Research Help: Ebookshelf: Native American Heritage Month: Streaming Films &amp; Videos

American Buffalo: a film by Ken Burns (231 mins)

The dramatic story of America’s national mammal, which sustained the lives of Native people for untold generations, being driven to the brink of extinction, before an unlikely collection of people rescues it from disappearing forever. Ken Burns recounts the tragic collision of two opposing views of the natural world––and the unforgettable characters who pointed the nation in a different direction. This documentary has 2 episodes, and it, as well as extra content, can also be viewed on PBS.

More Than a Word: Native American-Based Sports Mascots (70 mins)

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.

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (103 mins)

This revelatory documentary brings to light the profound and overlooked influence of Indigenous people on popular music in North America. Focusing on music icons like Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Taboo (The Black Eyed Peas), Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Jesse Ed Davis, Robbie Robertson, and Randy Castillo, RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World shows how these pioneering Native American musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.

The Medicine Game: Two Native American Brothers Working to Play Lacrosse for Syracuse University (70 mins)

Two brothers from the Onondaga Nation pursue their dreams of playing lacrosse for national powerhouse Syracuse University. The obstacles in their way are frequent and daunting, but their love for the game, each other, and their family's unyielding determination, propels these youth towards their dream.

A Good Day to Die (92 mins)

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.

Oyate (73 min)

OYATE is a time capsule of moments, feelings, gestures, and events that took place on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during the summer of 2015. The narrative, pieced together from the daily activities of two Lakota families and a few other subjects, anchors the viewer among the rhythms and sounds of everyday life while sidestepping the kinds of negative, issue-based approaches that have so long dominated films set in native spaces.

While not an outwardly politicized film, Oyate is a deeply political one; a film that represents a collection of seemingly commonplace occurrences (a conversation in the back of a truck, a group of young girls lighting off fireworks, a wedding reception) as deeply felt grasps toward purpose in an often difficult world.

We Breathe Again: The Stories of Four Alaska Native People (56 min)

For millennia, Alaska Native peoples thrived in the seasonally harsh conditions of life in the far north. They depended upon strong social, cultural and spiritual practices passed from generation to generation.

In the last century, rapid and forced changes in the life ways of Alaska Native peoples created many complex, painful scars for Elders who experienced them, and for their children’s children. In a landscape as dramatic as its stories, WE BREATHE AGAIN intimately explores the lives of four Alaska Native people, each confronting the impacts of inter-generational trauma and suicide.

By Blood: Native American Men Fight for Cherokee Citizenship (53 min)

A chronicle of American Indians of African descent battling to regain their tribal citizenship. BY BLOOD explores the impact of this battle, which has manifested into a broader conflict about race, identity, and the sovereign rights of indigenous people.

The film demonstrates both sides of the battle, the shared emotional impact of the issue, and the rising urgency of the debate: a Native American and African American history has been overlooked, and a tribal body feels as though their sovereignty is under siege.

Native America: New Worlds (53 mins)

Native innovators lead a revolution in music, building, and space exploration. From the surface of Mars to the New York City hip hop scene to the Pine Ridge Reservation, Native traditions are transforming life on Earth and other worlds.

alter-NATIVE: Kitchen (series)

See how cooking connects three Native chefs to their own histories, as they teach others with mouth-watering delicacies.

Above the Noise: How Indigenous Communities are Fighting Climate Change (10 mins)

Learn more about #LandBack, an Indigenous-led environmental, cultural, and political movement that seeks to place Indigenous land back in Indigenous hands.

Looking for some podcasts about Native American Heritage? You might want to check out these series and networks:

Native Nevada is an 8-part podcast focused on Nevada's Indigenous Peoples.
Native Voice One is a radio network focused on "Native American news, culture, history, music, events, and modern life."
Hollowed to Hallowed Ground: The 1999 Pecos Repatriation from the National Park Service looks at the stories around the repatriation of thousands of ancestors and objects repatriated to the Pueblo of Jemez.

Some anthology podcasts also have episodes focused on Native American history and culture:

BackStory: Standing Rock and the History of Indigenous Resistance in the United States (39 mins)
September 9, 2019 - In 2016, protests broke out at Standing Rock – a reservation in North and South Dakota – to block the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Indigenous peoples and other activists opposed the pipeline because they believed it violated sacred sites and threatened to contaminate the Missouri River, a major source of drinking water in the region. Taking social media by storm, the #noDAPL movement quickly became an international headline.
On this episode, Nathan sits down with historian and activist Nick Estes to talk about his experience at Standing Rock, the history of Indigenous resistance, and the current state of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Estes’ new book is called “Our History is the Future: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance.”
BackStory: Imagined Nations (58 mins)
November 22, 2014 - On this show, we’re taking a long look at how Native peoples have been represented — and misrepresented — in U.S. history. We’ll also ask how American Indians themselves have challenged and reinvented those depictions. We have stories about art in the early days of European conquest, dioramas in America’s museums of “natural history,” and a 19th century football team that was actually made up entirely of American Indian players.
Sidedoor: Raven and the Box of Daylight (30 mins)
February 23, 2022 - 'Before here was here, Raven was a white bird, and the world was in darkness.' So begins the story passed down among the Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial. This origin story has survived by passing from the lips of one person to the ear of another—from generation to generation. In this episode of Sidedoor, Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary shares it in a new way: leading us on a journey from darkness to light through dozens of luminous glass sculptures.
Sidedoor: Cherokee Story Slam (24 mins)
May 9, 2018 - Animals that talk? A bag of fire ants? Secret dancing superpowers? In this episode, Robert Lewis, an acclaimed Cherokee storyteller, spins stories about a legendary troublemaker: Jistu the Rabbit. Along the way, we visit the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, exploring the power stories hold to keep people connected to their culture across time and geographic distance. Experience the transformative power of a good tale.