500 Nations
Eight-part documentary on Native American history from pre-Columbian times.
Hosted by Kevin Costner and narrated by Gregory Harrison, the series drew on text, eyewitness accounts, pictorials, and computer graphics.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Historical documentary
- Creator
- Jack Leustig
- Writer
- Jack Leustig
- Roberta Grossman
- Lee Miller (head of research)
- and W. T. Morgan
- with John M. D. Pohl
- Presenter
- Kevin Costner
- Narrator
- Gregory Harrison
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Episodes
A subsequent episode covers the native nations of Mexico from pre-Columbian times through European contact and colonization, including the rise and fall of the Toltecs and the growth of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire. As Spanish expeditions advance in the Caribbean and the southeastern United States, muskets and disease cause thousands of deaths. European powers fight to control American resources, turning native homelands into a Cauldron of War; many indigenous nations side with France, and after France's defeat, Pontiac rises. Lifestyles of Great Plains peoples end as settlers destroy buffalo herds; the Sand Creek massacre provokes severe repercussions. Legislative attacks include disbanding communal land; today, native cultures are allowed to renew and remember.
More in 1990s American Documentary Television Series
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