The Native Americans is a three-part American television documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 miniseries

Miniseries

A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

 that premiered on TBS

TBS (TV channel)

TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...

 on October 10, 1994. The remaining two episodes aired on October 11 and 13, 1994. Directed by John Borden, Phil Lucas

Phil Lucas

Phil Lucas was an American filmmaker of mostly Native American themes. He acted, wrote, produced, directed or edited more than 100 films/documentaries or television programs starting as early as 1979 when he wrote/co-produced and co-directed Images of Indians for PBS - a five-part series exploring...

 and George Burdeau, the six-hour series explores the history of Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 cultures, with each hour of the series devoted to a particular region of the United States.

Music for the series was composed by Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...

 in collaboration with other Native American and Canadian First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 musicians, including Ulali

Ulali

Ulali, founded in 1987, was the first Native American women's a cappella group to create their own sound from strong traditional roots and personal contemporary styles. They created a new genre of Native American music and inspired the creation of other Native women's groups...

, Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...

, Douglas Spotted Eagle

Douglas Spotted Eagle

Douglas Spotted Eagle, is a Grammy-winning musician, noted for his live and recorded performances on the traditional Native American flute, sometimes accompanied by either traditional Navajo singers and instrumentalists or a modern band...

 and Kashtin

Kashtin

Kashtin were a Canadian folk rock duo in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most commercially successful and famous musical groups in First Nations history....

, and was released on the album Music for The Native Americans

Music for The Native Americans

Music for The Native Americans is a 1994 album by Robbie Robertson, compiling music written by Robertson and other colleagues for the television documentary film The Native Americans....

.