Defenders of a Nation Exhibit

American Veteran (2021)

• Today, America has nearly 18 million living military veterans, from the "Greatest Generation" to men and women coming home from recent tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. This film illuminates the veteran experience with a moving range of voices from today and across the arc of American history.

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts (2023)

• The 14th Amendment promised citizenship in exchange for enlistment, prompting many African American men to do so. These "Buffalo Soldiers" participated in the subjugation of Native peoples and went up against Filipinos in the Spanish-American War. The film examines their role in U.S. history, how they fought in military conflicts abroad, and their civil rights struggles at home.

Choctaw Code Talkers: Heroic Native American World War One Soldiers (2010)

• In 1918, not yet citizens of the United States, Choctaw members of the American Expeditionary Forces were asked by the government to use their Native language as a powerful tool against the German For ces in World War I, setting a precedent for code talking as an effective military weapon and establishing them as America's Original Code Talkers.

Hunting In Wartime: The Struggle of Native American Veterans in Alaska (2015)

• Hunting in Wartime profiles the incredible stories of Tlingit Native Americans from the village of Hoonah, Alaska who served in the Vietnam War. Their stories confront the complexity of serving a coun try that systematically oppressed them; a government that forbid the Tlingit language, over-logged their forests, and established laws that robbed returning vets of their ancestral trade as fishermen. Furthermore, their stories expose on a very personal level the human experience of war and it's lasting effects on veterans as well as their communities.

Ken Burns: The War

• Emmy nominated documentary series THE WAR is a story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in American and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

The Vietnam War (2017)

• An immersive documentary film series directed by acclaimed filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the epic story of one of the most divisive, consequential and misunderstood events in American history, as it has never before been told on film.

To Be of Service (2019)

• Follows veterans suffering from PTSD, who are paired with service dogs to help them heal and restore their independence when traditional treatments fall short.

What I Want You to Know (2023)

• With courage and candor, American veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan share their wartime experiences and consider the impact of their wars on themselves and their fellow veterans. Intersperse d with actual images and video footage from both wars, their stories paint an intense and compelling picture of the post-911 wars and their cost to the men and women who fought them.

Women in the Miliary (2012)

• Women in the Military profile three veteran's stories.

Women of World War II (2025)

• Uncover the hidden history of World War II with firsthand accounts from the women who cracked the codes and built the ships. With exclusive, never-before-seen interviews– from “Fly Girls” who saved th eir fellow pilots, to “Rosie-the-Riveters” who kept those planes in the air– learn how these unsung heroes inspired and empowered future generations by winning the war.