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Learn about the indigenous people of the New York State area. The Haudenosaunee, also known as the Six Nations, have lived in the Finger Lakes Region and across New York State. Explore how their example of governance, women’s rights, culture, and agricultural lifestyle impacted the US culture and the formation of US government.
Native Government & Early Democracy from Native America Series (Including the Haudenosaunee)
WXXI News Coverage of Haudenosaunee History, Culture and Current Day Updates
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Molly, Trini, and Vera are excited to plant the community garden with Auntie Midge’s Wampanoag friend, Gertie, but the girls keep quarreling and can’t get anything done! They learn about the Three Sisters story from the Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse about working together to find success. /After discovering that Grandpa Nat doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Molly, Tooey, and Trini learn about the history of the holiday. Motivated to help, the kids work to create a feast that honors the people who came before them.
Online Resources from Ganondagan State Historic Site: https://www.ganondagan.org/resources including stories, cultural information, virtual field trips, and videos.
Ganondagan State Historic Site located in Victor, NY is a National Historic Landmark, the only New York State Historic Site dedicated to a Native American theme (1987), and the only Seneca town developed and interpreted in the United States. Spanning almost 600 acres, Ganondagan (ga·NON·da·gan) is the original site of a 17th century Seneca town, that existed there peacefully more than 350 years ago. The culture, art, agriculture, and government of the Seneca people influenced our modern understanding of equality, democratic government, women’s rights, ecology and natural foods.
Ganondagan’s full-size, Seneca Bark Longhouse (1998) is fully furnished to reflect a typical Seneca family from the late 1600’s, complete with reproductions of 17th century Seneca objects and colonial-era trade goods.
The Seneca Art & Culture Center (2015) at Ganondagan State Historic Site is a 17,300-square-foot center that tells the story of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) contributions to art, culture, and society. Designed to fit into the natural landscape, the center features an interactive, multi-media Exhibit Gallery, including a changing exhibit space, Orientation Theater (featuring the Iroquois Creation Story film), auditorium, and gift shop.
The grounds surrounding the center include two signed interpretive trails that educate visitors about the significance of plant life, Haudenosaunee culture and history. A third trail just a mile away from the center, interprets the history and the importance of Fort Hill, a large palisaded granary.
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How are colleges and universities in our region responding to growing concerns about student mental health? Watch the live panel discussion here.
“Connections with Evan Dawson” went on the road to The Little Theatre for a live broadcast about student mental health on Thursday, October 22. The issue is a growing concern, leading higher education institutions to establish new programs, services, and — in some cases — new grading and evaluation criteria to address students’ needs. WXXI has gathered data from more than 20 colleges and universities in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region related to how they are supporting students. Our panelists discussed what works, where they see gaps in the system, and we hear one student’s story.
WXXI’s Family Movie Friday in October will highlight spooky Halloween specials from PBS KIDS!
This Halloween season, PBS KIDS is offering families a festive lineup, including special Halloween episodes from your favorite PBS KIDS series – Super Why’s Comic Book Adventure, Rosie’s Rules, Odd Squad, Wild Kratts, Arthur, and more. Find PBS KIDS Halloween specials here. FMF will showcase a double feature for October (two special episodes from the Halloween catalog): “Things that go OO in the Night! / Tricks and Treats! / Costume Catastrophe!” from Super Why’s Comic Book Adventure, and “A Fuzzytown Halloween” from Carl the Collector.
Things that go OO in the Night! / Tricks and Treats! / Costume Catastrophe!: A ghost needs help to find her ‘oo’ sound! The Eraser gets greedy while trick or treating and takes Wonder Red’s Wonder Basket! Princess Presto’s Halloween costume spell goes magically wrong!
A Fuzzytown Halloween: Carl and his pals are excited to trick-or-treat, until Forrest shares a spooky rumor – Mr. Price is a wizard who turns kids into chicken noodle soup! Sheldon is determined to find the truth and end the rumor once and for all.
Family Movie Fridays are a series of free family movie nights hosted at WXXI Studios. Families can join our WXXI Education team to watch a PBS KIDS movie or group of themed-episodes, play, and connect with other local families. All Family Movie Fridays are free, but registration is required.
Who: Family Movie Fridays are open to all kids and their families. All kids must be accompanied by an adult (over the age of 18). All adults must stay with their children throughout the entire event. Events are most appropriate for kids ages 2-8 years old.
When: Friday, October 23, 2026. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., movie starts at 6 p.m. Movie running time is about 1 hour; includes either one 1-hour movie or two 30-minute special episodes. Families are welcome to stay for part or all of the movie night experience.
Where: WXXI Studios – 280 State Street, Rochester, NY, Parking is available next door at High Falls Parking Garage
**Costumes welcome! Extra special for October, we’d love to see you and your kids dressed in their Halloween costumes. Please feel free to be as festive as you’d like!**
Follow the extraordinary journey of jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera from child prodigy to multiple Grammy winner.
VOCES — Paquito D’Rivera: From Carne y Frijol to Carnegie Hall airs Thursday, October 15 at 10:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI and PBS apps.
Through music and memories, celebrate the life and legacy of jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera. Trace his journey from child prodigy in Cuba to a stellar career as a multi-GRAMMY Award-winning musician, composer, and beloved Latin jazz ambassador.
American Masters “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez” aired Tuesday, October 6 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI and PBS apps. It Repeats Saturday, October 10 at 3pm on WXXI-TV and livestream, The Program is available on-demand through 11/4/26. Watch the local video of the WXXI panel below for thoughts on the film.
