That, at least, is the theory behind PBS' five-part American Experience special, We Shall Remain. Premiering April 13, the documentary re-examines American history from the point of view of the continent's original inhabitants.

The goal, says executive producer Mark Samels, is to move the story of the American Indian from the margins of our history to the center. "Our national heroes arise from a familiar set of stories: the Founding Fathers, World War II, the civil rights movement," Samels says. "But there are genuine American heroes to be found in the story of how native people responded in remarkable ways — legal, spiritual, military, political — to the threat posed to their very way of life. Neither bloodthirsty warriors nor passive victims, Native Americans were, above all, active participants in their own history." You can participate come April.