Native America is a four part series for PBS that casts light on the Americas before the Europeans arrived. I’d heard about the great cities of the Aztec and Maya, with monumental pyramids where humans were sacrificed, carefully aligned to the cosmos. But I had no idea there were cities like that in North America – I’d never even heard of Cahokia. I didn’t know that Native Americans created a democracy 600 years before the United States, and that the founding fathers borrowed heavily from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to write the constitution. And while I knew Europeans brought disease to the New World, I’d no understanding of the scale, the staggering loss of life, and the strength of the cultures that ultimately endured. With over 13,000 years of history, the people and ideas of Native America are still alive today.
All in all, rather an eye opening four hours.