By Gilbert Salas, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Activist Angel Santos, left, leads a protest against the
U.S. military presence on Guam in a demonstration captured
in "Storytellers of the Pacific."

These and other stories are getting their due in the limited series "Storytellers of the Pacific," airing at 9 tonight and Dec. 26 on Hawaii Public Television.

The project began several years ago during a discussion about organizing native film documentarians into an international television series. Eventually, the coalition included the local organization Pacific Islanders in Communications, Native American Public TV, TV New Zealand, TV Ontario and ABC Australia. Pacific Islander segments were directed by Heather Giugni, Lurline Wailana McGregor and Maria Yatar.

"There was interest from the outset from PBS," said McGregor. "Even when we were thinking about four one-hour shows instead of two one-hours. But there are a lot of varied cultures in the Pacific. There was some uneasiness about making it too complicated for the average viewer."

The shows deal with identity, self-determination, land-rights issues and spirituality - buttons that virtually everyone feels compelled to press, whatever their background.

"The one objection PBS had was that there are no white faces on the show," said McGregor. "They were concerned about 'balance.' There was not a lot of awareness on their part how few white people are available in some of these cultures. And the show is about native cultures from the inside, not a show about white people checking out native culture."

After all, few Polynesians provide balance in "Masterpiece Theatre."

The shows feature two stories from Hawaii, and neither is "Jurassic Park." One examines Hawaiian-language immersion schools; the other is about Kahoolawe. There are also stories dealing with American Samoa and Guam.

The "Storytellers" films were big winners at the Dreamspeakers Aboriginal Film Festival in Canada, winning Best of Festival, Outstanding Series, Best Global Indigenous Production and Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes. The film also won the People's Choice Award at the Northern Lights Film Festival in Alaska.