A founding figure of the Chicano Movement, filmmaker and playwright Luis Valdez is best known for his play Zoot Suit, the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba and the theatre company El Teatro Campesino.
The son of migrant farmworkers who became a revolutionary artist, Luis Valdez changed American culture. In the 1960s, his El Teatro Campesino performed on flatbed trucks and helped mobilize farmworkers to win their first union contract. In 1979, his “Zoot Suit” was the first Chicano play ever performed on Broadway. His feature film, “La Bamba” was a breakout blockbuster in 1987 that authentically depicted Mexican American life and shared it with the world. Founded in 1965, Valdez’s El Teatro continues to be a beacon for Latino/a creators. American Pachuco is the story of a pioneering artist who gave voice to the overlooked and opened pathways for generations.
WXXI hosted a screening of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,a film that follows the legacy of the filmmaker and playwright. After the screening. Julio Sáenz, WXXI Chief Content Officer, moderated a panel discussion with Annette Ramos, Latinx Community Leader, Social Justice Advocate, Arts Curator & Executive Director Rochester Latino Theatre Company; Ricardo Figueroa, Director, School of Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology & John Traver Endowed Professor; and Jason Barber, Co-Founder and Curator of ¡Presente! Film Series, Educator /Community Engagement Expert/Artist. This is their conversation.
Join WXXI for a FREE screening of TOWN CRIER. The film explores artist Mark Thomas Gibson’s response to the daily onslaught of news through his TOWN CRIER series, sounding the alarm on our fraying democracy and using art as an urgent call to citizen action. The short film will be followed by a discussion with artist and subject Mark Thomas Gibson, film director Grace Lee, writer and producer of the “Plants and Beats” podcast Rob Bell, and photographer, writer, and co-curator for Behind the Glass Gallery Quajay Donnell. Leah Stacy, editor-in chief of CITY Magazine, will moderate.
Join us for a community conversation about how ordinary citizens including artists wrestle with current events and the notion of a town crier in our times. Who is your Town Crier? What are you crying about?
Details:
Tuesday, October 27
The Little Theatre, Theatre 1
FREE admission
Doors open at 6:30pm/Program begins at 7pm
This film is presented with open captions. ASL interpretation will be provided for introductions and panel discussion. Additional information on accessibility at The Little Theatre can be found on their website. For other access needs, please contact Sarah Murphy Abbamonte directly at movetoinclude@wxxi.org.
This event is free, but reservations are required.
More about the film:
As America hurtles towards the 250th anniversary of its founding, TOWN CRIER is a short documentary film that examines the role of the artist in our complicated times. How do artists sound the alarm when the world is on fire? When society is in crisis and leaders fail to deliver, can artists hold us to account for our actions? Or for our inaction? American history painter Mark Thomas Gibson began his “Town Crier” series in 2021 in response to the cultural and political storm following Covid and the murder of George Floyd. These single-panel images were in a graphic, pen-and-ink comic book style and featured a Black man in colonial-era garb announcing the headlines of the day.
Since 2024, Gibson’s series and messages have taken on an urgency and greater frequency with regular Instagram posts using the handle @darthgibson. He has also incorporated several town criers into the “Banners” series recently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. More info at www.towncrierfilm.com
About the production team:
Grace Lee, Director/Producer, is an award-winning filmmaker working at the intersection of storytelling, activism, and community. Her work spans film, television, podcasts, and digital platforms, including the Peabody winning American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs and Asian Americans documentary series, And She Could Be Next, The Grace Lee Project and the podcast Viewers Like Us. She is co-founder of A-Doc, a national network supporting Asian Americans in the documentary field and brings a long track record of creating work that moves across mediums and mobilizes audiences. Her most recent film Forever We Are Young, about the passionate fandom for K-pop superstars BTS was released theatrically in cinemas worldwide in 2025. More info www.gracelee.net
Alicia Sams, Producer, has over 30 years of experience producing independent film and media, from feature films, documentary series and television. Credits include: Art Spiegelman: Disaster is my Muse; Long Strange Trip; Deceptive Practice:The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay; SOLITARY; Amreeka; By The People: The Election of Barack Obama (director/producer) and the 13-part series Arab American Stories which she created and was presented nationally by Detroit Public Television. She was also Director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics’ Pritzker Fellows Program from 2015-2023, where she brought leading political and public service practitioners to campus and developed seminar series with them to help students identify practical pathways into public service.
Conall Jones is an Oscar-winning producer whose work spans feature documentaries, short films, series, and investigative video journalism. He produced the 2026 Oscar-winning short All the Empty Rooms and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2023 for producing Stranger at the Gate, executive produced by Nobel-laureate Malala Yousafzai. Other credits include Fahrenheit 11/9 (directed by Michael Moore), Super Size Me 2 (directed by Morgan Spurlock) and most recently, he produced All the Empty Rooms, a short documentary about gun violence which premiered at Telluride and Toronto and will be released on Netflix in December. His work has appeared on platforms including Vice, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NBC, A&E, and The New Yorker.
Hosted by three-time Grammy Award winner Debby Boone, this is a dazzling musical comedy salute to the history-making women of 1960s and ’70s TV Variety.
Showstoppers! Great Women of TV Variety airs Saturday, October 17 at 3 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI and PBS apps.
The program features classic performances from Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, Diahann Carroll, Cher, Mitzi Gaynor, Toni Tennille, Ella Fitzgerald, Ann-Margret, Vikki Carr, Leslie Uggams, and many more. Collectively these trailblazing icons reinvented a TV genre, both in front of and behind the camera, with razzle-dazzle showmanship and a dynamic creative vision that entertained tens of millions.
Repeats Sunday, October 18 at 2:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV.