First People's TV

FIRST PEOPLES TV
WorldLink TV Premieres Series By And About Tribal Peoples

WorldLink TV (www.worldlinktv.com), the first nationwide television network providing Americans with global perspectives on news, events and culture, is airing a new weekly series by and about the tribal peoples of the world. First Peoples TV features 26 award-winning documentaries and dramas focusing on the lives of contemporary Native and Aboriginal people and the issues they face.

WorldLink's programming consists of first run documentaries, foreign feature films, global news reports and eight hours of world music each day. Launched in December 1999, the channel is available in over 17 million U.S. homes via basic service on the direct-to-home satellite services DIRECTV® (Channel 375) and EchoStar's DISH Network® (Channel 9410). "First Peoples TV" is the first time a regularly scheduled TV series concerning tribal peoples will be accessible to all urban areas, including the territories of every Indigenous nation in the United States mainland.

Curated by DreamCatchers, a non-profit organization working to bring Native films to a wider audience, and airing each Thursday Night at 7pm PST/10pm EST, First Peoples TV includes documentaries confronting fishing rights; "Lighting The Seventh Fire" by Sandra Sunrising Osawa, sacred sites; "Backbone Of The World" by George Burdeau, and religious freedom; "The Peyote Road" by Fidel Moreno. The series features dramatic films dealing with government attempts to destroy tribal cultures; "Where The Spirit Lives" by Bruce Pittman and Indigenous political activism; "Tushka" by Ian Skorodin.

Native actors, comedians and educators introduce each episode. Hosts include Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order, Blood In-Blood Out, Pinero), Tantoo Cardinal (Legends Of The Fall, Black Robe, Dances With Wolves), Steve Reevis (Geronimo, Last Of The Dogmen, Fargo), Elaine Miles (Northern Exposure, Smoke Signals, RezRobics) and up and coming Apache funny man, Drew Lacapa. The one non-Native host is legendary historian of world religions, Huston Smith.

DreamCatchers has previously produced health and fitness videos for American Indian communities including, "The Red Road To Sobriety", documenting the contemporary Native American sobriety movement, and "Rez Robics", a pow-wow dancing and martial arts inspired aerobics video designed to combat diabetes. Series producer Gary Rhine has previously produced award-winning documentaries including "Wiping The Tears Of Seven Generations" and "Your Humble Serpent; The Wisdom Of Reuben Snake".

For program descriptions visit http://www.dreamcatchers.org/fptv
or for program schedules visit http://www.worldlinktv.com.

FIRST PEOPLE'S TV SUMMARIES AND ORDERING
INFORMATION FOR THE PREMIERE SEASON

"Backbone Of The World"
Documentary, 1997, 57 min
Director - George Burdeau
Producer - Pam Roberts

Veteran filmmaker, George Burdeau journeys home to his own Blackfeet reservation to explore his tribe's crucial struggle to heal and forge a new identity. Under his guidance, a team of young Blackfeet filmmakers use a melange of documentary, experimental and cinema vérité formats to join the ancient legend of "Scarface" with contemporary stories that parallel the Native American experience. Literally backed up against a wall, the Blackfeet reservation lies in the great shadow of the Rocky Mountains - known to the tribe as the "Backbone of the World". The Badger Two Medicine, a 130,000 acre tract of treaty land has recently been opened for oil drilling by the U.S. Forest Service. An important spiritual retreat for the Blackfeet people, the Badger Canyon region is now threatened by water contamination and the inevitable destruction of plants used for medicinal and spiritual purposes. In examining the issues of modernism vs. tradition and nature vs. commerce, Burdeau and his team of modern storytellers search for ways to preserve the sacred land of their ancestors for current and future generations.

Available from Rattlesnake Productions
PHONE (406) 586 1151
EMAIL proberts@mcn.net

"Broken Rainbow"
Documentary, 1985, 70 min.
Director - Maria Florio &Victoria Mudd
Producer - Maria Florio &Victoria Mudd

This powerful and unsettling film won an Academy Award in 1985 for Best Documentary Feature. Maria Florio and Victoria Mudd present a scathing overview of the shameful treatment of Native Americans during the 1970s. The forced relocation of 12,000 Navajo Indians from their lands in northeast Arizona was set in motion by the greed of energy consortiums eager to have access to the oil, gas, uranium, and coal on the sacred lands of these peoples. Narrated by Martin Sheen.

Available from Facets Multi-Media
PHONE: (800) 331 6197
WEB: http://www.facets.org/

"Circles"
Documentary,1997, 58 min
Director - Shanti Thakur
Producer - Mark Zannis

A film about justice and community healing, hope and transformation. In the Yukon, an innovative program is bringing together a traditional form of Aboriginal justice--circle sentencing--and the Canadian justice system. Sentencing circles don't focus on punishment. Instead, they bring together the perpetrator of a crime, his or her victims, and peers and family in an effort to bring healing to the community. For many Aboriginal men in the North, going to jail was a natural extension of attending missionary-run schools.

Brothers Harold and Phil Gatensby, who have both done their share of jail time, now participate in circles as a way to allow offenders to break the cycle of crime, court, prison, and allow them to reconnect with their spiritual traditions. Circles works so well that Aboriginals from the Yukon have helped set up similar programs elsewhere in Canada and in the US.. With its potential to bring community members together, the circle is a powerful alternative to prison terms imposed by courts--not only for Aboriginal people in the North but, potentially, for all communities.

Available from The National Film Board Of Canada
800 267 7710 (Canada)
800 542 2164 (USA)
http://www.nfb.ca

"Dances For The New Generation"
Documentary, 1996 60 min
Directors Phil Lucas & Hanay Geiogamah
Producers Barbara Schwei & Hanay Geiogamah

The American Indian Dance Theatre, comprised of individuals from thirty Indian nations, journeys to learn the songs and dances of the Makah, Kwakiutl, Penobscot and Iroquois, and returns home to pow wow in North Dakota. Filmed at ceremonials in Alert Bay, British Columbia, at a pow wow in Newtown, North Dakota, on the Penobscot Reservation in Maine and in performance onstage in Boston. It aired on Great Performances and earned a primetime Emmy Award nomination. Along with comments from elders of these nations, the company performs dances from the Makah, Kwakiutl, Seneca,Penobscot, and several Plains nations.

Phil Lucas is a pioneering indigenous filmmaker, one of the first Native Americans to take control of the camera in an industry where Native voices are rarely heard. In an extraordinary career spanning more than three decades, Lucas has written, produced and directed more than 90 projects,including feature films, television series and documentaries. He lives handworks in Seattle Washington.

Available from Phil Lucas Productions
PHONE (206) 979 9819
FAX (425) 557 2361
EMAIL phil_lucas@earthlink.net

"Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief"
Documentary, 1986, 28 min,
Director - Carol Geddes
Producers - Kathleen Shannon & Barbara Janes

"Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" focuses on five native women from across Canada. Of varied ages and backgrounds, each one has has achieved success kina variety of careers: as the Yukon legislature's native woman minister, as deck hand on a fishing boat, as a teacher, a lawyer, and an Indian chief. Each woman speaks of how she got to where she is today, and attests to the importance of native culture - its values, art, and spiritual beliefs - in helping her to develop a sense of self and seeing her through rough times."Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" is surely a tribute to native women everywhere. Director Carol Geddes is a member of the Tlingit Nation. She was born in the Yukon Village of Teslinand has a masters degree in communication. Since becoming a filmmaker in 1986, she has produced over a dozen films.

Available from The National Film Board Of Canada
800 267 7710 (Canada)
800 542 2164 (USA)
http://www.nfb.ca

"Drumbeat for Mother Earth"
Documentary, 1999, 56 min,
Directors - Joseph Di Gangi & Amon Giebel
Producers - Joseph Di Gangi, Amon Giebel, Tom Golftooth & Jackie Warledo

Many scientists and tribal people consider persistent toxic chemicals to be the greatest threat to the long-term survival of Indigenous Peoples."Drumbeat for Mother Earth" explores how these chemicals contaminate the traditional food web, violate treaty rights, travel long distances, and are passed from one generation to the next during pregnancy causing cancer,learning disabilities, and other serious health problems. Indigenous People's connection to the Mother Earth places them on a collision course with these chemicals. Continued survival within contaminated environment means making life and death decisions that could alter whole cultures, diets, ceremonies and future generations. The United Nations recently negotiated a worldwide treaty on a group of 12 of these chemicals that includes PCBs, DDT, and dioxin. The UN involvement reflects the ability of these chemicals to travel long distances across international borders. Unfortunately, the official U.S. position did not support reduction or elimination of these compounds. Many tribal people considered this to bead continuation of the government's genocidal history and worked to change the U.S. opinion. The program features testimony from a variety of Indigenous Nations in the U.S., Central America, and the Arctic as well as interviews with scientists, activists, and the chemical industry.

Available from Bullfrog Films
(800) 543 3764

"Even if a Hundred Ogres"
Live Performance, 1996, 57 min,
Director - Joel L. Freedman
Producer - Joel L. Freedman

Join the Sami Theatre of the Little Sun in an extraordinary performance celebrating 1000 years of Sami history. The Samis, once called Laplanders, are the indigenous culture of Scandinavia. Fantastic music, short dialogues, unique chanting and weird and wonderful masks create a stunning theatrical performance. Narrated by actress Joanne Woodward, the film depicts the Sami's struggle to keep their language and culture alive, to protect the rich natural resources of the Arctic from destruction, and to establish to land rights of their people. Filmed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. "Even if a Hundred Ogres" is part of the "First Peoples' TV" series made possible by DreamCatchers, a non-profit organization working to bring Native films to a wider audience.

To order a video cassette, visit:
http://www.nativevideos.com/ogres.htm

"Healing the Hurts"
Documentary , 1989, 59 min
Director - Larry Gibbs
Producer - Phil Lucas

Phil Lucas (Choctaw) is a pioneering indigenous filmmaker, one of the first Native Americans to take control of the camera in an industry where Native voices are rarely heard. In an extraordinary career spanning more than three decades, Lucas has written, produced and directed more than 90 projects, including feature films, television series and documentaries.

In 1989, twenty five adult survivors of various Indian Boarding Schools and Residential Schools in both the United States and Canada gathered at the Alkali Lake Indian Reserve in British Columbia Canada to attend a four-day intensive workshop on healing the hurt and shame of the Indian Boarding School experience. In the spirit of sharing this healing experience with others, the attendees of a five-day healing ceremony accepted the camera and crew as participants in this powerful workshop. This resulted in the creation of the one hour video documentary entitled Healing The Hurts thus, allowing the viewer to experience this sometimes painful, but rewarding and healing process.

The Indian Boarding School system was established, in both the United States and Canada, as the major force for breaking the cultures and traditions of American Indian peoples. This was done in order to forcibly assimilate them into mainstream society. This system stripped the Native peoples of role models and skills for healthy parenting and family life, leaving them instead institutionalized with models for low self-esteem and abuse.

Available from Phil Lucas Productions
PHONE (206) 979 9819
FAX (425) 557 2361
EMAIL lphil1@qwest.net

"In Whose Honor?"
Documentary, 1997, 46 min
Director - Jay Rosenstein
Producer - Jay Rosenstein

The Cleveland Indians. Washington Redskins. Atlanta Braves. What's wrong with American Indian sports mascots? This moving, award-winning film is the first of its kind to address that subject. "In Whose Honor?" takes a critical look at the long-running practice of "honoring" American Indians as mascots and nicknames in sports. It follows the story of Native American mother Charlene Teters, and her transformation into the leader some are calling the "Rosa Parks of American Indians" as she struggles to protect her cultural symbols and identity. "In Whose Honor?" looks at the issues of racism, stereotypes, minority representation and the powerful effects of mass-media imagery, and the extent to which one university will go to defend and justify its mascot.

Available for:
EDUCATIONAL USE from New Day Films, www.newday.com
PHONE (888) 367 9154,
HOME VIDEO USE from Jay Rosenstein, EMAIL jrosenst@uiuc.edu

"Kinaalda: A Navajo Rite of Passage"
Documentary, 2000, Color, 56 min
Director - Lena Carr
Producer - Lena Carr

The Kinaalda ceremony is an intricate four-day event performed to guide a young girls' ascent to womanhood. In this documentary, Navajo filmmaker Lena Carr journeys back to her own childhood by chronicling her 13-year old niece's initiation into womanhood. "Kinaalda is a multi-layered film that elegantly weaves Carr's complex personal story, family and community history, against the backdrop of the U.S. government policy toward the Navajo. Tanya Sheperd's ceremony merges the importance of community, continuity, the power of women, and the significance of establishing a place in the universe. A compelling work from beginning to end." - Elaine Charnov, Margaret Mead Film Fest.

Available From Women Make Movies
http://www.wmm.com/catalog/pages/c556.htm

"Lighting The Seventh Fire"
Documentary, 1999, 48 min
Director - Sandra Sunrising Osawa
Producer - Sandra Sunrising Osawa

Producer/Director Sandra Sunrising Osawa is a member of the Makah Indian Nation in Washington state and produces programs that focus on living Native Americans because, as she says, "Too often we are portrayed only as people frozen in the past".

"Lighting The Seventh Fire", appropriately addresses contemporary issues with the Ojibwe of Northern Wisconsin. It pays tribute to the warriors of today, both white and Indian, who fought to uphold the treaty right to spear fish, even in off-reservation waters. In "Lighting The Seventh Fire", you will witness the ugliness of racism, but also the beauty of the Ojibway prophesy that speaks of cultural rebirth in a time known to Ojibways as the 7th fire.

Available from Upstream Productions
PHONE (866) 526 - 1234 or (206) 526 7122

"Reason To Fear"
Documentary, 2000, 46 min,
Director - Steve Patapoff
Producer - Steve Patapoff

On the night of July 17, 1978 dozens of police officers engaged in a gun battle with five Northern California Indians who had a single .22 rifle. More Than a hundred shots were fired. Three Indians were wounded. One police officer was killed. After spending eight years on death row for First Degree murder, Patrick "Hooty" Croy, an Indian of Shasta Karok decent, was granted a retrial. His new defense team headed by J. Tony Serra, argued Croy acted in self defense and gave supporting evidence of the genocide against California Indians that has continued since the 1850's. This strategy, known as the cultural defense was used to explain why Croy feared for his life when he returned fire.

Available from Intermedia
http://www.intermedia-inc.com
or for more information contact Steve Patapoff
PHONE (415) 664 8068
EMAIL spatapoff@yahoo.com

"River People"
Documentary, 1990, 50 min,
Director - Michael Conford & Michele Zaccheo
Director - Michael Conford & Michele Zaccheo

"River People" documents a timely issue - the clash between an ancient culture and modern society. It is the story of David Sohappy Sr., a Native-American spiritual leader who was sentenced to a five-year prison term for selling 317 salmon out of season. For twenty years Sohappy has fished in open defiance of all state and federal fishing laws. He staunchly defended the historic and religious traditions that allowed the region's Native Americans to live and fish freely in the waters of the Columbia River The film uses Sohappy's case to explore the historic conflict over the resources of the Columbia and the political controversy involving fishing rights and the right to religious freedom. Behind the controversy is the story of a man caught in a conflict between two cultures, and two seemingly irreconcilable ways of looking at the world.

To order a VHS cassette:
Filmakers Library - 212 808 4980
http://www.filmakers.com/NATIVE.html

"Singing Our Stories, A film by Annie Frazier"
Documentary, 1998, 48 min,
Director - Annie Frasier Henry
Producer - Annie Frasier Henry

A visionary journey through the landscape of Native North American music-from Tuscarora singer/songwriter Pura F» to pop icon Rita Coolidge, from Blackfoot composer Olivia Tailfeathers and the Old Agency Singers to the traditional music of the Zuni Olla Maidens. This ground-breaking film profiles the "First Ladies" of indigenous song and pays tribute to the precious musical archive they preserve and celebrate. Through their language, heritage and homelands, the stories and songs of the women link the past to the present as they trace the voices of their ancestors.

"Whereas Western cultures typically rely on the written word, "Singing Our Stories" presents the power of songs as a connection between the Native community's past, present and future." - National Film Board of Canada

To order a VHS cassette:
http://www.visionmaker.org

"Soop On Wheels"
Documentary, 1998, 52 min,
Director - Sandy Greer
Producer - Sandy Greer & Joan Hutton

Everett Soop is a Blackfoot political cartoonist and humorist who lives on the Blood Indian Reserve in southern Alberta. Soop's survival tools include an outrageous sense of humor, artistic gifts and the spiritual values taught to him by his grandparents. Afflicted by muscular dystrophy, he has nevertheless produced a remarkable body of published work, and is the only Aboriginal artist represented in the permanent collection of the National Archives of Canada's Museum of Caricatures. Despite these achievements, Soop remains ostracized in his community, partly because of his outspokenness. His story communicates a universal message in raising questions about how any human community treats individuals with disabilities and also about our tendency to marginalize the truth-tellers. For more information about Everett Soop, click here. "Soop on Wheels" is part of the "First Peoples' TV" series made possible by DreamCatchers, a non-profit organization working to bring Native films to a wider audience.

