[Music] native america is alive [Music] its roots stretch back more than 13 000 years to america's original explorers new people who create a new world [Music] from north to south america distant people share one common belief a deep connection to earth sky water and all living things we are a part of this forest as much as the forest is a part of us [Music] all of our ceremonies illustrate that one notion of connectedness not only with our fellow beings the animals and other creatures but with all of creation from this deep respect for nature people create great nations there's a certain pressure knowing that you're going to become chief they grapple with war and peace we were covered in darkness so the peacemaker was sent by the creator to stop this and develop governments from dictatorships to a democracy that will inspire the united states constitution this is the birthplace of democracy [Music] how do native americans go from ancient explorers to the founders of america's first democracy [Music] at the intersection of modern scholarship and native knowledge is a new vision of america and the people who built it this is native american [Music] this is the birthplace of american democracy not boston philadelphia or washington dc but here at onondaga lake in syracuse new york on these shores native americans build villages of longhouses [Music] in one great long house five tribes come together to put an end to war around the year 11 50 600 years before the declaration of independence they form america's first democracy their government will inspire the revolutionaries who create the united states thomas jefferson and benjamin franklin had no idea of what democracy is until they came here in the 1740s benjamin franklin prints speeches from one of their leaders canna satigo who encourages democracy for the colonists their chiefs advise the founding fathers at one of their first meetings and the newly independent united states adopts a 13-arrow bundle into its official seal echoing the native americans five arrows that symbolize strength through unity [Music] their descendants still live in upstate new york as a sovereign nation with their own passports and government [Music] they are the world's oldest continuous democracy we're trying to educate people who we are sid hill is their chief of chiefs his people are commonly known as the iroquois but that's a french name the name that we call ourselves this hood nishoni people of the longhouse the hood nashoni story of creating the first american democracy is encoded in this a tapestry of sacred shell beads called a wampum belt if you look at the structure of it it's very basic it's very plain it represents our way of keeping records it's our history book this one is known as the hiawatha belt since 1900 it has been in the hands of the state of new york the tribe fought to get it back and today for the first time in over a hundred years it returns to onondaga lake hold it like this you see how heavy [Music] whenever you touch there's a belt you're greeting your ancestor tom porter is a mohawk spiritual leader our great great grandfather and great great grandmother made this this belt and they made it so that we won't never forget what they did the law they made the hiawatha bell tells the story of a prophet of peace who arrives in a white stone canoe a grieving warrior named hiawatha who has to choose between bloody vengeance or a message of peace and a powerful clan mother who must overcome an evil warlord together they establish america's first democracy odin missoni democracy grows out of a long history of people living on this land more than 13 000 years ago small groups of hunter-gatherers spread out quickly across the virgin continent they developed both a scientific understanding of the cycles of the earth sun and stars in a spiritual connection to nature earth sky water and all living things [Music] by the time europeans arrive in 1492 native americans number 100 million people they live in diverse societies from nomadic tribes to monumental kingdoms from dictatorships to democracies [Music] how do native americans draw inspiration from the natural world to create great nations [Music] a cotton and away from onondaga lake in the andes mountains of northern peru thousands of people take part in a revolutionary social experiment this is chevin de wontar one of native america's very first nations [Music] the temple constructions of chavin is what i would call the building of a whole new world chavin has one of america's first monumental structures built of stone dating back to 1300 bce chavine is only about the size of two football fields but projects influence over an area the size of california okay archaeologist john rick sees his community as a tipping point in america's history they're using new technologies cut stone is particularly prominent at chevin people are working granite in ways that people haven't before this time period at the center of chavin is a flattop pyramid temple [Music] the rituals performed here would draw in tens of thousands of people from across the andes how can this temple lay the foundation of one of america's first nations part of the answer lies beneath the temple in a mysterious maze of tunnels down here priests would conduct rituals evoking the supernatural [Music] chavin has this emphasis on underground space the tunnels have multiple levels staircases leading between them and channels that lead from the interior space to the outside world along the walls are channels leading to the surface they bring air in but they also carry something out [Music] music [Music] tita larosa is an indigenous andean musician and master of ancient instruments he's working with john to test the acoustics in the tunnels [Music] tito has brought instruments similar to those excavated at chavin flutes carved from bone [Music] whistles carved from stone and a conch shell trumpet [Music] [Music] ceremony the sound of the conch shell is central to one of chavin's most important rituals at the heart of the underground maze stands a carved statue called the land zone it is a representation of chavin's supreme deity part human part jaguar [Music] the sound of the conch shell