Anthropology

A portrait of Sioux medicine man Leonard Crow Dog, the spiritual leader of eighty-nine American Indian tribes and the spokesman for the traditionalists, those who wish to retain the beliefs and way of life of their forefathers.

Written and hosted by Jamake Highwater, this video examines the history and culture of the Native Americans who discovered and civilized the North and South American continents tens of thousands of years ago. It is a story of remarkable achievements, brilliant inventions, fierce political struggles, unique religious ideals and colorful mythology.

Examines the impact of industrial development on native peoples in North and South America, the crisis of identity that this entails, and the national and international efforts to politically organize to protect Indian lives and land.

This prize-winning musical comedy/documentary, blending documentary, musical theater and personal memoir, is about three Native American sisters growing up in Brooklyn during the 1930s and '40s.

This documentary portrait of a small Native American tribe struggling to retain what is left of its culture focuses on 77-year-old Marie Smith, the last of Alaska's Eyak Indians to speak the language of her people.

This video, featuring an all Native American cast and filmed in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota, dramatizes the Trickster storytelling tradition, delving into the humor and visual language of this central Native American cultural icon.

This video covers three hundred years of Plains Indians history from the pre-horse period through the tragedy at Wounded Knee in 1890.

This video explores the issue of racial identity among Native Americans and African Americans, and the coalescence of these two groups in American history.

This video explores the Irish tradition of 'waking the dead,' when an all-night vigil is maintained at the home of the deceased the night before burial.

Follows anthropologist Robert Alvarez and his 10-year-old son Luis as they recreate the journey which their family's ancestors made in coming north from Mexico several generations ago.

Documents a sea adventure designed to test the theory that the ancient Chinese could have sailed from Southeast Asia and arrived in Mexico or South America, predating voyages of Western mariners.

Examines the recuperacion movement among the Indian communities in Colombia where an Indian rebel army is engaged in guerrilla warfare with a Colombian Army counterinsurgency force.

Portrays daily life in a mountaintop slum in Rio de Janeiro, featuring interviews with residents who discuss police harassment, the lack of educational and employment opportunities, problems of sanitation, violence, drugs and alcohol in the community, and social and racial discrimination.

Recounts the larger-than-life but true story of Arno P. Calderari--professional adventurer, jungle explorer, deep sea diver, treasure hunter and wildlife filmmaker-interweaving Arno's reminiscences with rare film footage of his many adventures.

This docudrama examines the Filipino experience at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, focusing on the filmmaker's grandfather, an Igorot warrior, one of the 1,100 tribal natives displayed as anthropological "specimens" in the notorious Philippine Village exhibit.

Profiles the life and work of Martin Chambi (1891-1973), a full-blooded Indian, who ran his own photographic studio in Cuzco, Peru's ancient Inca capital, where he photographed many of Peru's wealthy European families.

Examines the cultural and political history of plena, a Puerto Rican musical blend of African and Spanish rhythms, featuring great performers of the past and contemporary attempts to preserve plena.

This music and dance spectacular, sung and danced by members of the award-winning Beija Flor Samba School and photographed during the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, dramatizes the legend of genesis according to Yoruba mythology.

Takes us to the heart of the Andes to capture the atmosphere of the annual music festivals, showing ceremonies of the Aymara Indians who dress as devils, bears and sacred spirits that come to life at carnival time.

This contemporary portrait of folkloric traditions in Cuba, focusing on the everyday life of musicians and dancers.