Navajo Film Themselves is a series of seven short documentaries: Intrepid Shadows (1966), The Navajo Silversmith (1966), A Navajo Weaver (1966), Old Antelope Lake (1966), Second Weaver (1966), The Shallow Well Project (1966), and The Spirit of the Navajos (1966).
Two formidable Native American women, both chief judges in their tribe's courts, strive to reduce incarceration rates and heal their people by restoring rather than punishing offenders, modeling restorative justice in action.
Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves — Indian mascots and nicknames have historically been first draft picks in American sports. But for Charlene Teters, a Spokane Indian, transplanting cultural rituals onto the field is a symbol of disrespect. Jay Rosenstein follows Teters' evolution from mother and student into a leading voice against the merchandising of Native American symbols — and shows the lengths fans will go to preserve their mascots.
Yellowtail is the story of a young Native American cowboy searching for meaning as his chaotic lifestyle begins to wear on him both physically and mentally. To find his purpose the young man has to reflect on his upbringing as a native to become the spiritually connect man he was meant to be.
On June 26, 1975, during a period of high tensions on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, two FBI agents were killed in a shootout with a group of Indians. Although several men were charged with killing the agents, only one, Leonard Peltier, was found guilty. This film describes the events surrounding the shootout and suggests that Peltier was unjustly convicted.
First hand interviews and on the ground footage give a stirring account of The Standing Rock Sioux Nation's and water protectors' opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline
Documentary about the role of Native Americans in popular music history, a little-known story built around the incredible lives and careers of the some of the greatest music legends.
From a historic genocide trial to the overthrow of a president, the sweeping story of mounting resistance played out in Guatemala’s recent history is told through the actions and perspectives of the majority indigenous Mayan population, who now stand poised to reimagine their society.
A moving portrait of actress Tantoo Cardinal, travelling through time and across the many roles she’s played, capturing her strength and her impact—and how she shattered the glass ceiling and survived.
Still photographs and narration give an overview of the history of the American Indian.
Scientist Mark Plotkin races against time to save the ancient healing knowledge of Indian tribes from extinction.
ARCTIC SUMMER is a poetic meditation on Tuktoyaktuk, an Indigenous community in the Arctic. The film captures Tuk during one of the last summers before climate change forced Tuk's coastal population to relocate to more habitable land.
Eight female storytellers, authors and poets performing at the Atalukan Storytelling and Legends Festival in Mashtueiatsh (Pointe-Bleue), Quebec.
American Indians of African descent, or Freedmen, battle their own tribes and the federal government to regain their tribal citizenship. Witness how indigenous American Indian tribes, their minority members, and surrounding communities are confronting racism and intolerance.
A compelling study of the Hopi that captures their deep spirituality and reveals their integration of art and daily life. Amidst beautiful images of Hopi land and life, a variety of Hopi — a farmer, a religious elder, a grandmother, a painter, a potter, and a weaver — speak about the preservation of the Hopi way. Their philosophy of living in balance and harmony with nature is a model to the Western world of an environmental ethic in action.
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
A documentary road movie. Traveling across his homeland, the filmmaker explores what Yakut cinema is, and what it means to the Sakha people and to himself.
The wild beauty of the Bella Coola Valley blends with vivid watercolor animation illuminating the role of the Nuxalk oral tradition and the intersection of story, place and culture.
The film follows Postcommodity, an interdisciplinary arts collective comprised of Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martinez and Kade L. Twist, who put land art in a tribal context. The group bring together a community to construct the Repellent Fence, a two-mile long ephemeral monument “stitching” together the US and Mexico.