Two weeks ago, President Trump signed an executive order to cut federal funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, the umbrella of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). The cuts come as a devastating blow to the country’s non-commercial, public-owned media outlets.
To showcase the tireless work of these critical media outlets, below are five of our favorite short films about Indigenous communities, situated in Salmon Nation, that have appeared on PBS in recent years.
Each film made us wonder: if not for PBS and NPR, where else would such evocative stories of Indigenous resilience, sovereignty, environmental values, and contemporary concerns be portrayed with such sensitivity and respect?
Take several moments to check out these films, and to honor PBS for producing or supporting such rich educational resources, available to all. We at Magic Canoe hope such quality storytelling on truth and beauty can continue, and we are deeply committed to this mission.
1. “Alaska’s Vanishing Native Villages” – Frontline
“A look inside Alaska Native villages fighting for survival against climate change. With the Howard Center at ASU, FRONTLINE examines why communities are relocating and why they’re struggling to preserve their traditions.”
2. “Klamath: After the Dams” – Oregon Field Guide
“The Klamath River now flows free for hundreds of miles from Southern Oregon to the ocean. But after the largest dam removal project in the U.S., challenges remain. Water shortages in the upper basin fuel toxic bacteria, disease outbreaks and conflicts over endangered fish as salmon swim upstream for the first time in a century.”
3. “Cultural Burning” – Tending the Wild
“For thousands of years, California Indians used fire as a tool for managing natural resources. Throughout the state, Native peoples conducted cultural burns on a wide range of plants and it was their fire regimes that created diverse habitat mosaics that sustained meadows, coastal prairies, and grasslands.”
4. “Covenant of the Salmon People” – KBTC
“Covenant of the Salmon People features a portrait of the Nez Perce Tribe as they continue to carry out their ancient promise to protect the Chinook salmon. The film explores the intertwined fate of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce), salmon, and the landscape from which both evolved.”
5. The Beautiful Undammed – Wild Hope
“Ten years after the largest dam removal in history—on the Elwha River, in Washington State—scientists are chronicling an inspiring story of ecological rebirth. Recovering salmon populations are transferring critical nutrients from the ocean into the forests along the Elwha’s banks, enriching the entire ecosystem.”
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