Best movies like America before Columbus

1492: Conquest of Paradise depicts Christopher Columbus’ discovery of The New World and his effect on the indigenous people.

Water Birds is a 1952 short documentary film directed by Ben Sharpsteen. The film delves into the still waters of lagoons and marshes to the wild blue wilderness of the vast oceans, to experience the beauty and variety of their majestic birds, each perfectly designed for its habitat. It won the Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-Reel.

Naturally Native follows the lives, loves, pain, joy and relationships of three sisters as they attempt to start their own business. Of American Indian ancestry, but adopted by white foster parents as young children, each sister has her own identity issues and each has chosen a very different career path. Now dedicated to starting a Native cosmetic business, they attempt to overcome obstacles both in the business world and in the home. A touching love story of family and culture, Naturally Native also interweaves a subtle, but strong wake-up call regarding the treatment of Native people in corporate America. Naturally Native also provides some insight into tribal infrastructure and gaming issues.

A scientific researcher, sent on a government study: The Lupus Project, must investigate the possible "menace" of wolves in the north. To do so, he must survive in the wilderness for six months on his own. In the course of these events, he learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the wolf species. Based on the book and true story by Farley Mowat.

Based on the journal of Knud Rasmussen's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922 across arctic Canada. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. It tells the story of the last great Inuit shaman and his beautiful and headstrong daughter; the shaman must decide whether to accept the Christian religion that is converting the Inuit across Greenland.

A colonial family seeks a better life in Maine's wilderness in this powerful adventure. When William Hallowell leaves behind 13-year-old son Matt to safeguard their claim, the boy relies on his new friendship with the Penobscot Indians for survival.

Kid Candidate tells the story of Hayden Pedigo, an 24-year old experimental musician and his unlikely run for Amarillo city council after his Harmony Korine inspired spoof campaign video went viral.

In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, nine children and their parents lived in perfect harmony with nature for 20 years – until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city.

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.

Elephants disrupt the lives of a family deep in the jungles of Northern Siam, and an entire village.

Allie Fox, an American inventor exhausted by the perceived danger and degradation of modern society, decides to escape with his wife and children to Belize. In the jungle, he tries with mad determination to create a utopian community with disastrous results.

The latest discovery by a blind shell collector puts the relationship between man and nature on edge: a rare mollusc that is extremely poisonous, but has a healing and hallucinogenic effect on some people. Can people resist the creature’s temptation, or will they put their lives at risk for a heavenly trip?

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

After a cavalry group is massacred by the Cheyenne, only two survivors remain: Honus, a naive private devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a young woman who had lived with the Cheyenne two years and whose sympathies lie more with them than with the US government. Together, they must try to reach the cavalry's main base camp. As they travel onward, Honus is torn between his growing affection for Cresta.

Genoan navigator Christopher Columbus has a dream to find an alternative route to sail to the Indies, by traveling west instead of east, across the unchartered Ocean sea. After failing to find backing from the Portugese, he goes to the Spanish court to ask Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand for help. After surviving a grilling from the Head of the Spanish Inquisition Tomas de Torquemada, he eventually gets the blessing from Queen Isabella and sets sail in three ships to travel into the unknown. Along the way he must deal with sabotage from Portugese spies and mutiny from a rebellious crew.

SACRED GROUND tells the fact-based story of a mountain man and his Indian wife who happen upon a partially built cabin and finish it for their own home, not realizing that they occupy a sacred burial ground. A Paiute burial party clashes with the couple and in the ensuing skirmish, the wife is critically wounded while in the middle of childbirth. Bitter over her loss and needing a wetnurse for his baby, he steals one of the Paiute woman who had just lost a baby. In this modern version of Helen of Troy, the battle is on, as he takes on the whole band in a desperate attempt to survive. Written by Dale Roloff

In 1896, three survivors of a whaling ship-wreck in the Canadian Arctic are saved and adopted by an Eskimo tribe but frictions arise when the three start misbehaving.

Based on Louis L'Amour novel, The Diamond of Jeru tells the story of an American scientist and his wife who hire an ex-pat war veteren to act as a guide on a journey up an unchartered Borneo river in search of diamonds.

A docu-comedy about three neo-hippies from Berlin who move to a farm in Poland to be closer to nature. They meditate, practice acroyoga and shower in the garden. The villagers consider them complete eccentrics.

Pursued by 2,000 US soldiers and cavalry, Chief Joseph leads his tribe of 800 Nez Perce on a 1,700 mile journey across the West and towards Canada. Based on the true story of the westward expansion of the United States and the military force used to displace Native Americans from their lands.

Christopher Columbus overcomes intrigue at the Spanish court and convinces Queen Isabella that his plan to reach the East by sailing west is practical.

Saga about a proud band of Sioux Indians, and the efforts of one brave to save his people from destruction through the use of mysterious powers handed down by ancestors.

