Videos & Filmstrips

Grades K-4

Native American Heritage / Schlessinger Video Productions, c1997. Exciting adventures appear at every turn as children are introduced to the history and culture of the diverse groups of Native Americans that first lived in North America. Grades K-4 (25 min.)

Native American Life / Schlessinger Video Productions, c1996. Topics include Stewards of the Earth, The Story of Pocahontas, Many Faces One Heart: Diversity of Cultures, Tecumseh and the Trail of Tears, Who are the Native Americans? Grades K-4. (25 min.)

Pow wow / Schlessinger Video Productions, 1996. Many native Americans from across the U.S. and Canada meet throughout the year at Pow Wows, gatherings where Native American culture and life are celebrated by everyone. The children make a kachina doll of their own, and learn about the dream catcher. The program introduces drums, celebratory songs, dances and traditional tales. Grades K-4. (25 min.)

Tales of Wonder: Traditional Native American Fireside Stories / Steven R. Heape, Chip Richie. Rich-Heape Films, 1998. Rabbit and the bear; Rabbit's short tail; Why possum's tail is bare; The ruby necklace; Origin of fire; Plieades and the pine tree; Little gray bat; Little turtle; How deer got antlers. (60 min.)

United States Expansion / Schlessinger Video Productions, c1996. Topics include the Lewis & Clark Expedition; the story of a child: my family went west; Native Americans: forced from their homes; the life of John Henry; and the story of Mount Rushmore. Ages 4-10. (25 min.)

Intermediate through Junior High

Arrowheads, Blades, and Knives: the Cutting Edge of History / Burning Buffalo Productions, 1996. Discusses the use of stone projectile points by prehistoric man with particular attention to arrowheads. Demonstrates the complete process of making an arrowhead and where to find arrowheads in the southwest (Oklahoma). Stresses the importance of maintaining archaeological sites. (27 min.)

Cherokee Heritage Indian Educational Foundation series / CHIEF Productions. 4 parts, (30 min each) + teacher's guide + student handout.

Cherokee Culture 1500-1820 / June Lee, et al. CHIEF Productions, 1992. Describes the forces and events that shaped Cherokee history through the end of the 18th century.
Cherokee Odyssey 1825-1850 / J. Brian Mead. CHIEF Productions, c1994. Describes the Cherokees' development of an agricultural economy and an educational system. Tells of their removal from the Eastern states along the Trail of Tears.
A Nation Within a Nation -- at War / Even A. Culp, Mark Hellstern. CHIEF Productions, c1994. Traces the participation of the Cherokees in the American civil war.
A New Life Begins -- Reconstruction / Even A. Culp, Prentice Robinson, et al. CHIEF Productions, c1994. Traces the history of the Cherokees from the period following the American civil war to the years just before Oklahoma was admitted to the Union.

Jerome Tiger: the Man and his Legacy / Debbie Cobb and Deana Keklikian. CHIEF Productions, c1992. A biographical profile of the Native American artist Jerome Tiger, who died accidentally at the age of 26. (35 min.) + teacher's guide and student handout.

The People: Profiles of Native Americans series / Sigma Educational Media, c1989. 4 parts.

Pushmataha. A biography of the fierce Choctaw military leader and a skillful politician. It tells of his alliance with the Americans against the British and the U.S. betrayal and the loss of his ancient homeland. (16 min.) + teacher's guide.
Sequoyah. The accomplishments of Sequoyah include his development of the Cherokee Syllabary and the struggle to see it adapted and used by the Cherokee Nation. (16 min.) + teacher's guide.
Stand Watie. Stand Watie's birth and rise to prominence as the only Native American General in the Civil War. It discusses the Ridge-Watie-Ross feud, the Blood law and efforts by Stand Watie for peace after the war. (17 min.) + teacher's guide.
Tecumseh. The Shawnee leader's Indian Confederacy, attempts to halt white encroachment and the reaction of other tribes to Tecumseh's ideas. (17 min.) + teacher's guide.
Will Rogers. Will Rogers'rise to stardom, his Cherokee ancestry and his childhood in the Indian Nations. It shows a country boy's effect on the nation's media and Hollywood. (19 min.)

