Over the last year, strides have been made to atone for decades of injustices against Native American people and their communities – in June, the Supreme Court voted to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), and initiatives have been instituted at the federal level, aiming to educate the public about America’s unpleasant history while Indigenous families can share and heal generations of tribal nations.
During Native American Heritage Month in November, WORLD presents films that explore Native experiences across the U.S. – past, present and future. A new America ReFramed film, Town Destroyer, adds nuance to the debate of history’s influence on art, and art’s perspective on history, by tracking a controversial campaign to remove a mural from a San Francisco high school. Plus, the second season of Native America bears witness to how today’s Native leaders move forward and make change with ceremony and tradition. And two new episodes of Stories from the Stage, produced with Nebraska Public Media, Vision Maker Media and Arizona PBS, spotlight Indigenous storytellers.
This November, follow along with our programming highlighting Native activists, families, trailblazers and more.
WATCH LIVE
Fire Through Dry Grass | POV
November 1 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Wearing snapback caps and Air Jordans, the Reality Poets aren’t typical nursing home residents. These young, Black and brown disabled artists document their lives on lockdown during COVID, their rhymes underscoring the danger and imprisonment they feel. In the face of institutional neglect, they refuse to be abused, confined and erased.
NEW | Native American Heritage Month
Town Destroyer | America ReFramed
November 2 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Probing a passionate dispute over historic murals at a public high school depicting the life of George Washington: slave owner, General, land speculator, President and a man Seneca leaders called “town destroyer.” The controversy becomes a touchstone for a national debate over public art and historic memory in a time of racial reckoning.
NEW | Native American Heritage Month
Native America
New episodes Fridays starting November 3 on TV & on the PBS app
Season 2 is a groundbreaking portrait of contemporary Indian Country. This four-part Native-directed series reveals the beauty and power of today’s Indigenous world. Smashing stereotypes, it follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century.
The War on Disco | American Experience
November 5 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Originating in underground Black and gay clubs, disco had unseated rock as America’s most popular music by the late 1970s. But many diehard rock fans viewed disco, with its repetitive beat and culture that emphasized pleasure, as shallow and superficial. Explore how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that, to some, seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia.
Three Chaplains | Independent Lens
November 8 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Muslim chaplains uphold the First Amendment and vow to protect service members' right to practice their faith freely, despite facing long-held prejudice and disapproval from their own communities. The Muslim chaplains work hard to ensure that all service members have access to religious materials, services, and resources regardless of the religious beliefs they hold.
Native American Heritage Month
Sisters Rising | America ReFramed
November 9 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than all other American women, and 86% of the offenses are committed by non-Native men. Follow six women who refuse to let this pattern of violence continue in the shadows with stories that shine an unflinching light on righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.
Veterans Day
Tuskegee Airmen: Return to Ramitelli
November 11 on TV | Available now on PBS Passport
Narrated by Country Music Superstar Darius Rucker. We return to Ramitelli airfield in Italy to chronicle the legacy of World War II's famed Tuskegee Airmen, African American pilots who helped break stereotypes and helped win World War II with their incredible fighter escorts of American bombers.
NEW | Native American Heritage Month
Sacred Circle | Stories from the Stage
November 13 on TV, online & on the PBS app
As a symbol of life’s cyclical nature, the circle is important for Native Americans. Rebekka honors the keeper of the connection between her people and culture; Charlie, who has light skin and hair, works to be accepted by fellow tribe members; and Levelle finds a path to meaning, healing, and helping after prison. Hosted by Wes Hazard. Watch these stories on YouTube!
NEW | Native American Heritage Month
All Connected | Stories from the Stage
November 20 on TV, online & on the PBS app
When it comes to overcoming challenges and finding contentment, connections often play an essential role. Jose chases his dream of playing football and learns life is about relationships; Darcy adopts four children and begins a family; and Kyle shares the love and wisdom he received on the Navajo reservation. Hosted by Theresa Okokon. Watch these stories on YouTube!
Wisdom Gone Wild | POV
November 22 on TV, online & on the PBS app
A vibrant tender cine-poem, a filmmaker collaborates with her Nisei mother as they confront the painful curious reality of wisdom "gone wild" in the shadows of dementia. Made over 16 years, the film blends humor and sadness in an encounter between mother and daughter that blooms into an affectionate portrait of love, care and a relationship transformed.
