500 Nations

Episode 01

The Ancestors: Early Cultures of North America

Apr 20, 1995 · 60 min

This volume takes a look at the massacre of the Sioux at Wounded Knee then flashes back to examine societies of Native Americans prior to the arrival of European settlers.

Episode 02

Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Aztecs

Apr 20, 1995 · 60 min

The rise and fall of the Aztec Empire is examined from their defeat of the Toltec regime to Cortez's ultimate conquest of the Aztecs and all of Mexico.

Episode 03

Clash of Cultures: The People Who Met Columbus

Apr 21, 1995 · 60 min

Columbus' arrival and the subsequent defeat of the Caribbean tribes are chronicled, along with De Soto's destruction of the Southeast tribes such as the Coosa and the Mobile nation.

Episode 04

Invasion Of The Coast: The First English Settlements

Apr 21, 1995 · 60 min

An examination of the Native Americans of New England and their experiences with the British who settled at Jamestown and Plymouth. Includes background to the first Thanksgiving.

Episode 05

Cauldron Of War: Iroquois Democracy And The American Revolution

Apr 27, 1995 · 60 min

Hostilities between Native Americans and European settlers erupt across the eastern part of the continent as the colonists prepare for revolution. Pontiac's siege of Detroit and the splintering of the Iroqois Confederacy are examined.

Episode 06

Removal: War And Exile In The East

Apr 27, 1995 · 60 min

After Tecumseh's Shawnee people side with the British in the War of 1812, President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, forcing all tribes to move into "Indian Territory," along the famed trail of tears.

Episode 07

Roads Across The Plains: Struggle For The West

Apr 28, 1995 · 60 min

The twin gold rushes in California and Colorado bring hordes of settlers into the Western Territories where such Native American leaders as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and the Kiowa chief Satanta organize futile resistance.

Episode 08

Attack On Culture: 'I Will Fight No More Forever'

Apr 28, 1995 · 60 min

The Indian resistance of the late 19th-century is examined, including Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, the Apache leader Cochise and Geronimo, who surrenders and is imprisoned into the 20th-century. The government-mandated suppression of Native American culture culminates in the massacre at Wounded Knee, bringing the series full circle.