Tahtonka/ Charles W. Nauman. AIMS Media, 1968. An account of the Plains Indians and their buffalo culture, from the pre-horse period through the time of the hide hunters and the decimation of the mighty herds. Concludes with the Ghost Dance craze and the tragic episode of Wounded Knee. (30 min.)

Filmstrips

The Fire Stealer. Retold by William Toye; pictures by Elizabeth Cleaver. Retells how Nanbozho brought fire to his people and caused trees to be billiantly colored each autumn (an Ojibwa story).

The Legend of the bluebonnet: an old tale of Texas / Tomie De Paola. Sound Filmstrip Productions, Listening Library, 1984. A retelling of the Comanche Indian legend of how a little girl's sacrifice brought the flower called bluebonnet to Texas.

The Girl who loved wild horses. An adaptation of the book of the same title by Paul Goble about a young Indian girl's loving bond with a herd of wild horses.

General Audience:

Art

Indian Art of the Pueblos / Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Examines the traditional materials, forms, and symbols that characterize the Indian art of the American Southwest. Describes the religious and social significance of these works in the daily lives of the Pueblo people. (13 min.)

Indian Pottery of San Ildefonso / United States National Park Service, 1979. Details the making of black San Ildefonso Indian pottery in New Mexico, from the spreading of sacred corn and the gathering of clay to the outdoor firing and removal of pottery pieces from the fire mound. (27 min.)

Lakota Quillwork Art and Legend / with Flossie New Holy Bear Robe and Alice New Holy Blue Legs. Sun Dog Films, c1990. Explores the spiritual origins of porcupine quillwork through the legend of Double Woman, who brought the art from the spirit world to the Sioux. Contrasts the original method with some adaptations used by a modern quillworking family. (27 min.)

Ribbons of the Osage: the Life and Art of Georgeann Robinson / Scott and Sheila Swearingen. Full Circle Communications, 1986. Documents the life and art of Georgeann Robinson, a full-blood Osage from Pawhuska, Oklahoma and nationally recognized master of ribbon work. The history and technique of ribbon work are explained, as is its use in the traditional dance outfits for the Elonska Dance. (28 min.)

Genealogy

How to Trace Your Native American Heritage / Rich-Heape Films, Inc., c1998. Discusses how and where to research one's Indian lineage, how to obtain Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, and tribal membership. (32 min.)

History

American Indians, a Brief History / National Geographic Society, 1985. Depicts the arrival of the first Americans from Asia and their dispersal throughout the Americas. Examines the lives of American Indians today. (22 min.) + teacher's guide.

America's Great Indian Leaders / Media Process. Questar Video, Inc., 1994. In the late 19th century, four native Americans emerged to protect their people and culture. Crazy Horse refused to bring his people into submission. Chief Joseph led his people on a 1700 mile flight from the U.S. Army. Geronimo used his powers to vanish and reappear, confounding pursuers. Quanah Parker and son of a white woman, guided his people between two worlds, white and Indian. (65 min.)

America's Great Indian Nations / Questar Video, c1995. Rich landscapes, dramatic reenactments, historical photographs and haunting music combine to make this a compelling look six of the most powerful and honored tribes in American history: the Iroquois, the Seminoles, the Shawnee, the Navajo, the Cheyenne, and the Lakota Sioux. (65 min.)

Ancient America series / Gray Warriner. Camera One, 1996 & 1997. Host: Wes Studi. 5 parts.

Eastern Woodlands. A number of Indian cultures thrived in what is today the United States Mississippi Valley and the Middle Atlantic regions during Pre-Columbian times. Shows these different Indian cultures & how they were able to adapt to their environment. (60 min.)
More Than Bows and Arrows. Featuring N. Scott Momaday. Long before the first Europeans reached North America, generations of Native American Indians had flourished. Journey into the past to learn about these magnificent people. (60 min.)
Nomads of the West. Surveys the Medicine Wheel and covers the transition of the Great Basin from the Ice Age to desert. (60 min.)
The Northwest. Discover the sophisticated art and ceremonies of the wealthy societies that once inhabited the Northwestern part of ancient America. (60 min.)
The Southwest. The dignity and beauty of the culture of the Native Americans of the Southwest is captured in this program. Includes the civilization of the Anasazi, the Hohokam, the Mimbres, the Salado. (60 min.)

