San Antonio College Library

"Indigenous societies around the world have been historically disparaged by European explorers, colonial officials and Christian missionaries. Nowhere was this more evident than in early descriptions of Indigenous religions as savage, primitive, superstitious and fetishistic. Later both Indigenous and colonial liberal intellectuals argued that, before Indigenous peoples ever encountered Europeans, they all believed in a Supreme Being. The Invention...

This program features Native American Chief Oren Lyons, a leader in the international environmental movement, who shares with Bill Moyers the ancient legends, prophecies, and wisdom that guide the Onondaga tribe. They explore the view of the earth as sacred; the Great Law of Six Nations, which envisions humans and the earth as one; the importance of community to Native Americans; and the extent to which Native American philosophies have affected the...

This classic anthropological study of a traditional Navajo family, the Neboyias, examines their lifestyle through the four seasons as they travel to each of their hogans-planting, sheepherding, harvesting, and weaving. The documentarist's style is natural and unobtrusive, allowing viewers to share in the Navajo world vision. Filmed in the Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and Window Rock areas of Arizona.

Reputedly the first great city of the Western hemisphere, Teotihuacan, the City of the Gods, is also one of the most mysterious. Who lived there? What were its inhabitants like? And why did their culture collapse? In this program, archaeologist Ruben Cabrera Castro, co-director of the site, leads the way down the Avenue of the Dead-and inside both the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, normally closed to the public. The city's political,...

"Indian Art of the Americas is a full representation of the American Indians' contribution to world art, based on original sources and covering the entire field of North, Central and South America. Available for the first time in a single volume are masterpieces of art created by the Natives of all the Americas before the white men came. The result of twenty years' study and observation, this book unquestionably will remain the definitive work on...

The Victorian explorer who discovered the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, with its high, sweeping walls and complex passageways, had no idea who could have built it. The vast stone city remained at the center of debate for decades. In this program art historian Gus Casely-Hayford pieces together the story of the African empire and how it was linked to surrounding kingdoms as part of a medieval gold trade flowing from Great Zimbabwe's towers to the Swahili...

Once forced to hide their heritage, Native Americans now enjoy both an acceptance and a celebration of their history and culture. By presenting the experiences of Native Americans from a wide array of fields including artisans, performers, and teachers, this program shows how many tribes are returning to the traditions and spirituality of their ancestors. Among those interviewed are Kevin Locke, award-winning Native American vocalist; Wilma Mankiller,...

With its traditional peak-roofed huts nestled along the Cliff of Bandiagara, the Dogon people's homeland looks idyllic, like something from a child's storybook. But the Dogons are facing real-world problems. Fear of al Qaeda keeps tourists away, the younger generation is bored and restless, and precious artifacts are disappearing, though UNESCO has made this part of Mali a World Heritage Site. This extraordinary program immerses viewers in Dogon village...