mimics its call the lens own figure is a transformed human being or a deity it's human with power animals they're saying we're built of this we're descended from it we're intrinsically related to it and we're going to remind you of it all the time [Music] only a few privileged people can fit in the underground land zone chamber to see the deity but above ground thousands of worshipers may have been able to hear it in a large circular plaza okay so we probably want to come up to this step yeah get aimed right the land zone is directly in line with the circular plaza that's not arbitrary john wants to see if the channels can carry the sound of the conch shell from deep below in the land zone chamber to the temple's exterior plaza okay let it blast [Music] wow coming through coming through yeah it's really it's real clear [Music] they're way spreads all around the plaza yes incredible it's very strong the conch shell can be heard clearly in the courtyard and it comes through twice as loud as any other sounds we don't hear any of the voices all we hear is the sound of the trumpet this temple is a 3 000 year old noise canceling surround sound amplifier it allows masses of people to share in chavin's rituals it wasn't all or nothing that you either got into the lonzone chamber or you didn't but rather there are these different levels of distance that people might have been at from the land zone distance from the land zone creates a hierarchy of power elite priests are in the chamber everyone else is outside [Music] but through sound they all participate in shared rituals chavin is part of something that's going on throughout many areas of the new world this development of sociocultural complexity of leadership and authority people saying we are not all created equal they are establishing common ideas about what differentiates human beings and why some are more in a position to command than others the priests of chavine create a shared experience centered on powerful sounds and symbols from the natural world it transforms priests into leaders and people into citizens chavin isn't just the architecture of a temple it's the foundation of a government [Music] across the americas rituals based on symbols from the natural world bind communities and have the power to unite people into nations for the huden ashani in northeast america that symbol is the shell of the wampum belt what you're gonna do is add three and then put on your other purple ken miracle a hood neshony wampum belt maker is passing on the tradition here you go we all have gifts we're not put here for nothing someday you'll find that when you start growing you'll find things it's like the light turns on canon and his proteges are making a replica of an ancient belt just keep on pulling it right through yeah like that wampum bees are very delicate they'll break easy and you may get frustrated [Music] but when you put them together they're strong they're all support one another it's like when we put all our people and all our nations together they're strong they're using glass beads but the original is made from shells the word wampum means white shell beads they weave together rows of the strong beads on a loom the patterns create meaning wampum is a way of portraying words that we put into the wampum there's a story behind that this part of our history is right in there the hiawatha belt tells the story of the hood neshoni's legendary founding and wampum's power to heal [Music] before the haudenosaunee create their democracy they were five warring tribes living in an area of what is now upstate new york the seneca cayuga onondaga oneida and mohawk we were in turmoil we were covered in darkness so the peacemaker was sent by the creator to stop this the color of the wampum beads in the hiawatha belt represents this period of war the purple represents the time period of loss and of grief when this warfare was taking place constantly within our confederacy [Music] the stone in the hood nashony still practice it today those wampum beads are very sacred very spiritual they're alive and you treat them as such and that's what gives them that power of importance to our people that power also comes from the origin of the beads how they are collected and shaped by human hands marcus hendricks makes wampum beads he is a member of the mashpee wampanoag the haudenosaunee acquired wampum beads from his people in other atlantic coastal communities wampanoag means people of the first light people of the dawn they witnessed the first horizon of the sun coming up [Music] the first step to making wantom is gathering shellfish in his ancestral waters off cape cod when i come out onto the water there's a connection to my ancestors a relationship that goes through my blood and my veins the shells of quahog are the raw material for wampum [Music] you want to look for a good thickness in a quahog [Music] the fire is both the first step in a gratitude offering and prepares the quahog to be opened i was taught really young to take the time to give thanks and say a few prayers to the creator we do that anytime we're harvesting anything from mother earth marcus uses traditional methods to transform the shell into wampum beads refining raw shell until it can be strung together into a wampum belt each bead took a lot of hours and a lot of manpower each strand probably would have taken a year to make when strung into a belt wampum empowers the person holding it as a representative of their people they were made for ceremonies to depict stories and treaties between tribes so if i was to go visit another nation i would bring the belt to show that there's a close uh bond between the between the nations the wampum belt acts as a treaty the wampanoag hudnashani and other native peoples of the northeast use wampum to hold memories and create bonds between nations and with the creator alan and bo are carving a moon mask it's one of the many important figures in the quak waka walk origin story our history goes back to the beginning of time when raven first brought light to the world cedar also immortalizes the legacy of leaders and one day artists may carve images that represent alan hunt for he is about to become a