American Experience: Grand Coulee Dam

Men and women who lived and worked at the Grand Coulee Dam in the depths of the Great Depression recount their experiences as part of a project that helped pull America out of a dark financial and emotional time. Though the mile-long structure would become the largest hydroelectric power-producing facility of its time, there was no shortness of negative consequences, particularly those felt by the Native American population forced to watch their food source dwindle, and their sacred spaces destroyed. As a counterpoint to those responsible for making the project great, Native peoples offer unique insight into the environmental impact that can accompany technological achievement.