Welcome to the Arkansas Studies Page
Since the creation of the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) in 1966, it has been the network's charge to serve the people and the educational community of Arkansas. AETN's unique role in the state has allowed it to establish a video library of productions. These programs chronicle the history of Arkansas politics, its land and people, provide substantive materials about Arkansas, the ecosystem, arts and the unique heritage of the state. The programs listed below are a part of that video collection.
The body of information accompanying this site is often derived from the producers and directors of these programs. Sometimes information is provided by participants of the program. Occasionally, video footage has been formatted for viewing from your browser. These may be purchased from AETN. For general audience viewers to order, contact our Viewer Services at (501) 682-4198. For educators to use in the classroom, contact our Dubbing Services at (501) 682-4147.
Many educational co-ops also house these productions for lending through a cooperative system between AETN Education Division and their media centers. Some programs have support materials to go with them.
ARKANSAS STUDIES
By Subject Area
ECONOMY
HISTORY
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES/CULTURE
ARKANSAS STUDIES
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
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ALONG THE ARKANSAS RIVER
Grades: 5-12
This series examines the impact of the Arkansas River on the state and examines recreation, flood control, water supply, channel stabilization, hydroelectric power generation and fish and wildlife habitat. Programs include:
- A Journey on the Arkansas 14:51 minutes
- Liquid Assets 13:34 minutes
- Life on the Arkansas 13:22 minutes
- Montgomery Point Lock and Dam 12:12 minutes
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ARKANSAS HISTORICAL DANCE
Grades: 6-Adult
Length: 28:04 minutes
The two programs in this series explore the dance traditions brought to Arkansas by its earliest European settlers. The Arkansas County Dance Society presents a variety of dances including modern square dance, riverboat and black dance traditions.
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ARKANSAS: ITS ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
Grades: 8-Adult
This series presents outstanding Arkansas architecture from three different time periods:
- 1800-1861 42:00 minutes
- 1865-1917 44:30 minutes
- 1918-1988 40:12 minutes
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ARKANSAS’ NATURAL HERITAGE
Grades:
Length: 26:49 minutes
Arkansas is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and supports many self-maintaining ecosystems. Nature has balanced animal and plant life in exquisite prairies, forests, swamps and glades that dot the Arkansas landscape. Efforts to protect the state’s rich natural diversity result in an uncommon treasure as a legacy for future generations of Arkansans. This program features some of Arkansas’ natural areas.
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ARKANSAS REMEMBERED: A VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/40
Take a nostalgic look at life in Arkansas as seen through the eyes of various longtime residents of the state. The “front porch” is used as the method of tying subject matter together and creates a central theme. Charley Sandage reads a narrative describing, in poetic language, common occurrences in life that may have taken place on or near the front porch.
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ARKANSAS REMEMBERED II
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/40 min.
The second in the series of programs that take a nostalgic look at things in the Natural State that are gone but not forgotten. The program covers five stories including milkmen, post-cards, Grapette, Camp Joyzelle, and cabooses.
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ARKANSAS’ NATURAL HERITAGE
Grades: 6-Adult
Programs/Length: 26:49 minutes
Scattered throughout Arkansas are some of the most beautiful and un-disturbed natural areas in the country. Arkansas’ Natural Heritage takes viewers on a hike through flower-covered meadows and cypress knee swamps to discover a world of natural beauty preserved for generations to come. Former Senator Dale Bumpers narrates this 30-minute program that details the efforts of ordinary citizens working with the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission to perpetuate Arkansas’ Natural Heritage.
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ARKANSAS’ NATURAL WONDERS
Grades: 5-12
Programs/Length: 40:04 minutes
Using only the sounds of nature intermingled with symphonic music without narration, this special AETN presentation travels the natural state to explore Arkansas Natural Wonders. Areas highlighted include the Ozark Mountains, the central Arkansas River Valley, the gulf coastal plain, South Arkansas’ timberlands, Crowley’s Ridge, the Delta, and the Ouachita Mountains.
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ARKANSAS STORIES
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/30
The program centers around songs performed in a traditional style by the musical group Harmony. Each song tells a story about an event or person in Arkansas history, including: the New Madrid earthquake; slavery; the White River Railroad and more.
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ARKANSAS TERRITORIAL RESTORATION
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 28:57 minutes
A group of actors recreate Arkansas history at the Arkansas Territorial Restoration.
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BLACK SWAMP
Grades: 8-Adult
Length: 55:13 minutes
Black Swamp focuses on the picturesque wetland along the Cache River in remote Eastern Arkansas. The Black Swamp has gained international recognition because it features some of the largest tracts of bottomland hardwood forest that remain in the lower Mississippi River Valley.
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BRONCHO BILLY: THE FIRST REEL COWBOY
Grades: 8-12
Length: 27:13
Few people know the name Gilbert M. Anderson today. In his heyday, everyone knew him as “Broncho Billy,” a character he played in more than 130 silent westerns produced between 1909 and 1919. A native of Arkansas, Anderson popularized the movie cowboy. He thrilled audiences with exciting cinematic stories that were shown in real western locations. This documentary traces how a nontraditional hero won over audiences and influenced the western film genre to the present day. Anderson’s crowning achievement came in 1958 when he was given an honorary Academy Award for his pioneering efforts.
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CELEBRATING ARKANSAS I
Grades: ??
Programs/Length: 1/60
Arkansas’ fairs and festivals are snapshots of our history, culture and everyday life. This program features
National Chuckwagon Races in Clinton.
- Arkansas Folk Festival in Mountain View.
- Championship Cardboard Boat Races in Heber Springs.
- War Eagle Fair.Toad Suck Daze in Conway.
- International Greek Food Festival in Little Rock.
- Buffalo River Elk Festival in Jasper.Visions of the Past Living History Fair in Parkin.
- Timberfest in Sheridan.
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CELEBRATING ARKANSAS II
Grades:
Programs/Length:
- PurpleHull Pea Festival, Emerson.
- Hope Watermelon Festival, Hope.
- Annual Bean Festival and Outhouse Race, Mt. View.
- Arkansas Senior Olympics, Hot Springs.
- Tontitown Grape Festival, Tontitown.
- Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival, Eureka Springs.
- Living History Festivals at Old Washington State Park, Petit Jean Mountain State Park and Berryville.
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CELEBRATING ARKANSAS III
• 24th Arkansas Scottish Festival, Batesville
• Auto Show and Swap Meet, Petit Jean Mountain
• Frisco Festival, Rogers
• Mt. Magazine International Butterfly Festival
• Wildwood Festival of Music and the Arts, Wildwood Park
• Arkansas Hot Air Balloon State Championships, Bentonville/Bella Vista
• Trail of Tears Parade and Pow Wow, DeQueen
• Picklefest, Atkins
• The Altus Grape Festival, Altus
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CENTRAL HIGH 40 YEARS LATER
Grades: 8-12
Host Steve Barnes and panels of past and present Central High students, teachers and members of the media discuss events and the impact the courts and the state legislature had had and still have on the desegregation of schools.
- The Students 26:13 minutes
- The Teachers 26:56 minutes
- The Media 26:30 minutes
- The System 26:17 minutes
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CRATER OF DIAMONDS
Grades: 6-12
Length: 26:34 minutes
Students will explore America’s only diamond-bearing field located in Murfreesboro. Highlights include the early history of the discovery of diamonds and current mining controversies facing the state park.
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DOWNSTREAM STORIES
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/30
This award-winning production spotlights Arkansas waterways by telling the stories of several people whom their beauty has inspired.
The half-hour program courses through the landscape of Arkansas on a network of moving waters as diverse as the state itself. The segments take viewers on some of the wildest and most scenic rivers in the state.
Featured are: William McNamara, one of the country’s foremost artisans, who reflects on the majesty found along the Buffalo River in his detailed watercolor paintings; Jim Good, a down-home craftsman who creates fishing lures and wooden sculptures of fish to capture the spirit of life in Arkansas’ rivers; “Big Jim” Wahler, a fishing guide for 23 years who delights in helping anglers snag lunkers from the cool waters of the White River; and Stan Speight, a Cossatot State Park supervisor who teaches children appreciation for one of Arkansas’ best canoeing spots.
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EARTHQUAKE: THE DANGER BELOW
Grades: 8-12
Length: 56:47 minutes
Scientists predict a large earthquake could occur along the New Madrid fault line, which runs through Northeast Arkansas.
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THE EDGE OF CONFLICT: ARKANSAS IN THE CIVIL WAR
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 3/30
This historical documentary travels Arkansas to recall events and people of the Civil War. Arkansas was one of the last Southern states to secede from the union and one of the first to be invaded. This documentary tells the story of the state combined with the recreated words of historians and people who lived and fought here during the war. Through this documentary, Arkansans are able to recover a neglected history and remember that even today, reminders of the war are still around us.
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THE FORGOTTEN EXPEDITION
Grades:
Length: 56:11 minutes
Most Americans have heard the story of Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the Louisiana Purchase from 1804-1806. What most people don’t realize is that Jefferson also commissioned a second expedition, with William Dunbar and George Hunter, to explore the southern areas of that new frontier. This film tells the story of that almost forgotten expedition. The project is sponsored in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage and Ouachita Baptist University.
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FOUR SEASONS OF ARKANSAS
Grades: 6-Adult
Programs/Length: 4/30
Arkansas’ changing seasons offer a variety of things to do. Programs feature those seasons and things to do. Programs include:
- Winter
- Spring – Hidden Valley Berry Farm north of Little Rock, Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, Old Washington State Park, Blanchard Springs Caverns, Crowley’s Ridge and Mulberry River
- Summer – Reeder Railroad, Lake Ouachita, Arkansas Art Center, Mammoth Spring, Mt. Bethal Winery and Lake Chicot
- Fall
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GERSTACKER’S ARKANSAS
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/20
This docu-drama captures the travels of one of Arkansas’ most interesting, early explorers, Friedrich Gerstacker, and reveals what Arkansas was like during territorial days.
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GOING TO TOWN: A GUIDED TOUR
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
This is a guided walk through Arkansas Post by Park Ranger Dorothy Cook. The objectives are to compare errands done in the past with those today and to learn the importance of the Arkansas River to the economy of Arkansas.
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IT STARTED HERE: EARLY ARKANSAS AND THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
Grades: 5-8
Length: 26:49 minutes
In the autumn of 1815, two federal land surveying teams met in a swamp between the mouths of the Arkansas and St. Francis Rivers and marked the initial point for the territory of Louisiana. The rest of the lands of the Louisiana Purchase, all the way to the Canadian Border, were surveyed and originated from that remote delta region of eastern Arkansas. Surveyors established a starting point in this headwater swamp for land surveys of the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and the Dakotas.
There are teaching materials available at www.lapurchase.org and approved by Department of Education with grade 5-8 emphasis.
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THE KEETOWAHS COME HOME
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/30
This program profiles the United Keetowah Band of Cherokee Indians’ efforts to return to their native land in Arkansas.
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LOOKING WEST: A CONVERSATION WITH DEE BROWN change from “A CONVERSATION WITH DEE BROWN”
Grades: 8-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Historian Dee Brown, author of “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” discusses how the West really was, from the railroads to the treatment of women.
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MEN AND WOMEN OF DISTINCTION SERIES
101) Sid McMath – 26:37
102) David Pryor, Part 1 – 26:37
103) David Pryor, Part 2 – 26:54
104) David Pryor, Part 3 – 26:23
105) Dale Bumpers, Part 1
106) Dale Bumpers, Part 2
107) Dale Bumpers, Part 3
MEN AND WOMEN OF DISTINCTION: DAVID PRYOR
This program profiles the life and career of Senator David Pryor from his birth in 1934 to 2000. The series includes 3 30-minute programs detailing his political career. Programs are:
- Take a focused look at Pryor’s early influences, his years in the Arkansas General Assembly and the antagonistic relationship he developed with Governor Orval Faubus. It also takes viewers through the years Pryor spent in Washington as a United States Congressman and his views on the Vietnam War.
- Follow Pryor from Congress to his Senate race against John McClellan in 1972 to his years as Arkansas’ 39th Governor.
- Journalist Ernie Dumas interviews Pryor about his 1978 Senate race against Ray Thornton and Jim Guy Tucker, and the 18 years he spent as a United States Senator. He discusses his relationships with Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton as well as his fights for a taxpayers bill of rights and reduction of prescription drug pricing.
MEN AND WOMEN OF DISTINCTION: SID McMATH
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/60
This program hosted by Senator David Pryor profiles the life and career of Arkansas’ 34th Governor Sid McMath. McMath’s years in the Governor’s office were times of change for Arkansas. Revisit the life and times of Sid McMath from his birth in 1912 to his last political race in 1962.
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ON THESE BANKS I STAND
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/40
Arkansas is blessed with over 9,000 miles of rivers and streams. On These Banks I Stand: Arkansas’ Rivers and Streams profiles our major rivers – the Arkansas, White, and Buffalo, and some of the streams that run wild, free, and beautiful throughout our state. This production showcases these Arkansas natural wonders in a seamless format set to a graceful and haunting soundtrack. It also features poetry readings by narrator Neal Moore that accentuate the mood.
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OUACHITA!
Grades: 6-Adult
Length: 57:46 minutes
Ouachita! highlights the Ouachita River. It takes the viewer on a trip down the river by exploring the sights and resources that make it important to the people of Arkansas. Viewers get the opportunity to go along with guides as they explain the significance of the Ouachita River.
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OUT OF THE WOODS
Grades: 10-Adult
Length: 26:53 minutes
Out of the Woods is a video documentary that visits the diverse mosaic of forests in Arkansas. Descriptions of the forests of Arkansas over 150 years ago reveal the influencing factors of Industrial forestry and the expanding population. Out of the Woods emphasizes the balancing of ecological and economic values of the forest for the prosperity and recreational enjoyment of future generations. The video explores the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests, industrial forests and private timberlands. Forest conservation efforts in the state focus on replenishing the resources. Towns and areas of the state highlighted are Crossett, Warren, Gurdon, Fayetteville, St. Paul, the Ozark and Ouachita mountain ranges, the Mississippi River Delta bottomlands, and the Illinois bayou near Dover.
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PAGES FROM ARKANSAS’ PAST
Grades: 6-Adult
The programs in this series feature a variety of people who have shaped Arkansas’ history. Programs include:
1. Bessie Moore 10:10 minutes
2. Lily Peter 8:41 minutes
3. Charlie May Simon 10:06 minutes
4. Willie Lawson 10:47 minutes
5. Isaac the Bartender 10:04 minutes
6. Isabel Brownlee 5:18 minutes
7. James McVicar 8:21 minutes
8. Luther, the slave of James McVicar 12:21 minutes
9. Hattie W. Caraway 25:38 minutes
10. The Charlotte Stephens Story 7:24 minutes
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PERSISTENCE OF THE SPIRIT
Grades: 8-12
Length: 27:03 minutes
This video-documentary takes a chronological approach to examine the people and events that contributed to the black experience in Arkansas.
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PRECIOUS MEMORIES: OUR VANISHING RURAL CHURCHES
Grades: 6-Adult
Length: 26:09 minutes
This 30-minute documentary funded by grants from the Horace C. Cabe Foundation, and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program focuses on Arkansas’ small country churches. It looks at the rural church as an American icon – one that stands as a symbol of hope to communities, and as a reminder of those who worshipped there.
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THE SOUND OF DREAMS
Grades: 6-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/60
A young couple, Richard and Laura Rosenberg, both classical musicians, came to Hot Springs, AR with a dream – envisioning a music festival to nurture young classical musicians by teaming them with professional mentors. Narrated by University of Arkansas music professor, Kabin Thomas, and featuring the music of long-forgotten composers known as the “Creole Romantics,” The Sound of Dreams captures the intense mentorship experience that occurs at these festivals culminating in an extraordinary series of concerts held in churches, hotels, and art galleries.
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A SPECIAL PLACE
Grades: 8-12
This documentary uses archival photographs and histories to look at Arkansas locations:
- “Hell on the Border: The Story of Ft. Smith” 24:56 minutes
- “The Little Rock Story” 28:20 minutes
- “A Bend in the River: Pine Bluff” 28:01 minutes
- “The Conway Story” 22:29 minutes
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: ARKANSAS’ BLACK GOLD
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1996, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
This overview of the 1920’s oil boom in south Arkansas features small oil towns like Smackover.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: BLUES IN THE DELTA
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1998, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
Join the celebration of the blues at the 1998 King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: DESTINATION ARKANSAS
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1993, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
Evaluate the impact of tourism and travel in Arkansas is examined in this program.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: STEAMBOAT’S A COMIN’
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: , Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
This Jack Hill production provides an historical overview of steamboats in Arkansas and their role in the state’s development. The emphasis is on the White River, especially the upper White, and includes tape shot at Jacksonport (Batesville), Alison, Calico Rock and Cotter. A chorus of voices breathes life into words from the past. Old photographs, interviews that include steamboat crew members and present day video of steamboats provide the images of a time when such boats were a common sight on the rivers of Arkansas.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: WAR IN THE DELTA
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1993, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
This program examines the Civil War as it was fought in the Delta region of Arkansas with a focus on the Battle of Helena.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: WAR IN THE SOUTH
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1994, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
This program examines the Union Army’s invasion of South Arkansas at the battles of Poison Spring, Marks Mill and Jenkins Ferry.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: WAR ON THE FRONTIER
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1998, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
This docu-drama explores the battle at Prairie Grove, Dec. 1862.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: WATER STEALS THE LAND – ARKANSAS’ GREAT FLOOD
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 2002, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
This special commemorates the 75th anniversary of the single greatest natural disaster in the history of the state.
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TELEVISION FOR ARKANSAS: THE WAY IT WAS
Grades: 6-12
Programs/Length: 1/30
Copyright: 1995, Jack Hill’s TeleVISION for Arkansas
An overview of Ozark folk culture is presented in this program.
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UNA VIDA MEJOR: A BETTER LIFE
Grades: 6-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/60
In the last few years, thousands of Hispanics have moved to rural Arkansas, all with the hope of finding jobs and creating better lives for their families. The Arkansas Educational Television Network puts a face on Hispanic immigration in Arkansas in a 60-minute documentary called Una Vida Mejor: A Better Life. Taped in the communities of Rogers, Springdale, De Queen and Wickes, Una Vida Mejor centers on the experiences of four Hispanic families; one of them well established and the other three just starting out in Arkansas. An AETN production crew spent almost a year filming in these cities, shooting more than 20 hours of interviews with families of immigrants, native Arkansans and city officials. Una Vida Mejor recounts the obstacles these Hispanic families have overcome and their hopes for the future of America.
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UNDERGROUND ARKANSAS
Grades: 8-Adult
Length: 27:03 minutes
Those who explore the natural wonders of the Arkansas Ozarks’ – miles of unspoiled forests, lakes, rivers and much more – might not realize how close they tread to another wilderness just beneath the surface. Below the rolling hills, lush valleys and clear-running streams of the Natural State is an often-dazzling underworld – the limestone caves of the Ozarks. Join AETN on the amazing expedition and discover the mystery and majesty of the beautiful unspoiled regions of underground Arkansas.
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WHO SHOT JOHN CLAYTON?
Grades: 6-12
Length: 24:13
This look at Arkansas politics during and after Reconstruction recounts the events leading to the assassination of John Clayton, brother of Reconstruction governor Powell Clayton.
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WOMEN’S EMERGENCY COMMITTEE TO OPEN OUR SCHOOLS
Grades: 8-Adult
Programs/Length: 1/30
Through the use of archival photos, news footage, headlines and interviews, this documentary tells the inspiriting story of the Women’s Emergency Committee and its founders.
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