What to Watch: Celebrate Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage Month. The celebration of Indigenous cultures began as a week-long celebration in 1986, when President Reagan proclaimed the week of November 23-30, 1986 as "American Indian Week." Every President since 1995 has issued annual proclamations designating the month of November as the time to celebrate the cultures, accomplishments, and contributions of Native American and Alaska Native communities.
We celebrate by listening and learning to Indigenous and native voices from across the continent. You can learn more about the diverse experiences of Native Americans and Alaska Natives with this collection of documentaries. You can stream these films and shows and more on PBS.org or on the PBS App.
Lily Gladstone: Far Out There
American Masters brings us closer to Lily Gladstone, star of "Killers of the Flower Moon." Filmmaker Brooke Pepion Swaney profiles independent film actress Lily Gladstone as she prepares for the release of "Killers of the Flower Moon." Drawing from her childhood on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana and her peripatetic life as a professional actor, Gladstone learns to stand on her own two feet in order to make her voice heard.
Rivers Without Fish | Indie Alaska
From Indie Alaska: Mackenzie Englishoe is dedicated to ensuring that future generations living in Gwichyaa Zhee also known as Fort Yukon are able to live off of and celebrate the lands they call home. In this Indie Alaska feature from PBS and PBS Digital Studios earn about the impact a lack of salmon can have on villages within the state of Alaska, and what it means for future generations.
Playlist: Native Voices, Life & Culture
Time Has Many Voices
In the Bay area of San Francisco is an ancient village site where Native peoples long ago lived and prospered. Now, in a once in a lifetime event, the descendants of those people, the Muwekma Ohlone, have partnered with archeologists to conduct one of the most intensive studies ever undertaken at an early pre-contact site in California.
Indigi-Genius
We love this series from New Mexico PBS! Here's the latest episode, but you can stream all of them on PBS app!
Indigi-Genius is devoted to telling the scientific & cultural impact of Indigenous creations & knowledge of the past and present. Written & hosted by Dr. Lee Francis, pueblo & self described Indigi-Nerd, & funded in part by VisionMaker Media. The series covers a range of global Indigenous topics & breaks down the science, culture, history, & “Indigi-Genius” knowledge.
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What is the Land Back movement?
The Land Back movement aims to reclaim ancestral lands in order to restore Indigenous governance over them. In other words, it is an effort to get Indigenous land back to Indigenous people. The concept has existed for generations, and current efforts have caught more attention on social media in the last five years, particularly after the No Access Dakota Pipeline protests on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
These three stories explore the Land Back movement in different ways. This episode of Above the Noise explores how can inform environmental and climate change conversations. The documentary Groundworks is a film about some creative practices of California Natives within the movement. In Their Element, from Local, USA, spotlights Indigenous leaders rising up to meet the challenge of the climate crisis. For people whose existence is inseparable from their native land, climate change is not a tale of the future - it is the present.
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