Native American Videos
Native American Music

The Earth Shall Weep
by James Wilson
Wilson is not a Native American, yet he brings to life the history of indigenous North Americans from the prehistoric to the present as if he possessed the spirit of the ancestors, insisting that a broader truth be told. He starts with a worldview that differs from our Eurocentric, Christian view, eventually revealing parallel myths that are both common and in conflict with ours. Wilson doesn't try to portray an ideal, monolithic culture but shows that Native Americans were of different peoples, nations, regions, and histories that often overlapped. He examines the hunters and fur traders of the Northeast who, before the colonies' independence, formed alliances with the French, Dutch, and British. In the Southwest, the Five Civilized Nations identified with the region's newcomers, until they were driven from the territory through the Trail of Tears. And the West had a sophisticated Mesoamerican civilization. All of those are cultures about which we North Americans are woefully ignorant. Wilson further explores the conditions of contemporary Native Americans and reflects on the continued indifference to their plight. This is a must read for Americans, both indigenous and more recent immigrants.
Vernon Ford Copyright© 1999, American Library Association.

North American Indians
by Edward S. Curtis

From 1896 to 1930, Edward S. Curtis traveled throughout the United States, making a vivid record of Native American peoples that would eventually comprise 20 volumes. Many of the most significant photographs have been selected for this classic, now in a new edition. 68 duotone photographs.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
by Dee Brown

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, fully documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the 19th century. When it was first published in 1971, both reviewers and the reading public responded first with shock, then a deep sense of shame, calling it "shattering" (Washington Post), and "heartbreaking" (The New York Times). It went on to sell over a million copies in hardcover and four million copies in paperback, and was translated into 15 languages around the world.

500 Nations:
An Illustrated History of North American Indians
by Alvin M. Josephy
500 Nations is a richly illustrated, absorbingly written history of North America's indigenous peoples. Drawing on creation stories, oral history, archaeological evidence, federal documents, and hundreds of published sources, Josephy takes us on an encyclopedic journey through Native America's past and present. Few scholars have Josephy's command of his broad and complex subject, and fewer still write as dexterously. The result: the best one-volume, general-interest study of Native American history now available

The Cherokee People:
The Story of the Cherokees from Earliest Origins
to Contemporary Times
(hard corver)
by Thomas E. Mails
In a magnificent piece of historical reconstruction, extensively and beautifully illustrated with his own color and b&w drawings, author/artist Mails, famous for his Mystic Warriors of the Plains (1972) and other works dealing with the history and ethnology of Native Americans, tells the story of the Cherokee people from their origins to the present time. 9.5" x 12.25"

Paperback Version

Black Elk Speaks;
Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
by John G. Neihardt

This is a spiritual book, and should be read by all who seek more understanding of our Native American history. Its voice is that of a great Indian medicine man who, as a boy, witnessed the destruction and chaos wrought for the 'yellow rock which drives the white man crazy'. The narratives of Black Elk are riveting as he describes the confusion, terror, anger, rebellion and flight of his people. His dreams and visions become the legend and the legacy of the Lakota Sioux, from the four horsemen to the Ghost Dance.This is a story told by a man of power, and it is mesmerising.

The Powwow Highway
by David Seals
The BOOK and the VIDEO below:
The extraordinary tale of two diametrically opposite Native Americans who take an unforgettable roadtrip and learn to respect each others opinions and philisophical views. In the film version, see below, Gray Farmer plays the role of Philbert with dignity and grace. You will love and respect him as an individual and root for him throughout the movie. A. Martinez is equally adept as Buddy Redbow. Johnathan Wacks' direction is superb, in that he allows you to experience the movie without heavy handed direction taking away from your enjoyment. The film version is a wonderful adaptation of a classic novel.