Native American Heritage Month
Daughter of a Lost Bird | America ReFramed
November 23 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Kendra, a Native adoptee, grew up assimilated in a loving, white family with little connection to her heritage. Now, as an adult with a family of her own, Kendra embarks on a seven year journey to find her biological mother, April, and return to her Lummi homeland. Together, Kendra and April, also a Native adoptee, navigate what it means to be Native and to belong to a tribe from the outside.
Geographies of Kinship | America ReFramed
November 30 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Weaving together the complex personal histories of four adult adoptees born in South Korea with the rise of the country’s global adoption program, the film follows each adoptee, raised in foreign families, as they set out on a journey to reconnect with their roots, mapping the geographies of kinship that bind them to a homeland they never knew.
WATCH ONLINE
Native American Heritage Month
Racing the Rez
November 3 on TV | Available now on PBS Passport
In the rugged canyon lands of Northern Arizona, Navajo and Hopi cross country runners from two rival high schools put it all on the line for tribal pride, triumph over personal adversity and state championship glory. After a narrow win hands Tuba City High School their 19th state championship, second place finisher Chinle sets out to topple their rivals and finally claim victory for themselves.
Veterans Day
Serving with Honor | Stories from the Stage
November 6 on TV | Available online and on the Facebook, YouTube & PBS apps
Service members and their families demonstrate their character and resolve in the most trying of circumstances. As a case manager working with refugees, former military Kevin challenges his assumptions about others; after penpalling her brother’s Navy buddies, Juli-anne understands the impact of her letters; and James tries to connect with his brother killed in the Vietnam War.
Take these stories on the go with Stories from the Stage: The Podcast and watch on YouTube!
Veterans Day
American Veteran
November 6 through 9 on TV | Available now on PBS Passport
This four-part documentary series traces the veteran experience across the arc of American history and explores the present-day divide between civilian and veteran communities. From the citizen-soldiers returning from the Revolution to today’s warrior class, it is a deeply moving story, illuminating the veteran experience and drawing civilian viewers into an unfamiliar culture. Read a Q&A about the series with executive producer Judith Vecchione.
Native American Heritage Month
Blood Memory | America ReFramed
November 16 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
For Sandy White Hawk, the story of America’s Indian Adoption Era is not one of saving children, but of destroying families and tribes. As an adoption survivor, Sandy sets out to reclaim the missing pieces of her stolen past and explore the communal healing that is sparked by the return of this stolen generation, only to discover that her’s was not an isolated case. Watch Sandy White Hawk talk more about the importance of returning home for Native peoples.
The Perfect Gift | Stories from the Stage
November 27 on TV | Available online & on the PBS app
It is often said that it is better to give than to receive. But no matter which side we’re on, gifts have the power to simply bring a smile or even save a life. Christine donates a kidney to a stranger; Stacey dreams of one gift but gets another; and on the night of her first high school dance, Mary gets an amazing gift from her dad.
Take these stories on the go with Stories from the Stage: The Podcast and watch on YouTube!
Native American Heritage Month
On Sacred Ground | Stories from the Stage
Available online & on the PBS app
For Indigenous Americans, the sacred is connected to the land and traditional ways of seeing. Kevin rallies to oppose housing development on tribal land; Colleen's relationship with her mother provides a view of the judgment heaped on traditional healing; and Valery takes us on a hike...interrupted by Bigfoot! Hosted by Wes Hazard.
Take these stories on the go with Stories from the Stage: The Podcast and watch on YouTube!
Native American Heritage Month
Generations Stolen | Local, USA
Available now on PBS Passport
As the Supreme Court rules on the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, Native American communities grapple with the lingering fallout resulting from a history of government policies aimed at stripping them of traditions and assimilating them into white culture. For decades, Native children were forcibly separated from their families - today, communities are working to overcome generations of trauma. Watch a Meet the Makers conversation with filmmaker Sarah Weiser.
Native American Heritage Month
In Their Element | Local, USA
Available now online, on YouTube & on the PBS app
Meet Indigenous leaders rising up to meet the challenge of the climate crisis. The film features four communities across the United States, each working to protect a different natural resource: earth, air, fire, and water. For people whose existence is inseparable from their native land, climate change is not a tale of the future – it is the present.
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