“I BELIEVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ATTRIBUTE OF NATIVE AMERICA IS THE MUTUAL AND COMMITTED COLLABORATION AMONG TRIBAL COMMUNITIES AND THE FILMMAKERS THAT I WOULD FURTHER DESCRIBE AS A CO-LABORING AND CO-ELABORATION,” SAYS JIM ENOTE (ZUNI), PROJECT CONTRIBUTOR. “THE SERIES IS NOT ABOUT TOLERATING OLD SCHOOL SALVAGE ETHNOGRAPHIC FILMMAKING; IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE TRIBES PARTICIPATING IN THE SERIES ARE BEING DECISIVE AND STRATEGIC ABOUT THEIR INVOLVEMENT.”
M
uch of the world has understood Indigenous peoples and the histories of the Western Hemi- sphere through specifi- cally colonial, European
perspectives for centuries. Native America, a four-part series from Providence Pictures airing on PBS this fall, aims to redirect the lens on these narratives. The series will run four consecutive Tuesday evenings start- ing Oct. 23, 2018, from 9-10 p.m. EST. The documentary-style series features conver- sations with Native peoples
from British
Columbia to Peru about Indigenous cosmol- ogy and astronomy as well art, oral histories and writing systems. It also highlights the observations and studies of Native and non- Native scholars and archaeologists, as well as community-based knowledge keepers. Mohawk musician Robbie Robertson of the rock group The Band narrates each hour- long installment. The series is one part of a larger education-
al effort by PBS and its Learning Media sector. Through teacher resources and lesson plans, according to PBS “the ultimate goal…will be to bring a more rounded study of Native American history and achievement into class- rooms around the country.” Gary Glassman, executive producer and director of Providence Pictures, reflects, “I can no longer look at this land without thinking of the millions of Na- tive Americans who created a world in which people lived as family with all living things and that their way of life still has the power to make a more just and sustainable future.” Reflecting on the significance of the PBS
series to a broad television audience, G. Peter Jemison (Seneca), an authority on Haudeno- saunee history and series contributor, writes, “Places separated by geography and people separated by hundreds of years find they still have stories; oral traditions that link them. The beauty and astounding knowledge our people had and still have are what the film- makers have attempted to portray.”
Tipi at the annual Comanche Fair in Lawton, Okla.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 11 E
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