"These songs are very powerful. They are the songs that are going to unite our people again. It's going to be a spiritual awakening of the Native American people, especially other Paiute people. It has to happen. It has been prophesized. How do you stop prophecy? You can't stop prophecy." Vivienne Caron Jake (Kaibab Paiute)

The Salt Songs are the sacred songs of the fourteen Bands of the Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) people who live in California, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The Salt Songs describe ancient landscapes—sacred sites, ancient villages, hunting grounds, burial grounds, and gathering places—of the People since Ocean Woman and Coyote set the world into motion at the beginning of time. The Songs, a chorus of steady voices accompanied by a gourd rattle, are most often sung at funerals and memorials to assist the deceased on their journey to the next world. The Salt Songs are a cultural and spiritual bond between the Nuwuvi and the land, and represent both renewal and healing.

The two videos featured in this DVD chronicle the gatherings and sings at the Stewart Indian Boarding School in Carson City, Nevada in October 2006 and at the Old Woman Mountains in California's Mojave Desert in April 2007.

These films were edited by two young Native filmmakers, Cara McCoy (Chemehuevi) and Bridget Sandate (Chemehuevi). Most of the footage was shot by the filmmakers and by other emerging Native filmmakers. These films are the work of a new generation of Native filmmakers and reflect their communities, histories and legacies -- from a living documentary to a collective song.

Running time: 25 minutes