Timewatch: Savagery And The American Indian

In 1890 hundreds of unarmed men, women and children were massacred at Wounded Knee. The event was the culmination of the Indian Wars in which European settlers in North America had sought to wipe out the native population, but it was by no means the end of the European persecution of the indigenous peoples, as this two part documentary reveals.

Two-part documentary looking at the history of the native American Indians, and particularly the effects of white colonisation of the continent, and the near extinction of their peoples and culture. The first part considers the lifestyles and philosophy of the Indians and their first encounters with white settlers, which led to their falling prey to both disease and violence. The newcomers' attitude towards the Indians, and the catalogue of deceit, broken treaties and massacres are also explored. Part two looks at the continued clashes between European and Native American cultures in the hundred years after the massacre at Wounded Knee, and the disastrous attempts of the American government to assimilate the Indians. Indians describe what life was like on the reservations and of attempts to obliterate their language, culture and traditional ways.