Film version available on video !
Gary Farmer (Smoke Signals) is the standout in a fine film by Jonathan Wacks about an oversized Cheyenne man-child (Farmer) who decides to go on a spiritual quest, while simultaneously giving a ride to his lifelong Indian activist friend (A. Martinez). The film takes us through some pretty desolate Indian communities, but while Wacks makes a point of revealing harsher aspects of life on some reservations, the emphasis is on Farmer's delightful performance. A bonus: among the cast are Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) and Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans), neither of whom were well-known in 1989, the year this film was released.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
by Peter Mathhiessen

A look at the events surrounding the incarceration of native American activist Leonard Peltier elucidates the traditional Indian concept of the sacred inviolability of the earth and presents new evidence supporting Peltier's claims of innocence, arguing for a new trial. Kept off the shelves for eight years by legal battles, this is the comprehensive history of the desperate Indian efforts to maintain their traditions and preserve the sacredness of the earth. Matthiessen reveals the Lakota Indians' long struggle with the U.S. Government, from Red Cloud's War and Little Big Horn to the Indian wars of the 1970s. 3 maps.

The Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1819-1900
by John R. Finger
Paperback - 253 pages
The Eastern Band of the Cherokees, now settled in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, refused to be moved when the US government forced other elements of the Tribe onto the genocidal Trail of Tears - the forced removal in 1838 of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia to what became Oklahoma. This rare book deals with the heroic Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

Medicine of the Cherokee:
The Way of Right Relationship
by J. T. Garrett, Michael Garrett
"We have much yet to learn from the plants about taking care of our health; from the animals about survival; and from the birds about our spirit freedom." This is the attitude of eager openness toward nature that imbues Medicine of the Cherokee. If you thought that Native American wisdom was dead and gone, father and son Garrett will happily change your mind. They present the "medicine" of the Cherokee through easily accessible virtues, principles, and folktales that illuminate the intertwined basis of our relationships with nature and with each other. Midwest Book Review Medicine Of The Cherokee: The Way Of Right Relationship is the story of the physical, mental, spiritual, and natural aspects of humans as told through many generations of elder teaches of Native American medicine. With stories that tell about the "four directions" and the "universal circle", these ancient Cherokee teachings also offer wisdom on circle gatherings, herbs, healing, and ways to reduce stress and find harmony and balance in all our relationships. The way of our modern world can separate us from nature and make us prone to disease, signs of being on the wrong path.

Myths of the Cherokee
by James Mooney
Anthropologist James Mooney (1861-1921) spent much of his life studying American Indians, living for several years with a group of Cherokee while studying their language, culture, and mythology. This volume (first published in 1900) is the result, comprising 126 Cherokee sacred stories, animal myths, and local legends, as well as extensive background information and history.

The Peace Chief: A Novel of the Real People
by Robert J. Conley
In the early days of the European expansion into America, one Cherokee must be reborn to lead his people through this difficult time. "The Peace Chief" is a powerful evocation of a time and a people.
Anyone who has read a Robert J. Conley “Real People” historical fiction will quickly understand why the Cherokee Nation commissioned the author to chronicle their history. The entire collection pays homage to an intricate, complex way of life that is must reading for fans of historical novels. THE PEACE CHIEF adds to the setting by providing colorful descriptions of a culture, rituals, and people already struggling to retain a lifestyle as the early intrusion of the European has begun. The award winning Conley will surely receive more accolades for this sweeping epic.

American Indian Myths and Legends
by Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz

Gathering 160 tales from 80 tribal groups to offer a rich and lively panarama of the Native American mythic heritage. 100 drawings.

Kiowa Indian Jill Momaday reads each of the tales in this anthology of Native American myths and legends accompanied by authentic music.
On the audio cassette edition of this title

Trail of Tears:
The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation
by John Ehle
Ehle does far more than take his reader on a fact finding mission to dip beneath the surface of what led to and transpired during the nightmarish removal of the Cherokee Nation in 1838 when over 4,000 Indians died while walking 900 miles in the heart of winter. In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, the author of the highly acclaimed The Winter People tells the moving, searing story of the betrayal and brutal dispossession of the Cherokee Nation.
"A beautifully written and emotionally mature book . . . a must."
--New York Newsday.

0385239548

The Trail of Tears
by Gloria Jahoda
A moving history of the Eastern Native Americans up to their removal to the West. Jahoda covers most of major tribes in the East. A history that should make any American ashamed and outraged. Jahoda's writing and story telling is excellent and moves one to tears.

