapters:
- Disk Two
- 1100 - Anasazi Build Cliff Cities at Mesa Verde
- 1142 - Iroquois League Creates a Constitution
- 1614 - Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe
- 1621 - Squanto and Massasoit Help Pilgrims Survive
- 1675 - Metacom Leads "King Philip's War"
- 1680 - Popé Drives Spanish from Santa Fe
- 1680 - Kateri Tekakwitha, Patroness of Ecology
- 1763 - Ottawa Chief Pontiac's War for Independence
- 1799 - Handsome Lake Founds Longhouse Religion
- 1805 - Sacagawea, Interpreter and Guide, Aids Lewis and Clark Western Expedition
Running Time: 60 minutes
Program 3: The Great Transition
At the closing of the classic golden age of American Indians, the Anasazi built their spectacular cliff cities ... The Iroquois League wrote a remarkable constitution that would serve as a model for the founding fathers. The transition coincided with the arrival of the Europeans. This included tribal interactions with the settlers at Jamestown and the Pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation.
Chapters:
Program 4: Resistance and Acceptance
In this program are the heroic stories of Indian tribes who attempted to protect their lands from European invasion ... And stories of how other American Indians found ways to live in peace and preserve their culture.
Chapters:
- Disk Three
- 1811 - Chief Tecumseh Leads the Last Great American Indian Confederacy
- 1821 - Sequoyah Creates Cherokee System of Writing
- 1833 - Chief Black Hawk Writes His Autobiography
- 1835 - Osceola Resists Indian Removal Act
- 1850 - Chief Sealth Welcomes Settlers to the Pacific Northwest
- 1861 - Cochise, Undefeated Apache Warrior Hero
- 1864 - Ely Samuel Parker Becomes Adjutant to General Ulysses S. Grant
- 1868 - Red Cloud, the Sioux Renaissance Leader
- 1875 - Quanah Parker, Legendary Comanche Leader
- 1876 - Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
- 1877 - Chief Joseph Leads Brilliant Nez Perce Retreat
Running Time: 60 minutes
Program 5: The New Indian Leaders
American Indian leaders with great vision make a valiant attempt to retain their culture and continue to live on their ancestral lands west of the Appalachians. Without these valiant efforts, it is doubtful the Indian nations east of the Mississippi River and along the west coast would have survived at all.
Chapters:
Program 6: Plains Indians War
From 1853 to 1890, the Plains Indians horse culture engaged the United States military in its longest conflict.
Chapters:
- Disk Four
- 1883 - Sarah Winnemucca Publishes Her Autobiography
- 1900 - The La Flesche Family Starts to Preserve American Indian Cultures and Religions
- 1912 - Jim Thorpe Wins Olympic Gold Medals
- 1924 - Gertrude Simmons Bonnin Sets the Stage for Survival of American Indians
- 1929 - Charles Curtis is Elected Vice President of the United States
- 1942 - American Indians Become Heroes in WWII
- 1969 - N. Scott Momaday Wins Pulitzer Prize
- 1970 - John Echohawk Founds NARF
- 1973 - Second Battle of Wounded Knee
- 1977 -Velarde and Martinez Found the Modern American Indian Art Movement
- 1985 - Wilma Mankiller Becomes Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
- 2002 - Dr. Frank Dukepoo Joins Einstein on Ithaca's Sciencenter Wall of Inspiration
- 2007 - Jana Mashonee is Nominated for a Grammy
Running Time: 60 minutes
Program 7: The Emergence of the American Indian Hero
The first half of the 20th-century was the worst of times for American Indians. They were a vanishing race. Then something remarkable happened: four American Indian women made their voices heard in the courts and the halls of political power, saving American Indians.
Chapters:
Program 8: American Indian Renaissance
With their survival assured, American Indians finally had the opportunity to fully express their creativity. This program presents extraordinary men and women and their achievements in every avenue of American life while remaining fully anchored in their traditional values.
Chapters:
Clip Length: 3 minutes 18 seconds
Reviews:
STARRED REVIEW *
"Finally, an historical perspective of American Indian history that tells the story without glorifying European-influenced conquest of the continent! In eight half-hour segments, two per disc, viewers are given a chronological look at tribes, their cultural complexities, leaders, and achievements. The first disc spans the years before European contact, including much debated questions of Native peoples' origins. Creation stories from the tribes themselves are not discounted as mere myth, but placed in balance with various 'scientific' theories. It comes to light that much technology, architecture, spirituality, transportation and achievement in North America predated that of Europe. The second disc details introduction to and contact with European invaders. While it is true that Indians initially assisted the new arrivals by teaching them essential survival skills, the deception and greed of the whites led to aggressions on both sides. Agreements were routinely broken, storehouses plundered, lands taken, families murdered, even intellectual property was stolen as our founding fathers built the U. S. Constitution on many of the Indians' long-established governing policies. Disc 3 centers on biographies of Indian leaders in the 1800s and the wars waged against tribes. Each biography serves as a useful stand-alone unit, for adequate historical background is provided. Again, the tribal lens tells the story. Manifest Destiny is shown as the murder and plunder that it was, rather than as an honorable crusade. Disc 4 brings contemporary heroes into view including military heroes, athletes, artists and great statesmen. Two narrators are employed; the female voice retelling women's achievements, and the male voice comprising the rest. Historical film footage works well, interspersed with artwork, photography, and modern film recreations to illustrate the program. Host Tyler Christopher, a Choctaw/Seneca actor, lends credence to the presentation.... Teacher materials, including multiple choice test pages are available online from the producers. Superb Native American content for middle and high school history students."
- School Library Journal
Downloadable Documents:
A History of Hispanic Achievement in America |
A History of Black Achievement in America |
A History of Women's Achievement in America |
19th Century Turning Points in U.S. History |