MUMBAI: In order to add variety to its lineup, Star Movies has over the years aired mini series like Lost and Taken.

Now it will air the epic miniseries Into the West every Thursday at 9 pm from 4 January.

It looks at the opening up of the American West in the 19th century. It tells stories from that period from the perspective of two families, one of white settlers from Europe and one of Native Americans who must deal with the new inhabitants.

The two families tell the dramatic stories of the development of the West from their distinct points of view. One family is the Wheeler clan, a Virginia family of wheelwrights making their trek westward. The other family is a plains Native American family hailing from the Lakota tribe.

For too long Hollywood has depicted Indians as savages, enemies and losers. Now through this miniseries a generation of Native American filmmakers and actors are trying to overturn stereotypes and tell its own truth. This series showcases the glaring differences in perspective as seen through not only the eyes and teachings of the dominant culture, but also as it was and is seen from the American Indian perspective.

There will be a recreation of key events like Battle of Little Bighorn, Buffalo hunts, the expansion of the American railroad, Wounded Knee. There will be quite a few subtitles on the show one of the few times where a show on an English entertainment channel has subtitles. The series was shot in Calgary and New Mexico.

The show has a large cast, with about 250 speaking parts. The series features actors like Wes Studi, Irene Bedard, Russell Means, Graham Greene, Raoul Trujillo, Gordon Tootoosis, Michael Spears, Lance Henriksen, Simon Baker, Gil Birmingham and Sheila Tousey.