Original Airdate: April 2009

We Shall Remain: A Native history of Utah

This powerful five-part-series on the five American Indian Tribes of the Great Basin Region we now know as Utah.

Learn about the indigenous Paiute, Goshute, Navajo (Diné), Northwestern Shoshone & Ute peoples who have lived on the land we now call Utah for generations. Unprecedented collaborations between Native and non-Native filmmakers place native voices at the heart of five heartbreaking yet inspiring stories.

Episodes

The Paiute

A thriving horticultural society, the Southern Paiute were a peaceful, foraging people whose social ties created a network that spread throughout the Western Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Plateau, and the Great Basin. But as different groups and cultures vied for control of the West, the once independent Paiute people faced unfulfilled promises, poverty, dependence and profound loss. Today, the five bands of Paiute -- Shivwits, Koosharem, Kanosh, Cedar and Indian Peaks -- unite to celebrate their restored status at an annual, inter-tribal gathering where youth have the opportunity to learn tribal cultures and traditions.

The Goshute

The expanse of the Great Basin we now know as Western Utah and Northeastern Nevada is an area where most people cannot survive without outside assistance. It has always been home to the Shoshonne-Goship people -- The Goshutes, who today comprise two distinct sovereign nations - The Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians Reservation and The Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indian Reservation. In the face of economic and environmental challenges, the Goshute's rich past gives this remarkable people fortitude.

The Navajo (Diné)

They call themselves Diné, “ The People.” To the rest of the world, they are known as Navajo. Dinétah, this homeland, is the largest reservation in the United States. KUED profiles a rich culture and recounts the survival of the Diné from their origins to their present status as a "nation within a nation" and their continuing push toward true sovereignty.

The Northwestern Shoshone

It was the largest slaughter of American Indians in the western history of the United States. On January 29th, 1863, from 250 to 500 Northwestern Shoshone camping by the Bear River lost their lives. In less than a day, centuries of tradition were wiped away. But the people did live on. Today the Northwestern Shoshone fight a new battle—one to keep their traditional cultural practices and language alive.

The Ute

For hundreds of years the Ute bartered or negotiated with outsiders in their territory, and fought when necessary. They maintained their homeland and hunting grounds, which ranged across the basin and plains that would one day become Utah and Colorado and into parts of Wyoming and New Mexico. Today, many work to keep their culture and their language alive, which presents particular challenges for the young people.

Clips from Series

Supported By

The Utah Department of Community and Culture, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, William M. and Kerry Armstrong, American Experience, R. Harold Burton Foundation, and the Lawrence T. Dee and Janet T. Dee Foundation.