500 Nations is an eight-part documentary on the Native Americans of North and Central America. It documents from pre-Columbian to the end of the 19th century. Much of the information comes from text, eyewitnesses, pictorials, and computer graphics. The series was hosted by Kevin Costner, narrated by Gregory Harrison, and directed by Jack Leustig. It included the voice talents of Eric Schweig, Gordon Tootoosis, Wes Studi, Cástulo Guerra, Tony Plana, Edward James Olmos, Patrick Stewart, Gary Farmer, Tom Jackson, Tantoo Cardinal, Dante Basco, Sheldon Peters Wolfchild, Tim Bottoms, Michael Horse, Graham Greene, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Amy Madigan, Frank Salsedo, and Kurtwood Smith. The series was written by Jack Leustig, Roberta Grossman, Lee Miller, and W. T. Morgan, with Dr. John M. D. Pohl. "The truth is, we have a story worth talking about. We have a history worth celebrating. Long before the first Europeans arrived here, there were some 500 nations already in North America. They blanketed the continent from coast to coast, from Central America to the Arctic. There were tens of millions of people here, speaking over 300 languages. Many of them lived in beautiful cities, among the largest and most advanced in the world. In the coming hours, 500 Nations looks back on those ancient cultures, how they lived, and how many survived.... What you're about to see is what happened. It's not all that happened, and it's not always pleasant. We can't change that. We can't turn back the clock. But we can open our eyes and give the first nations of this land the recognition and respect they deserve: their rightful place in the history of the world." Kevin Costner
500 Nations (Season 1)
The Ancestors: Early Cultures of North America (Episode 1)
Air date: 1995-04-20
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Aztecs (Episode 2)
Air date: 1995-04-20
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Clash of Cultures: The People Who Met Columbus (Episode 3)
Air date: 1995-04-21
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Invasion Of The Coast: The First English Settlements (Episode 4)
Air date: 1995-04-21
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Cauldron Of War: Iroquois Democracy And The American Revolution (Episode 5)
Air date: 1995-04-27
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Removal: War And Exile In The East (Episode 6)
Air date: 1995-04-27
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Roads Across The Plains: Struggle For The West (Episode 7)
Air date: 1995-04-28
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
Attack On Culture: 'I Will Fight No More Forever' (Episode 8)
Air date: 1995-04-28
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: 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.