Arizona: Spirit of the Southwest / International Video Network. Part of the series, "Video Visits, United States Collection," see Phoenix, Tucson, and Scottsdale, and watch a Navajo rug being created. Attend a ceremony of the Apache Mountain Spirit Dancers and explore an Anasazi cliff dwelling. (55 min.)

The Battle of Honey Springs / Oklahoma Historical Society, c1997. Interviews are conducted to discuss a Civil War battle held in Indian Territory on Nov. 19, 1863. (28 min.)

Broken Rainbow / Earthwork Films. A documentary about the forced relocation of Navajo Indians in Arizona. Includes congressional testimony. (70 min.)

Cahokia Mounds: Ancient Metropolis / Cahokia Mounds Museum Society, 1994. A great metropolis of thousands of people once stood at the site of Cahokia. (60 min.)

The Chaco Legacy / Graham Chedd. PBS Video, 1999. Examines archaeological theories about the rise and fall of Chacoan culture, which flourished 900 years ago in the area of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and represented the height of prehistoric Pueblo civilization. (58 min.)

First Frontier / Bruce G. Kuerten, John DiJulio. Wombat Film & Video, 1987. Discusses the explorations of De Soto, and the early history of the Southeast area. (57 min.)

500 Nations series / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. 8 parts (TCCL missing 6 & 7).

Part 1. The Ancestors: Early Cultures of North America / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. The Anasazi transform the arid Southwest and construct the 800-room Pueblo Bonito. Cahokia was the largest city in the U.S. before 1800, and yet few have ever heard of it. (49 min.)
Part 2. Mexico: the Rise and Fall of the Aztecs / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. The Indians of Central Mexico and dramatic eyewitness accounts of the Aztec-Spanish war highlight this volume. The magnificant city Tenochtitlan became the center of an empire and the objective of Cortez, who sank his ships so his men could not turn back. (49 min.)
Part 3. Clash of Cultures: the People who Met Columbus / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. Native peoples confront Spanish expeditions into the Caribbean and the southeast and confront two unconquerable weapons: muskets and disease. (49 min.)
Part 4. Invasion of the Coast: the First English Settlements / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. This program opens in the Arctic, where the search for a northwest passage has a dire impact on the Inuit people. At Jamestown, the story of the Powhatan princess, Pocahontas, unfolds. Pilgrims at Plymouth are introduced to a harvest celebration by the Wampanoagas. (49 min.)
Part 5. Cauldron of War: Iroquois Democracy and the American Revolution / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. Europe fights for control of American resources. Many indigenous nations side with the trade-oriented French rather than the land-claiming English. Ironically, the American Revolution devastates the Iroquois, the oldest democracy on the continent. (49 min.)
Part 8. Attack on Culture: "I will fight no more forever" / Tig Productions. Warner Home Video, 1994. The final volume of eight programs exploring the history and culture of North America examines the legislative attack on native ways. Today, the renewal of native cultures provides a vital reminder of the glory of America's original people and the hardships they endured. (49 min.)

The Great Indian Wars, 1840-1890 / Dan Dalton. Simitar Entertainment. Authentic photos and Hollywood movie footage of Indian wars in the west against encroaching white settlers. 2 videocassettes (96 min.)

How the West was lost / Sonny Hutchison, Carpenter. Discovery Enterprises Group. Documents the devastating effects of westward expansion on five Native nations, the Navajo, Nez Perce, Apache, Cheyenne, and Lakota, through recollections of their descendants, archival photographs and historical documents. 3 videocassettes (300 min.)
Part 1. A clash of cultures; "I will fight no more forever"
Part 2. Always the enemy; The only good Indian is a dead Indian
Part 3. A good day to die; Kill the Indian, save the man.

How the West was Lost II. / Discovery Networks and 9K*USA. Discovery Enterprises Group, c1995. Examines the effect of the American Revolutionary War on the Iroquois Confederacy and long term resistance by the Seminole. (100 min.)
Part 1. Divided we fall; The unconquered. Effect of the American Revolutionary War on the Iroquois Confederacy and long term resistance by the Seminole. (100 min.)
Part 2. Trail of tears; As long as the grass shall grow. Eviction of the Cherokees from their homes in Georgia and subsequent journey to new Indian Territory. Oklahoma land runs encroach on tribal lands. (100 min.)
Part 3. Death will come soon enough; the Utes must go. The Modoc Indians, led by Captain Jack, hold off U.S. soldiers in northern California. The Utes, led by Ouray, struggle to remain in Colorado. (100 min.)

