People of the Pines documentary

KVCR-TV and San Manuel to Debut Documentary on California Native American History of Resistance and Survival

Four Part Television Series to Take Viewers through Stories of Struggle and Perseverance as Told by California Indians and Noted HistoriansKVCR-TV in partnership with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has produced a new four-part documentary series on the history of near extinction that was faced by California Tribal communities following contact with European and American powers. The series will air on KVCR over four consecutive Mondays starting April 5th at 8:00 p.m. Entitled “The People of the Pines, The California Native” the programs are a third installment of documentaries that have expanded from profiling the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians into a broader account of the history shared by the state’s indigenous peoples and communities.And:The series covers a period of time spanning the internment of natives into the Spanish Mission System to the mid 20th Century when native veterans of World War II returned home to find their tribes terminated through a single action of congress.

In order to get these accounts KVCR crew traveled the state of California and beyond to speak to Native Americans who recount the shared history of their communities. This including the Modoc Tribe which was split between Oregon and Oklahoma following a protracted war that resulted in the death of a United States general and a forced removal of half the tribe to what was then Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

Historians and Native Americans cover the chronology of this history as painted upon the backdrop of American and world history. Discussions focus on various manners in which California Indians fought to maintain and remain within their ancestral lands and preserve their ways of life. Broken treaties, major military campaigns, and the heroic actions of native leaders such as Santos Manuel, leader of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, are recounted by their descendants who candidly share the tragedies and triumphs that are part of the shared identity of over 100 tribal communities located in all corners of California.Comment:  Another beneficial result of Indian gaming....

For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.