Native American Videos
Native American videos are used in a number of educational and informative subjects pertaining to the lives, history and culture of the Native American tribes. Most notably and predominantly is the history of their cultures and people. The videos teach both tribal school children and public school children the ancestry and history of the Native American tribes as far back as the anthropological migration patterns from Siberia over the land bridge during the last two ice ages. Other history videos tell of the interactions and dealings with the first Europeans across the country from the purchase of Manhattan to the French and Indian War. The historical videos go on to describe the Trial of Tears and the forced removal of the Native Americans by the US government during the days of Manifest Destiny and national expansion.
The videos, many of which are located in the Library of Congress, provide a much needed perspective from the Native Americans and how the dealings of the early Europeans and with the early US government were and still are viewed by them. For many years history in schools were very one sided and many of the less than humanitarian actions of the white man had been omitted or barely mentioned. The videos also teach tribal children of the legends and lore of their ancestors as well as the spiritual beliefs and rituals still practiced by the tribe. Tribal elders speak to the youth about prophecies, great stories of the creation of the universe and Earth as well as spiritual guidance. Some more popular videos document such historical figures as Sitting Bull and Sacajawea; these were some of the few Native Americans included in history classes.
Another popular series of videos from the Discovery Channel document the activities such as building Long Houses or depicting how Native Americans hunted. In recent years, the Native American videos have grown in popularity due to the increased awareness and availability of information online. Videos are now being produced not only by tribes but large organizations like the Discovery and History channels. Topics covered include the genetics of Native Americans and where the DNA is most closely related; it is an examination of the origins of Native Americans according to those they share the most DNA with.