chief final preparations are being made in the fort rupert big house on vancouver island walkawack chiefs are named through either the mother or the father's line alan will replace his grandfather as chief in a ceremony called a potlatch [Music] all my mentor chiefs kept telling me you know take a deep breath we've all been through it it's going to come together and now here it is it's coming together and it's going to be all right and i'm breathing deeply here karina hunt is alan's mother it's just a wonderful moment for us as a family to witness for centuries potlatches have honored births deaths weddings and new chiefs [Music] this is the way that we kept history it was the passing of names and dances and all the stories from the beginning of time [Music] the potlatch ceremony is like a living totem pole illustrating the nation's heritage it starts with a series of sacred dances depicting ancestral stories [Music] everyone in the room receives a cedar crown the reason that we wear them at the feast is to protect us as guests and also the host from evil spirits so that everything goes well [Music] do [Music] allen's uncle places a cedar head piece on him anointing alan a new chief there's a certain pressure in knowing that you're going to become chief i'm taking on the responsibility of holding up my tribe and to provide for them and make sure that our culture doesn't die i'm honored sorry to be his mom and i'm proud [Music] there's something really magical that comes into play when the horse is humble and not pinned to this idea of chieftainship as being prestige and it's not an easy thing it's a heavy load [Music] from the moment that they put the cedar ring on me it was an electric moment to feel so connected with such an old history you know the baton's been passed to me and now it's my job to carry it well and pass it on to to my children cedar in ceremonies and carvings documents the past celebrates leadership and provides a path to the future by passing on ancient traditions to a new generation [Music] without the ability to create masks to perform in our ceremonies without that our people can't survive so much of our survival came from this tree and our connection to the forest through that one tree history is rooted in the majestic cedar for the hard nashony ideals of government are embodied in a tiny plant corn today the hud nashani are beginning their harvest the crew is led by angie ferguson she's on a mission to keep the food of her ancestors alive and the health of her nation strong through colonization we grew away from eating what our bodies were accustomed to and not only are those foods part of our health and nutrition but those are part of our spiritual entities that keep us who we are angie is returning to traditional seeds and farming methods developed over thousands of years in a lot of our teachings food is at the basis of the entire honoshone community [Music] [Laughter] for the hudna shawnee corn is more than a crop it's a teacher roger cook was taught one of its most important lessons by his grandfather when making decisions always look to the seventh generation all the things that we do in the garden we're always thinking about that seventh generation it's a lot of hard work to put into the corn so that our children that we don't even know yet our grandchildren will have this that's how far ahead we have to look pardon the shawnee ancestors didn't simply focus on feeding themselves and their children they planned centuries ahead it's a strategy that changed the world 10 000 years ago there was no corn only a tiny weed called tiocinte over hundreds of generations of careful observation and seed selection it was developed into corn and that's only the beginning native americans feed a population of a hundred million people by developing new foods from wild plants the potato the tomato peanuts chocolate and dozens of varieties of beans and squash today these crops provide 60 percent of the world's grown food but for native america corn is king [Music] it's the power behind one of the ancient world's most advanced societies the maya from 250 to 900 maya city-states thrive across what is now southern mexico guatemala and honduras [Music] the maya invent their own system of writing which records the emergence of a new kind of leader a divine king one maya king ranks among the longest reigning monarchs in the world king pakal who ruled for 68 years [Music] art historian mary miller has come to his capital city in search of the key to his success [Music] this is palenque in what is now chiapas mexico architects and artists came here and made things of extraordinary wonder and imagination and we wonder at them today as well it was a kind of magical place palenque is surrounded by some of the best soil in the region the corn or maize that grows here brings prosperity to the city but to king piccol maize brings much more immortality but call uses his riches to construct the temple of the inscriptions a monumental tomb piccolo created the most remarkable funerary monument to himself that any maya king ever built [Music] when he died he was placed into a sarcophagus and royally dressed in jades steps within the temple lead down to pakal's final resting place [Music] perfectly intact for over a thousand years inside is the largest maya sarcophagus ever found the lid is carved with images connecting king pakal to the maze god we see the great king depicted as the maze god being reborn in his death maize will eternally return to palenque mccall associates his own birth and death to corn cycles of planting and harvesting he assures his people that as the maze god he will return in a never-ending cycle of birth death and resurrection and with each cycle provides sustenance for his nation [Music] but call takes a simple crop and elevates it to a religion [Music] at the heart of my religion the most fundamental notion is that man is maize and as the maize plant flourishes each year so too does humanity corn has the power to build a kingdom for the maya for the horde nashoni corn will build a democracy [Music] the inspiration is an ancient farming method called joheko or the three sisters our three sisters the corn beans and