Available from The National Film Board Of Canada
800 267 7710 (Canada)
800 542 2164 (USA)
http://www.nfb.ca

"Storytellers of the Pacific - Identity"
Documentary, 57 min,
Producers - Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc.,
Native American Public Telecommunications, Incs

Features the oral traditions of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Rim. Meet an award-winning author in northern California who writes about rediscovering his Miwok heritage. Hear the leader of the Chamorro people talk about their efforts to reclaim their land and culture in Guam. Learn about the Seri tribe's efforts to preserve fisheries in Baja California. This documentary examines the question of how a people come to have an identity. Spokespeople include Greg Sarris, Chief of the Coast Miwok of California; Eni Faleomavaega, the non-voting elected Samoan Representative to the U.S. Congress; native Hawaiian Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli, Chairman of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission; and Angel Santos of the Chamoru people of Guam.

To order a VHS cassette:
http://www.visionmaker.org

"The Peyote Road"
Documentary, 1993, 57 min,
Directors - Fidel Moreno, Gary Rhine & Phil Cousineau
Producer - Gary Rhine

"The Peyote Road" addresses the United States Supreme Court "Smith" decision, which denied protection of 1st Amendment religious liberty to the sacramental use of Peyote for Indigenous people,one of the oldest tribal religions in the Western Hemisphere. Examining the European tradition of religious intolerance and documenting the centuries old sacramental use of the cactus Peyote, The Peyote Road explains how the "Smith" decision put religious freedom in jeopardy for all Americans. This program contributed to the successful efforts of the American Indian Religious Freedom Coalition, resulting in passage of the historic 1994 amendment to The American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

Available from Kifaru Productions,
PHONE (800) 400 - VIDEO (800-400-8433)
WEB http://www.kifaru.com
EMAIL rhino@kifaru.com

"The Red Road to Sobriety"
Documentary, 1995, 90 min,
Directors - Chante Pierce & Gary Rhine
Producer - Gary Rhine

The Contemporary Native American Sobriety Movement is flourishing throughout the Indian communities of North America. This vital social movement combines ancient spiritual traditions with modern medical approaches to substance abuse recovery. In this spirited, and very hopeful documentary, American Indian health practitioners and traditional medicine people reveal the importance of tribal values and spiritual awareness in the recovery process.

Despite a serious indictment of governmental abuse, and a delving into the dark history of Alcohol in Indian Country, the driving force of this documentary is the positive spirit emanating from the Indian people interviewed. Continuing in the ancient traditions of "The Dreamkeepers", "the Wounded Healers" and "The Warriors", these people offer a new sense of hope to all people in recovery. The Native director, Chante Pierce, is a Cherokee and Cheyenne filmmaker as well as vocal recording artist. Her directing partner on The Red Road To Sobriety is filmmaker and activist, Gary Rhine.

Available from Kifaru Productions,
PHONE (800) 400 - VIDEO (800-400-8433)
WEB http://www.kifaru.com
EMAIL rhino@kifaru.com

"Tushka"
Drama, 1997, 90 min
Director - Ian Skorodin
Producer - Ian Skorodin

In 1972, a Native American activist, involved in the popular American Indian Movement, led a rally to the steps of the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC. 12 Hours later his wife and children were killed in a mysterious house fire. "Tushka" is a fictionalized drama based on these murders and events during the 1970's, when the FBI waged its COINTELPRO campaign against civil rights efforts made by organizations such as the American Indian Movement and the Black Panthers. A raw, compelling story, "Tushka" tells of government corruption, Indian defiance, and the power of the human spirit. This movie is especially unique in that the director, Choctaw film maker Ian Skorodin, as well as the majority of the cast and crew were American Indians from within the Oklahoma Indian Community.

For more information contact:
Ian Skorodin
1801 N. Kingsley Dr. #103
Los Angeles, CA 90027
PHONE (333) 466 7400

"Urban Elder"
Documentary, 1997, 29 min
Director - Robert S. Adams
Producers - Louise Lore, Peter Starr, Robert S. Adams & Cornelia Principa

In the last forty years, Canada has seen a major population shift of Aboriginal peoples to the cities. Toronto has become home to the largest urban Native population in the country, with an estimated 65,000 Aboriginal people living there now. Today's urban Indians (both those with a direct connection to land-based reservation life, and those who have always lived in cities) are developing an urban Native culture. They are discovering ways to integrate important expressions of traditional Native culture into city life, including the tradition of the Elder: a person of great wisdom who dispenses advice, settles disputes, and acts as a model and arbitrator of acceptable behavior in accordance with Native customs. Meet Vern Harper, Urban Elder, who walks the "Red Road" in a fast-paced, urban landscape.