Indians, Outlaws and Angie Debo / Institute for Research in History and WGBH/Boston. PBS Video. A segment from the PBS television program, " The American Experience" profiles historian Angie Debo, focusing on her research in the 1930s that uncovered a conspiracy that deprived the Oklahoma Indians of their oil-rich lands and the efforts of officials and business interests to suppress her findings. (58 min.)

In the White Man's Image / Christine Lesiak, Mathew Jones. PBS Video. A look at the Carlisle School for Indian Students founded by Richard Pratt in the early part of the 20th century. Includes the story of Cheyenne warriors who were exiled to St. Augustine, Florida as the first group of Indians to be schooled under Mr. Pratt's direction. Part 413 of "The American Experience." (58 min.)

The Indian and His Homeland: American Images, 1590-1876. / Robert D. Ellis. Finley Holiday Film Corporation. Illustrations by Audubon; Bodmer; Catesby; Catlin; deBry; McKenny; and Moran adapted from the book Native Grace: Prints of the New World. A 300-year survey of the impact of European civilization on the New World. (30 min.)

Land of the Eagle / WNET and BBC-TV, PBS Video,1995. Explores the continent of North America through the inextricable histories of nature and society before and after the arrival of Europeans. Sets the continent's natural world against the dramatic story of the converging cultures and contrasting viewpoints of native peoples and European explorers and settlers. Volumes 198-205 of the PBS Video database of America's History & Culture. 8 videocassettes (60 min. each).
Vol. 198 The Great Encounter
Vol. 199 Confronting the Wilderness
Vol. 200 Conquering the Swamps
Vol. 201 Across the Sea of Grass
Vol. 202 Into the Shining Mountains
Vol. 203 Living on the Edge
Vol. 204 The First and Last Frontier
Vol. 205 Searching for Paradise

Myths and the Moundbuilders / Public Broadcasting Associates. PBS Video. The huge earthworks and mounds scattered through the eastern half of the United States prompted people in the nineteenth century to speculate that a lost civilization had preceded the Indians then living among the mounds. Archaeologists are still exploring the mounds for a better understanding of their builders. (58 min.)

The Native Americans / Turner Home Entertainment. Rediscover America in this illuminating six-part series as Native Americans tell their own compelling story against the background splendour of the geographic regions from which they came. 6 videocassettes (293 min.)
Part 1. The Nations of the Northeast
Part 2. The Tribal People of the Northwest
Part 3. The Tribes of the Southeast
Part 4. The Natives of the Southwest
Part 5. The People of the Great Plains (part one)
Part 6. The People of the Great Plains (part two)

The North American Indian and Edward S. Curtis / T.C. McLuhan, Dennis Wheeler. Phoenix/BFA Films & Video, c1984. A look at the history of American Indians through film footage shot by Edward Curtis around the turn of the century. Also includes some of Curtis's photographs. (30 min.)

Nova: Make My People Live / Ambrose Video Publishing. Examines the health problems of native Americans and the quality of care these people receive. Also explores the reasons why American Indians suffer from diseases such as diabetes, tuberculosis, and alcoholism at rates far exceeding the national averages. Age 16 through adult. (57 min.)

Nova: Search for the First Americans / BBC-TV, WGBH Boston. Follows the trail of America's first inhabitants. Did they really migrate across a Bering Sea land bridge at the end of the last Ice Age, or did they in fact arrive thousands of years earlier, possibly by some different route as new archaeological evidence increasingly hints? (60 min.)

Origins: Lost Civilizations / TV Ontario. Journal Films, c1989. This program looks at Iroquoian societies. It discusses the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas, who were brilliant in art, architecture and agriculture and show how they help the Iroquois develop. For junior and senior high school. (27 min.)

Returning the Gift: a Festival of North American Native Writers, July 7-10, 1992 / University of Oklahoma, 1992. Excerpts from speeches and papers presented at the first national conference of and for Native writers. (60 min.)