the squash are all meant to grow together to help each other out planted together the three sisters are a farming miracle corn strip soil of nitrogen but bean roots balances by replenishing nitrogen and the broad prickly leaves of the squash plant reduce weeds and deter pests when consumed together corn beans and squash provide all the essential nutrients for a healthy diet the three sisters is a model for community organizing in our communities you need people that can stand tall like the corn and they need people to assist and hold them up like the beans and then you have your squash that's laying down to protect everything [Music] it's something that's opening our eyes to see what our ancestors was trying to show us the hard nashony adopt the three sisters cooperative approach in nature to a cooperative approach in governance this principle is expressed in the structure that defines their very identity the longhouse [Music] pete jemison is an elder from the seneca people the haudenosaunee what that translates to is that our people built an extended house and when we're talking about this house that they built it's not just the longhouse that we actually live in it is the idea that each of the nations take up the issues that are confronting the community and they try to come up with solutions leaders from the warring tribes come together in a long house and form the grand council of chiefs [Music] it is america's first democrat to the hotel virginia abrams is a clan mother a title first established by dragon ser say like palenque's king piccolo giganza says influence comes from corn when the nations were warring against each other she would take them in and feed them and she kind of kept the war going on so the peacemaker came to her and asked her to refrain from keeping this warring going to honduras [Music] say transforms tatadajo's mind and he abandons war because of gigantic clan mothers hold the power to appoint or dismiss chiefs she earned for our women the rights the responsibilities and the privileges that they have until this date in tara daho in exchange for accepting peace is appointed the keeper of the central fire and chief of chiefs the most powerful leader his name becomes a title that is handed down to this day when our longhouses come together these are the fires he's talking about sid hill is now tara daho he sees an important lesson in memorializing the name of this once vicious warlord people can change with help if they're going on the wrong path there is always hopes to people helping them and showing them there's better things you can do with your life than being destructive and evil and negative with the final obstacle overcome the peacemaker assembles representatives of each nation [Music] foreign from the time of the peacemaker to today the tradition of making wampum belts lives on [Music] a new generation is being entrusted with the story of democracy encoded in the hiawatha belt your thoughts and energy that's the strength of that belt one day you're going to get old and then you're the one that's going to have to transmit all this knowledge what it means to your grandkids at the beginning of the confederacy the peacemaker made the symbol it's our connection to each other [Music] the reading of the great law and the weaving of the hiawatha belt established the hodnasrone confederacy it's a form of government that doesn't rule people but rather serves people it's this principle that inspires benjamin franklin and other framers of the constitution to create their own government of the people by the people and for the people in 1988 the u.s senate passed a special resolution recognizing the influence of the hudnashony democracy on the u.s constitution the council of chiefs meeting in the longhouse is similar to congress tara daho parallels the presidency and the clan mothers are like justices on the supreme court they too serve for life but have an additional power clan mothers can choose and impeach the chiefs it is a three-branch system of government that looks strikingly familiar [Music] six hundred years before the united states the hard nashony independently established the first democracy in america [Music] today the hud neshoni gather on the shore of lake onondaga the place where their journey from war to peace began all these leaders would work together to come up with a solution they build their confederacy based on profound lessons and symbols from nature mother earth never lacked nothing like a perfect world but like a treaty between nations they believe they owe nature something in return to take care of all living things water and air and all the natural things that make the world that we live in is held sacred by all indigenous people and every human being comes from an indigenous people this ceremony is an appeal to honor that responsibility to nature for onondaga lake the birthplace of democracy in america is among the world's most polluted everybody's concerned these days about the condition of the waters the condition of mother earth it's a concern throughout the world that was put there for everybody to use and nobody has the right to take that away from anybody it's not just a water it's not just made out of chemical elements it's it's real it's our lifeblood over 200 years ago the framers of the u.s constitution learned lessons of governance from the hudnashani but the founding fathers leave out a core principle people have a responsibility to take care of the earth [Music] native america's profound respect for nature is relevant now as much as ever [Music] creator we who are your children says thank you for this miraculous gathering and this beautiful day that you gave us today creator with love we say thank you and our mind is agreed [Music] the first nations of the americas have their foundation and sacred natural symbols in chavin priests use the jaguar to gather people into a nation in central america corn builds vast kingdoms [Music] in the atlantic northeast shell wampum unites nations and in the pacific northwest cedar establishes and maintains a national identity [Music] building on lessons from nature native americans create some of the greatest nations on earth [Music] you