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| The 12-hour documentary 'The American Revolution' includes the role of Native Americans. ' |
REVIEW
So, PBS dropped a new Ken Burns joint, The American Revolution. I suspect MAGA folks will hate it because it includes the history usually left out of our high sdhool history books and includes the role of Blacks and indigenous peoples and knocks a few of our white Founding Fathers off their pedestals.
If not for the native tribes, there probably would not have been a Thanksgiving observance with the Europeans who migrated to ths continent. The religous zeealots who fled Europe would not have survived if not for original locals.
If you're a history buff like me, this series is a must watch. It's not your grandpappy's tale of Minutemen and redcoats. This one actually talks about the people largely erased from our textbooks: Indigenous Peoples.
Let me tell you, this is long overdue.
As the series emphasizes, the war was also often a struggle between the refugees from Europe and indigenous nations, between enslavers and the enslaved. Some Americans won their freedom. Others, like Native Americans, lost it.
The doc lays it right out there: this whole "freedom" thing for the colonists was, essentially, a war for Native land. The Brits had that Proclamation of 1763 trying to keep folks contained, but the Americans? They wanted to go west, consequences be damned.
The narrative here isn't the usual white-centric fluff. They bring in Native historians, giving us the real deal. The core message is powerful: The Revolution wasn't just about taxes; it was about real estate and who had sovereignty over it. This is a crucial pivot in how we understand American history.
You had the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a powerful group, totally split. Some went British, some went American (shoutout to the Oneida Nation for their Continental Army assist!), and others tried to stay neutral. It was a messy, brutal time.Burns doesn't shy away from the stuff white supremacists don't want to hear about their heroes. While the framers of the Declaration of Indepedence were signing the historic document that espoused "all men created equal" many of them were slave owners. The series also details the significant brutality of the war in "Indian Country," including General George Washington's orders to devastate and burn entire Native towns, orchards, and food stores. That's a piece of history we often gloss over in favor of cherry trees.
Now, there's been some debate about whether the Iroquois Confederacy inspired the US Constitution. It's a talking point, maybe a little romanticized, but the fact remains: these were complex, sovereign nations with sophisticated diplomacy, dealing with the British, French, and Americans as equals, even if the new US government ultimately didn't honor that.
A View from the Edge
As an American, I look at our history and think about what my patriotic parents taught me about our adopted land. My folks emphasized English, the language of our new home, so I lost my Tagalog. That's the immigrant experience—trying to fit in while losing a piece of yourself.
This documentary is a good reminder that the "American Dream" was built on the back of Native displacement. It forces us to ask: do our institutions really serve all the people, not just the powerful? It's a test of whether our democracy truly breathes for everyone. The struggle must commence in the field of ideas, as the great Jose W. Diokno used to say, before it can descend into the arena of action.
FYI: How to watch
Let me tell you, this is long overdue.
As the series emphasizes, the war was also often a struggle between the refugees from Europe and indigenous nations, between enslavers and the enslaved. Some Americans won their freedom. Others, like Native Americans, lost it.
The doc lays it right out there: this whole "freedom" thing for the colonists was, essentially, a war for Native land. The Brits had that Proclamation of 1763 trying to keep folks contained, but the Americans? They wanted to go west, consequences be damned.
Not just sidekicks
The American Revolution, explores the complexities of the war from a wide range of perspectives, including a significant focus on the role of Native Americans. The series, which premiered on November 16, 2025, examines the conflict through the stories of diverse individuals, revealing the virtues and contradictions of the revolutionary period. Native American nations, caught in the middle, were forced into a struggle over land that led to their displacement, and the series highlights their long-overdue visibility in American history, notes the Lakota Times.
The American Revolution, explores the complexities of the war from a wide range of perspectives, including a significant focus on the role of Native Americans. The series, which premiered on November 16, 2025, examines the conflict through the stories of diverse individuals, revealing the virtues and contradictions of the revolutionary period. Native American nations, caught in the middle, were forced into a struggle over land that led to their displacement, and the series highlights their long-overdue visibility in American history, notes the Lakota Times.
The narrative here isn't the usual white-centric fluff. They bring in Native historians, giving us the real deal. The core message is powerful: The Revolution wasn't just about taxes; it was about real estate and who had sovereignty over it. This is a crucial pivot in how we understand American history.
You had the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a powerful group, totally split. Some went British, some went American (shoutout to the Oneida Nation for their Continental Army assist!), and others tried to stay neutral. It was a messy, brutal time.
Now, there's been some debate about whether the Iroquois Confederacy inspired the US Constitution. It's a talking point, maybe a little romanticized, but the fact remains: these were complex, sovereign nations with sophisticated diplomacy, dealing with the British, French, and Americans as equals, even if the new US government ultimately didn't honor that.
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| Ken Burns' and PBS's 'The American Revolution' includes the role of indigenous peoples. |
A View from the Edge
As an American, I look at our history and think about what my patriotic parents taught me about our adopted land. My folks emphasized English, the language of our new home, so I lost my Tagalog. That's the immigrant experience—trying to fit in while losing a piece of yourself.
This documentary is a good reminder that the "American Dream" was built on the back of Native displacement. It forces us to ask: do our institutions really serve all the people, not just the powerful? It's a test of whether our democracy truly breathes for everyone. The struggle must commence in the field of ideas, as the great Jose W. Diokno used to say, before it can descend into the arena of action.
FYI: How to watch
It's a six-part series, 12 hours total. Plenty of time to get your history fix.Watch the episodes: You can stream it on the PBS website for a limited time.
For the serious viewers: PBS Passport subscribers can stream it for ages.
Bonus Content: Check out the extra resources on PBS LearningMedia.
It’s more than political drama; it’s a vital piece of our national story that we need to hear, understand, and bear witness to. We need closure on our past, or it will continue to haunt us like a political cold case. Go watch it.
For the serious viewers: PBS Passport subscribers can stream it for ages.
Bonus Content: Check out the extra resources on PBS LearningMedia.
It’s more than political drama; it’s a vital piece of our national story that we need to hear, understand, and bear witness to. We need closure on our past, or it will continue to haunt us like a political cold case. Go watch it.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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