Seasons of a Navajo / Peace River Films. PBS Video. Narration in English, or Navajo with English subtitles. Presents one family's kinship with the earth through seasons. (60 min.)

The Shadow Catcher: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian / T.C. McLuhan, Dennis Wheeler. Phoenix Films. A critical account of the life of Edward S. Curtis, a photographer and writer who worked among the Indians of the American Southwest for over 32 years. (88 min.)

Strangers in Their Own Land / Strangers in Their Own Land, Inc., c1993. A documentary that for the first time records Native American ceremonies, including an emotional Kiowa wedding ceremony and the initiation of a young brave into an ancient warrior society. (50 min.)

Thieves of Time / KAET-TV. PBS Video, c1992. Author Tony Hillerman introduces this historical overview of the pillage of North America's Native American cultural archeological sites from Colonial times through the present. Includes information on twenthieth century legislation passed to protect these sites and return cultural artefacts to their rightful owners. (27 min.)

Walking in a Sacred Manner: North American Indians and the Natural World / Stephen Cross. International Film Bureau, 1982. Words spoken by selected North American Indians over a 200-year period describe their life, land, and plants and animals. Contains photographs by Edward S. Curtis, who documented the last of authentic Indian life between 1896 and 1930. Ages 14-adult. (23 min.)

The Way West / Steeplechase Films, WGBH, Boston. PBS Video, c1995. Follow the extraordinary story of westward expansion from the time of the Gold Rush to the battle at Wounded Knee and the bitter struggle over land. 4 videocassettes (90 min. each)
Part 1. Westward, the Course of Empire Takes its Way charts the frantic opening decades of expansion, from the 1840s through the Civil War.
Part 2. The Approach of Civilization chronicles the four-year period following the Civil War, an extraordinarily transformative and disruptive era on the Great Plains.
Part 3. The War for the Black Hills follows the desperate struggle over the last unceded territories of a once vast Indian domain.
Part 4. Ghost Dance chronicles the crackdown on tribes across the Northwest in the aftermath of the Battle of the Little Big Horn in June 1876, and the final desperate days of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.

The West of the Imagination series / Films for the Humanities, c1986.

Enduring Dreams / David Kennard, William H. Goetzmann. Films for the Humanities, c1986. (50 min.) Traces the history of the West through wars, depressions and social upheaval, through the lives of Indians, cowboys and fortune hunters. The West remains the land of dreams and promise.
The Romantic Horizon / Tom Weidlinger. Films for the Humanities, c1986. (50 min.) Discusses how the legend of the American West was preserved in the work of contemporary artists and follows the career of one in particular, George Catlin, who offered a romanticized view of American Indians.

Winds of Change: A Matter of Promises / Wisconsin Public Television. PBS Video. In English and Navajo with English subtitles. Separate segments on the Onondaga of New York State, the Navajo of Arizona and adjacent states, and the Lummi of Washington State focus on sovereignty, internal politics, administration of justice, and relations with the U.S. government. (58 min.)

Music and Dance

African-American Music Traditions of Oklahoma; Native American Music and Dance in Oklahoma; Folk Arts in Oklahoma: Ethnic Crafts / State Arts Council of Oklahoma, c1992. Covers highlights of several music and crafts festivals throughout Oklahoma. (38 min)

Into the Circle / Scott Swearingen, Full Circle Communications, 1992. An introduction to Oklahoma powwows and celebrations. (58 min.)

Pow wow / Schlessinger Video Productions, 1996. Many native Americans from across the U.S. and Canada meet throughout the year at Pow Wows, gatherings where Native American culture and life are celebrated by everyone. The children make a kachina doll of their own, and learn the folklore behind the dream catcher. The program introduces drums, celebratory songs, dances and traditional tales. Grades K-4. (25 min.)

Songs of Indian Territory: Native American Music Traditions of Oklahoma / Full Circle Communications, 1990. Features music from the workshops and concert of "The songs of Indian territory" held at the Kirkpatrick Center in Oklahoma City, Oct. 14, 1988, and includes on-location highlights. (38 min.)

For more information about videos, contact Central Library Media Center (549-7458).
To inquire about borrowing filmstrips, contact Central Library Children's Department (549-7438).

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