American Experience: We Shall Remain

In April 2009, the award-winning PBS series, American Experience launches an immersive look at the Native American experience with the five-episode series We Shall Remain.

Watch the series trailer and film clips to get an idea of content and concept. Actor Benjamin Bratt narrates this documentary that explores how Native peoples valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture. The chronological range is impressive—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. We Shall Remain represents a collaboration between Native and non-Native filmmakers and involves Native advisers and scholars at all levels of the project.

A teacher's guide is forthcoming in April and promises to offer techniques to integrate Native American history into the school curricula—including film-specific questions for analysis and comprehension, discussion questions, and classroom activities.

The film website includes additional resources and a bibliography of books and digital resources tied to each episode.

Local PBS stations, libraries, and educational institutions also plan events related to We Shall Remain, and an Event Calendar lists what, when, and where.