The camera follows Vern as he leads a sweat lodge purification ceremony, watches his 11-year-old daughter Cody at a classical ballet rehearsal, conducts a private healing ceremony, participates in a political march of 150,000 people, and counsels Native prisoners at Warkworth Federal Prison. In his own voice, Vern Harper tells the Urban Elder story of how he reaches into the past for his people's traditions, blending those old ways into the present so that the future can be a time of personal growth and spiritual strength.

Available from The National Film Board Of Canada
800 267 7710 (Canada)
800 542 2164 (USA)
http://www.nfb.ca

"Warrior - The Life of Leonard Peltier"
Documentary, 1991, 85 min,
Director - Suzie Baer
Producer - Suzie Baer

The story of Leonard Peltier, the Native American leader imprisoned for life in Leavenworth Penitentiary, convicted of the murder of two FBI agents during a bloody shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975. ÏWarriorÓ takes us back to the violent confrontations at Wounded Knee and Pine Ridge in the seventies, and then to today's Indian reservations where the government's plans for uranium mining and waste dumping are still being heatedly resisted by Indian activists. The heart of the film, though, is a detailed, painstaking account of Peltier's harrowing odyssey through the American justice system. To learn more about both sides of the Leonard Peltier issue, please visit the following websites: The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and the Leonard Peltier page on the FBI website.

To order a VHS cassette:
http://www.nativevideos.com

"Where The Spirt Lives"
Drama, 1989, 97 min,
Director - Bruce Pittman
Producers - Heather Goldin, Eric Jordan & Mary Young Leckie

Two aboriginal children are kidnapped by Canadian Government officials and placed in a boarding scool, an environment where they are emotionally and sometimes sexually abused. Later they are told that their parents have died and they must remain in the institution where they are forced to give up their language, their heritage and almost, their spirits. Their only chance lies in escape. Michelle St. John is uncannily powerful in the lead role with Anne-Marie MacDonald as her sympathetic teacher.

"Wiping The Tears of Seven Generations"
Documentary, 1992, 56 min,
Directors - Fidel Moreno & Gary Rhine
Producer - Gary Rhine

In December of 1990, 300 Lakota Sioux horseback riders rode 250 miles, in two weeks, through bitter sub-zero winter weather, to commemorate the lives lost at The Wounded Massacre of 1890. This program relates the story of how the Lakota Nation mourned the loss of their loved ones for 100 years. They also mourned the loss of some of their people's sacred knowledge which died with the elders that day. Then, inspired by dreams and visions of unity and spiritual awakening, a group of Lakota decided to bring their people out of mourning through a traditional Lakota ceremony which they call Washigila; "Wiping the Tears". The Bigfoot ceremonial Ride was that ceremony.

Available from Kifaru Productions,
PHONE (800) 400 - VIDEO (800-400-8433)
WEB http://www.kifaru.com
EMAIL rhino@kifaru.com

"Your Humble Serpent"
Documentary, 1996, 70 min,
Director - Gary Rhine
Producer - Gary Rhine

In this portrait of a contemporary American Indian leader, the late Reuben Snake speaks out on ecology, sacredness, intuitive thinking and "The Rebrowning of America". As Reuben grew up, his elders taught him that a leader is a servant to the people. Reuben lived his life true to that teaching, serving his country as a Green Beret, his tribe as Winnebago Tribal Chairman, and all his Indian people as President of The National Congress Of American Indians. When the U. S. Supreme Court denied 1st Amendment religious liberty to the sacramental use of Peyote for his Native American Church, Reuben arose to the challenge.

Creating The Native American Religious Freedom Project and producing an award winning documentary film titled "THE PEYOTE ROAD; Ancient Religion In Contemporary Crisis", his efforts resulted in passage of The 1994 Amendment to The American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Combining Mr. Snake's storytelling with interviews of friends and relatives, Your Humble Serpent is an enlightening and inspiring look at a modern day American Indian leader and role model.

Available from Kifaru Productions,
PHONE (800) 400 - VIDEO (800-400-8433)
WEB http://www.kifaru.com
EMAIL imromero@kifaru.com

First People's TV Theme Music
"Life Blood" from the CD entitled "Life Blood"
Performed by Joanne Shenandoah with Peter Kater

Available from Silver Wave Records
Boulder, CO 80306 USA
PHONE (800) SIL-WAVE
WEB www.silverwave.com

To learn about and order many other Indigenous theme documentaries and dramatic films, visit the following Web site: http://www.allnative.com