The Story
The Story
One hundred years ago the conventional American wisdom held that Indians were on the verge of extinction. The famous “vanishing race” photographs of Edward Curtis and the statue by James Fraser of a defeated Indian slumped over his saddle testified to this common assumption. It was expected that the many Native nations and cultures would simply wither away.
Native Century reveals how Indian nations defied predictions of their imminent demise, and invented ways to grow through change. The series’ narrative—accompanied by original interviews, location shooting, family histories, feature and stock footage, art and music—will bring Americans of all backgrounds to a greater appreciation of the unique histories, identities and achievements of contemporary Native American individuals and indigenous communities.
Several of our production staff worked on 500 Nations. That eight-hour CBS series hosted by Kevin Costner told the history of the Native nations of North America, beginning with the Creation and ending at Wounded Knee. Native Century begins where 500 Nations left off, moving this epic story forward into the 20th century and beyond.
The series will tell this epic history through an artful interweaving of personal history. Fortunately, many individuals who took part in the critical events of the past century wrote their own autobiographies: Sioux activists Zitkala Sa and Luther Standing Bear, novelists N. Scott Momaday and D’Arcy McNickle, and painters such as Carl Sweezy. Their own words will guide us through this series. In addition, we will interview the many individuals who participated in the critical events of the last century who are still alive – Vine Deloria, Jr., Mary Crow Dog, W. Richard West and others. There will also be the critical individuals who built nations: Mohawk steel workers, Pueblo railroad workers, Makah whale hunters, Navajo Code-Talkers and Lumbee civil rights activists. They are our story-tellers.
Native Century affirms what American Indian history—and indeed all history—is about: the significance of stories, the richness of language, the creation of tradition, the importance of place, the value of families, the use of imagination and the power of memory.