In 1997, NBC 10 aired an hour-long documentary, "Our Neighbors the Narragansetts."
Produced by Robert Rose and narrated by actor Graham Greene, it traced the history of the Narragansett Indian Tribe from first contact with Europeans in 1524 to the headlines of the time.
It's a history that includes brutal violence and political slights, with the restoration of some tribal land, but a rejection by voters to host gaming on it.
Through it all, pride and a refusal to erase culture and identity.
"Never forget who you are," said Ella Sekatau, a tribal ethnohistorian. "Never forget you have your own language, your own religion, and your own way of acceptance."
The special aired six years before the violent smoke shop raid, when Rhode Island State Police shut down a store selling tax-free cigarettes on tribal land.
The government called the shop illegal. The tribe called the raid a modern-day attack.
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