Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School

This award-winning feature examines a minority group that is discounted and often ignored by mainstream media. Sharing a common past, many African Americans and Native Americans have combined to create a unique culture that has meshed the traditions and fine heritage of both. Little known, little documented, and often marginalized, this group has become all but invisible at the dawn of the new millennium. James Earl Jones narrates this examination of the historical relationship between American Indians and African-Americans, who often merged their cultures to work and live together while mainstream white society shunned them. Through illuminating anecdotes and interviews, descendants of fused black and Indian families discuss the complications of their mixed heritage and how their culture was largely erased on official documents.

This two-hour documentary explores one of the great historical tragedies of America's aboriginal people. In 1830, eager to gain access to lands inhabited by Native Americans, President Andrew Jackson enacted the Indian Removal Act which forced the Cherokee Nation to leave their homeland and to relocate into uncharted territory. Many of these forced settlers suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation, and upon arriving in Indian Territory, they arrived with no past and no future.

This comprehensive look at the ancient health and healing methods of American aboriginals uncovers the invaluable contributions that Native Americans made to early frontier living. Early European settlers learned how to use the healing plants and herbs from the aboriginal people, and these methods are still important today in maintaining health.