The Great Transamerican Trek

A unique 150-day trek by horseback across the remaining pristine lands of America, The Great Transamerican Trek is an unprecedented journey reversing the path of Manifest Destiny and shedding light on the contemporary and historic stories of the Native American communities we meet.



Starting with tribal elders and communities along the Pacific coast “The Great Transamerican Trek” is a 6 part one-hour series on PBS that aims to tell the story of the Native American tribes we encounter as we traverse their diverse landscapes. Our journey will end with a symbolic pow-wow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.



Debbie “White Dove” Porreco (direct descendant of Pocahontas and actual physical face of the animated Disney character), whose father was the chief of the Powhatan tribe in Virginia, narrates this epic journey and introduces television viewers to the various tribes we visit along the trail.
Her name symbolizes peace, for what this journey hopes to foster, along with the support of a small group of expert women horseback riders from Europe, who will act as the travelling audience.  Led by Nevin Kismet Erenyol, their purpose is to listen and learn to help tell the unique stories of each tribe’s significance along the way.  
Nevin met a tribal elder on an earlier journey who offered her the name “Rainbow Pony”, sparking this new and wonderful journey.



The film will honor an important and under-reported aspect of our history: the original peoples of the North American continent, their culture, values and histories, the tragic fate that befell them at the hands of the U.S. government, and the resilience that has enabled them to survive to this day.



Together, this intrepid team of equestrian riders has been influenced by Native American culture and will take this historic trek to visit selected tribes of importance from coast to coast. Ultimately, they will serve as the “traveling audience” to listen to these important stories that help make up the fabric of America, and be immersed with hands-on experiences with the inside-access Debbie provides to the Native world.