“A Native American taught me that the division between ecology and human rights was an artificial one, that the environmental and social justice movements addressed two sides of a larger dilemma. The way we harm the earth affects all people, and how we treat one another is reflected in how we treat the earth ... The movement has three basic roots: environmental activism, social justice initiatives, and indigenous culture's resistance to globalization, all of which have become intertwined."
Our fate will depend on how we understand and treat what is left of the planet's surpluses -- its lands, oceans, species diversity and people. The quiet hub of the new movement -- its heart and soul -- is indigenous culture."
-- Paul Hawken, "Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming"
Thirty-nine Native American tribes make their headquarters in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has the second largest Native American population of any state in the nation. Oklahoma's history, culture, its heart and soul, indeed it's very name is indigenous. As Paul Hawken notes, the quiet hub of this vast and vital movement growing throughout the world known by many names -- social justice, environmentalism, transition, regeneration, resilience, sustainability, localization -- it's heart and soul is indigenous culture.
On April 13, 2009, the first episode of a five-part PBS series, "We Shall Remain," premieres on OETA. The provocative multi-media project comprised of five 90-minute documentaries spanning 300 years, tells the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective. The series represents an unprecedented collaboration between Native and non-Native filmmakers that involves Native advisors and scholars at all levels, and illustrates how Native peoples valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture -- from the Wampanoags of New England in the 1600s who used their alliance with the English to weaken rival tribes, to the bold new leaders of the 1970s who harnessed the momentum of the civil rights movement to forge a pan-Indian identity.
Resources include an extensive Teacher's Guide for social studies educators. Air dates are shown below.
Spread the word, watch, listen, reflect.
- All times shown CST.
- Episode #1 -- The Mayflower, April 13, 8 p.m., encore 9:30 p.m.
- Episode #2 -- Tecumseh's Vision, April 20, 8 p.m., encore 9:30 p.m.
- Episode #3 -- Trail of Tears, April 27, 8 p.m., encore 9:30 p.m.
- Episode #4 -- Geronimo, May 4, 8 p.m., encore, 9:30 p.m.
- Episode #5 -- Wounded Knee, May 11, 8 p.m., encore, 9:30 p.m.
