People of the West

People of the West is a ten-part documentary series that reclaims California's history through Indigenous perspectives. Using oral histories, tribal archives, expert testimony, and cinematic recreations, the series traces Native life from creation stories through colonization, state violence, and cultural survival to the present day. Each episode centers Native voices and lived experience, reframing pivotal events—the mission system, the Gold Rush, Alcatraz, modern sovereignty movements—through those who endured them. The series pairs sweeping landscapes with intimate storytelling to reveal California as Native land. It challenges dominant narratives while documenting the resilience and contemporary presence of Native nations shaping the state today. Visually ambitious and emotionally grounded, People of the West works both as premium television and classroom resource, offering a necessary corrective to how American history is typically told.