TUC LIBRARY NEWS

This hour-long documentary is a provocative look at a historical event of which few Americans are aware. In mid-January, 1893, armed troops from the U.S.S. Boston landed at Honolulu in support of a treasonous coup d’etat against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili’uokalani. The event was described by U.S. President Grover Cleveland as “an act of war.” Stylized re-enactments, archival photos and film, political cartoons, historic quotes, and presentations by Hawaiian scholars tell Hawaiian history through Hawaiian eyes. Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation was broadcast on Hawai’I Public Television in 1993 during the centennial year of the overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani, a landmark year in the Hawaiian movement for sovereignty and independence. In that same year, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution admitting the illegal taking of Hawai’i and formally apologizing to the Hawaiian people. – from the producer

The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards (2021)

This 10-minute crash-course lecture teaches about early Spanish explorers, settlements, and what happened when they didn’t get along with the indigenous people. The story of their rocky relations has been called the Black Legend. Which is not a positive legend. – from the producer

Conquest of Hawaii (2003)

The Hawaiian Islands, born in a crucible of tectonic fire in the midst of a watery wilderness, were created by winds and waves. Among those who would call themselves “Hawaiian” were warrior kings, kidnapped sailors, cowboys, New England missionaries and a tragic queen. In this 2-hour view of watershed moments in Hawaiian history, we review one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth. – from the producer

The First People, the Last Word (2002)

For the first time since their land was taken many Native American tribes have the opportunity of taking over the rights to the land they live on and creating a cultural consciousness. No longer do they fit the old stereotypical image of the impoverished drunken Indian. They now play a new role in American society both culturally and economically. The filmmakers start their journey in the Dakotas, where 100 years ago the Oglala Sioux Nation was nearly wiped out at Wounded Knee. Today the Oglala Lakota College is the fastest growing college in South Dakota. Navajos that live on the country’s biggest Indian reservation, covering parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, have chosen not to build casinos since their land is rich in coal, oil and minerals. Yet casinos remain the most refined revenge for past sins, enabling the East Coast tribes to systematically empty America’s pockets. The filmmakers talk to an Indian attorney, a movie director, an artist, a nurse and others. The question remains will Native Americans be able to maintain their unique culture now that they are participating in the American dream. – from the producer

Keepers of the Flame: The Legacy of Three Hawaiian Women (2005)

This is the story of three extraordinary Hawaiian women who helped revive Hawaiian culture when it was perilously close to being lost. It was a time when the monarch had been overthrown, the Hawaiian language banned from public places and schools, and the Hawaiian heartbeat of hula forced underground. Mary Kawena Pukui, ‘lolani Luahine and Edit Kanaka’ole combined commitment to Hawaiian history with art and aloha, to reignite the flame of tradition. Each planted seeds of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance. Kawena as a history and language expert, teacher and author, ‘lolani as a chanter, cultural icon and ‘high priestess of hula’ and Edith as a songwriter, teacher and founder of the traditional school of hula, Halau O Kekuhi. The lives of these three great women are described through heartfelt interviews with people who knew and were influenced by them, along with wonderful archival footage collected throughout the years. – from the producer

Learn About the Religious Practices of Native Americans (2018)

A video describing Native American religion in the different culture areas. – from the producer

Nation Within (1998)

The story of Hawaii’s annexation to the United States of America has always been told from the point of view of Western historians. After more than 100 years since the Hawaiian Islands’ monarchy was dismantled and the American flag raised to claim this small, friendly nation, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Tom Coffman takes his turn. Based on his bestselling book by the same name, this film version visualizes the story of a political lie and an injustice that today has moved Hawaiians to seek restoration of their kingdom. In this compelling, stirring and new vision of the American overthrow Coffman weaves into existing Western history uncovered historical facts as well as the point of view of Hawaiians and their storytellers. Hawaii’s last queen, an opposition leader/newspaper man, and other voices from the past fill in the missing parts of this history. One ‘voice’ that spoke the loudest but has only been recently uncovered is the petition signed by almost all the Hawaiians of that day who sent their stated opposition to Washington D.C. Uncovered in the National Archives of the United States by a contemporary Hawaiian-language scholar, the petition stands as evidence of what Hawaiians really wanted, dispelling the myth that they supported the annexation. Co-produced with PBS Hawaii, it has been shows widely across the country. – from the producer

Native American Communities Affected by Climate Change Plan for the Future (2012)

Native Americans from Maine to Washington State convened for a conference at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Their goal: to discuss the effects of climate change on tribal communities. – from the producer

Native-American History (1997)

Explore the fascinating history of the Native American people. Follow their history from migration to the Americas, to the development of civilizations throughout the American continent. Discover how every part of America was flourishing long before European settlers arrived. See the impact of early Native Americans in North and South America. Discover the “Cochise Effect” on the cultures of Arizona and Mexico. – from the producer

Native American History: Native American Influence on the US (1997)

Discover the fascinating ways in which the U.S. was profoundly affected by the native cultures that were here thousands of years before the Europeans. Explore the ways in which our government, economy, agriculture, medicine, language & legal system are still influenced by Native American contributions. Explore your first impressions of the world “Indian.” Discover Native American contributions to medicine, agriculture & the environment. – from the producer

Native American Imagery is Everywhere but Understanding Lags Behind (2019)

Native imagery is embedded in the national subconscious, whether we’re paying attention or not. A new exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian is titled simply Americans and shows how all aspects of life have been touched by the history and symbols of native culture. – from the producer

Native Americans (2001)

This program examines Native-American cultures in the U.S. It traces the origins of Native Americans in North America, discusses their histories, and considers their roles in contemporary U.S. society. The video also examines the controversy surrounding the exhibition of Dickson Mounds’ burial grounds. – from the producer

Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience (2013)

This exciting and compelling one hour documentary invites viewers into the lives of contemporary Native American role models living in the U.S. Midwest. It dispels the myth that American Indians have disappeared from the American horizon, and reveals how they continue to persist, heal from the past, confront the challenges of today, keep their culture alive, and make great contributions to society. Their experiences will deeply touch both Natives and non-Natives and help build bridges of understanding, respect, and communication. The tragic history of Native Americans is considered by many to be our “American Holocaust.” This can be seen in the history of the Boarding School Era, during which time Native children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed into boarding schools. Interviewees explain how this past trauma continues to negatively impact their emotional and physical health today and contribute to urgent social problems. To help heal this historical trauma, Native Americans are reclaiming their spiritual and cultural identity. In the documentary, an Ojibwa Firekeeper demonstrates the ancient healing ceremony of the Sacred Fire. Also, a Native American businessman, journalist, artist and youth advocate share how they use ancestral teachings to foster diversity and creativity as well as to educate and initiate social change. – from the producer

Overview of the Shrinking of Native American Lands in the United States (2019)

Video on the shrinking of Native American lands in the United States. – from the producer

Science or Sacrilege: Native Americans, Archaeology and the Law (1996)

Well into the 20^th century, Native American physical remains were frequently harvested like trophies, and ritual objects and artwork often reached museums under questionable circumstances. Such glaring offenses of “imperial archaeology” ultimately motivated Congress to pass the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990. This provocative, in-depth documentary examines the Act’s underlying moral and political issues, its practical consequences, and the prospects for science in the post-NAGPRA world. Some (though not all) archaeologists and scientists claim that NAGPRA will prevent important study and research. Native Americans say that no one has the right to dig up and examine their ancestors’ remains. Divergent realities of power, responsibility, and history make the debate vociferous, and simple answers possible. – from the producer

Spirits for Sale (2008)

When Annika is given an eagle feather by a Native American visiting Sweden, she realizes it is a sacred object which should probably not be in her hands. These days Native American ceremonies are being commercialized for “outsiders,” arousing resentment in the Native community. Annika sets out to find the feather’s rightful owner, a quest which takes her to American Indian communities in Albuquerque, San Antonio and to Bear Butte in South Dakota. She meets many Native Americans who are bitter, believing they are “the forgotten people.” But others are fighting to preserve their culture and their faith as well as to protect their land. Navajo Andrew Thomas, who manages the Albuquerque Pueblo Center, explains that certain tribes use feathers in special ways to communicate with “the Upper God.” He fears modern Native Americans have lost touch with the ancient beliefs. In this film we hear from a professor of Native American history in San Antonio who discusses the five hundred tribes who lived in the US centuries ago and recalls the massacres they suffered. Gayle Ross, a respected Cherokee teacher, feels Americans do not understand native people. Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota nation is deeply disturbed by the entire arena of cultural exploitation. – from the producer

Then There Were None (1996)

More than half a million native Hawaiians were living in the islands at the time of European contact in 1778. Within 50 years, that population was cut in half as Western diseases claimed thousands of lives. A litany of events followed: American missionaries preached unfamiliar ideas and customs; sugarcane and pineapple plantations absorbed individual farmlands; waves of immigrant workers arrived, making Hawaiians a minority in their own land; and WWII brought a lasting military presence. University of Hawai’i sociologists estimate that the extinction of full-blooded Hawaiians could come within the next 45 years. To millions of travelers the world over, Hawai’i is an alluring picture postcard paradise. But to its Native Hawaiian people, nothing could be further from the truth. Their compelling story, of a race displaced and now on the verge of extinction, is brilliantly told in this award-winning documentary created by the great-granddaughter of Hawaiian high chiefs and English seafarers. – from the producer

Two-Spirit People (1991)

An overview of historical and contemporary Native American concepts of gender, sexuality and sexual orientation. This documentary explores the berdache tradition in Native American culture, in which individuals who embody feminine and masculine qualities act as a conduit between the physical and spiritual world, and because of this are placed in positions of power in the community.

Who Owns the Past (2002)

This outstanding documentary relates the powerful history of the American Indian struggle for control of their ancestral remains. In 1990, after a long struggle between Indian rights groups and the scientific establishment, the Native American Graves Repatriation and Protection Act (NAGPRA) returned to Indian people the right to control the remains of their ancestors. For American Indians, this was perhaps the most important piece of civil and human rights legislation of the 20^th century. Skeletons and grave goods that had been gathering dust in museums around the country could come home again, and Indian graves would be protected from further desecration. Indian people were not only being heard; their moral claims on their past were being turned into law. Now a new case is testing these claims. The discovery of a 9,000-year-old skeleton on the banks of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington has re-ignited the conflict between anthropologists and Indian people over the control of human remains found on ancestral Indian lands. Anthropologists insist that these remains hold the key to America’s past and must be studied for the benefit of mankind, while many Indian people believe that exhuming and studying them is a desecration of their ancestors. At the heart of the conflict are two very different and seemingly irreconcilable belief systems. “Who Owns the Past?” uses the Kennewick Man case as a frame to explore the roots of this conflict, roots that reach back to the very beginnings of American history. By exploring the historical events that led to the passage of NAGPRA and the current controversy over Kennewick Man, the film provides a clear context for understanding the issues involved. Perhaps most important, the film illuminates the two very different world views that inform this controversy and that will continue to have tremendous impact on Indian people and on all Americans long into the future. “Who Owns the Past?” is essential viewing for a wide array of classes in American history and studies, Native American studies, ethnic studies and multiculturalism, anthropology, and archaeology. Produced by Jed Riffe and narrated by Academy-Award-winning actress Linda Hunt. – from the producer

WEBSITES

AISES - American Indian Science and Engineering Society