After the Trail of Tears:
The Cherokees' Struggle for Sovereignty, 1839-1880
by William G. McLoughlin
An expert chronicle of the final triumphs and troubles of the Cherokee Nation before its integrity was destroyed by the US Congress in the 1880's--and the crowning achievement in the distinguished career of the late McLoughlin (History and Religion/Brown). Forced in the 1830's to abandon ancestral lands in the Deep South, the Cherokees suffered terribly on the Trail of Tears but arrived in their new home west of the Mississippi with their national identity largely intact. Led by the mixed-blood John Ross, they encountered hostility from Cherokees already established in the area, and a bloody factional struggle ensued that was settled only by treaty in 1846. Rebuilding what they had lost during their removal, the unified Cherokee Nation established schools, farms, and towns, becoming stable without much help from Washington. But resentment of prospering, English-speaking mixed-bloods by more traditional (and poorer) full-bloods--who saw their heritage imperiled by the former's assimilationist tendencies--was fanned by the sectarian slave crisis in the US. Further bitter infighting erupted as Cherokees took sides during the Civil War and, after Ross's death in 1866, no leader of his stature emerged to safeguard sovereignty as successfully as he had. Under increasing pressure by railroad and other interests, the Cherokees saw their internal division continue to fester, ultimately leaving them unable to resist demands that their new homeland be turned into a territory for settlement. Tightly focused and painstakingly detailed, as well as deeply sympathetic: the definitive history of the Cherokees in their desperate last stand against white encroachment.

Betraying the Omaha Nation, 1790-1916
by Judith A. Boughter

New Hardcover - 304 pages
(October 1998)
Although Nebraska's largest city bears their name, the Omaha Indians are unfamiliar to many people outside the scholarly community. Betraying the Omaha Nation is the first comprehensive history of these people during the years 1790-1916. Tracing events from the Omahas' glory days under Chief Black Bird though the loss of most of their land during the World War I era, Judith A. Boughter brings to light the Omahas' complex and ultimately tragic story.

Blessing for a Long Time:
The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe
by Robin Ridington and Dennis Hastings
For centuries the "Sacred Pole" stood for tribal unity for the Omaha. Giving in to Christian pressure to convert, the Omaha relinquished the pole to Harvard's Peabody Museum in 1888. Researchers Robin Ridington and Dennis Hastings draw upon Omaha oral traditions to tell the story of their Sacred Pole and its return to the tribe in 1989 after a century of sustained campaigns.
22 photos. 7 drawings .
The author says:
The return of "The Real Omaha" "The Real Omaha" is a tree that stands burning. He is a venerable man; a person who stands for the people. Dennis and I tell about how we came to know him and how he came back to his people. All My Relations.

Thunderheart
VIDEO Starring: Val Kilmer
Directed by: Michael Apted
Inspired by real-life events that took place at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in the 1970s, Thunderheart stars Val Kilmer as an arrogant FBI agent whose Sioux blood is stirred when he investigates a murder on Oglala Sioux land. Directed by Michael Apted (with Alan Smithee), who had just completed his stirring documentary Incident at Oglala - also well-worth seeing - about imprisoned Indian activist Leonard Peltier, Thunderheart has a distinct and informed power one might not have expected from a Hollywood crime drama. This is a very fine movie with one of Kilmer's most effective performances. Produced by Robert De Niro.

Lakota Woman - Siege at Wounded Knee
VIDEO
All-Native American cast brings alive Mary Crow Dog's moving autobiography. Bedard is especially fine as the woman who went from an abused childhood through intra-tribal politics to become an eyewitness at the famed 1973 siege at Wounded Knee.
- From Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
This film and its music and song will make you remember the struggle of the Lakota people for a very long time.

AKA The Graffiti Man
by John Trudell
Audio CD
John Trudell, a Native American of the Sioux Nation, was one of the founders of AIM - the American Indian Movement. A wonderful poet and musician.
Reviews:
Rolling Stone - ...a moving, shape-shifting, rock & roll treatise on the state of the world...
Option -...A wise, compassionate, mostly spoken voice layered over a scorching mix of rockin' rhythm' n' blues...

Johnny Damas And Me
by John Trudell
Audio CD
. . . every bit its predecessor's equal as regards the power and intensity of his message and music.

Trudell has a Web site here.