This down-to-earth story that takes place in the mountains of North Caucasus, between two adjacent villages – Ossetian Toli and Georgian Teli – tells us about simple and naïve people that governments try to divide today by an official state border. These people wish to live in peace and harmony, in spite of ethnic differences, as their ancestors lived for hundreds of years. They are accustomed to solve all the conflicts peacefully, following Caucasian customs – around a great table, with wine and songs…

The Indian Act, passed in Canada in 1876, made members of Aboriginal peoples second-class citizens, separated from the white population: nomadic for centuries, they were moved to reservations to control their behavior and resources; and thousands of their youngest members were separated from their families to be Christianized: a cultural genocide that still resonates in Canadian society today.

"Sandhogs" are New York's urban miners who for 150 years have carved tunnels into the city's bedrock, making life possible for the millions above. For the last 40 years, they've been working on their biggest job ever. The future of NYC, if not the nation, is literally in their hands. Are they up to the task? Will they finish in time? Narrated by Edward Burns, this award winning documentary goes deep into NY's underground to find out.

Documentary which tells the fascinating and poignant story of the closure of Britain's mental asylums. In the post-war period, 150,000 people were hidden away in 120 of these vast Victorian institutions all across the country. Today, most mental patients, or service users as they are now called, live out in the community and the asylums have all but disappeared. Through powerful testimonies from patients, nurses and doctors, the film explores this seismic revolution and what it tells us about society's changing attitudes to mental illness over the last sixty years.

In southern Peru lies one of mankind's greatest mysteries - 1000's of giant shapes etched into the desert sands. We reveal who made them and why. Etched, as if by giants, onto the arid moonscape of Peru's southern desert lies one of man's greatest mysteries; the Nasca Lines. More than 15,000 geometric and animal-like patterns have been discovered criss-crossing the pampas like a vast puzzle. Who built them and what was their purpose? Ancient racetracks, landing strips for aliens, or perhaps a giant astronomical calendar? And are the Lines connected to the gruesome discovery of large cache's of severed human heads. Now, after decades of misunderstanding, modern archaeology may finally have the answer. Excavations in the surrounding mountains are uncovering extraordinary clues about the people who made them and why. A long since vanished people, called the Nasca, flourished here between 200BC and 700AD. But the harsh environment led them to extreme measures in order to survive.

The Serengeti is Africa's largest nature reserve and one of its most notable inhabitants is the cheetah, also called cheetah. A young cheetah tells of his carefree childhood on the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania, thanks to his wonderful mother. She takes care of food on the shelf and with her he and his brothers and sister have nothing to fear. Lesson one: tripping the calf, lesson two: choking and biting to death, lesson three: Catching a calf yourself. Mother cheeta allows her boy to practice on a gazelle calf she has caught for them. One day, the young cheetahs will have to hunt themselves. Without Mommy's help.

Examining theories about the discovery of America long before Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage by explorers from such places as China, Japan, Wales and Ireland.

The history of Europeans in North America, from the arrival of Columbus in 1492 to the business success of German immigrants such as Heinz, Strauss or Friedrich Trumpf, Donald Trump's grandfather. During the 19th century, thirty million people — Germans, Irish, Scots, Russians, Hungarians, Italians and many others — left the old continent, fleeing poverty, racism or political repression, hoping to make a fortune and realize the American dream.

Virginia, 1803. After the United States of America acquires the inmense Louisiana territory from France, a great expedition, led by William Lewis and Meriwether Clark, is sent to survey the new lands and go where no white man has gone before.

An alcoholic doctor on a Polynesian island, disgusted by white exploitation of the natives, finds himself marooned on a pristinely beautiful island.

This western began in 1812 when the settlers tried to take away more and more territories from the indians. Tecumseh, who is the leader of the Shawnee indians, tries to do something. He plans a big indian state, and tries to win the English settlers over to this plan...

A debate rages over the credibility of the Bible. Most archaeologists today have concluded that there's no evidence that the Exodus of Israelite slaves from Egypt ever happened. Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney faces a crisis of faith: "Is this foundation event of the Bible really just a myth?" He embarks on a 12-year journey around the world to search for answers. Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus unlocks the mystery of this ancient saga, combining a scientific investigation with a retelling of the Exodus story to reveal an amazing pattern of evidence matching the biblical account that may challenge our understanding of history. It features stunning animations, narration by Kevin Sorbo (God's not dead, Hercules: The Legendary Journey), interviews with leading archaeologists such as Israel Finkelstein, Kent Weeks, and David Rohl, and guest appearances by Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres.

War reporter Bob Woodruff leads veterans on an Arctic expedition to test a cure for post-traumatic stress and depression: the experience of awe in nature. As they trek across one of the world’s most dramatic and pristine wildernesses, researchers monitor changes to their physical and emotional well-being. Could this be the medicine they’ve been looking for?