Augustana College's Native American Studies hosted a free public program on the subject of Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Revitalization. Dr. Jane Simonsen invited Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films to present selections from their award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway documentary series, and Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, and to share their experiences while working with the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Augustana students, members of the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities, and the general public attended the lecture and documentary preview. An extended Q&A followed the presentation.
Dr. Jacki Thompson Rand, associate professor of history and the coordinator of Native American and indigenous studies at the University of Iowa, gave a public presentation at Augustana in March entitled "After Indian Removal: A Persistent Indigenous Presence in the American Midwest."
"We have made over a dozen documentary films over the last two decades," said Tammy Rundle. "Our work with the Ioway people on the Ioway film series was a life-changing experience for both of us, and one that will always remain significant and exceptional."
Lost Nation: The Ioway Part 1 ~ Lost Nation: The Ioway tells the dramatic and true story of the small tribe that once claimed the territory between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from Pipestone, Minnesota to St. Louis. What was a quest for survival in the past, has become a struggle to retain a unique Native American culture and language in the present.
Part 2 & 3 ~ When the Ioway were forcibly removed from their ancestral homeland of Iowa in 1837 to a reservation on the border of Nebraska and Northeast Kansas, Ioway leader White Cloud (The Younger) believed his people must relocate to survive. But intermarriage, broken treaties and the end of communal living led to a split in 1878 and the establishment of a second Ioway tribe in Oklahoma. Both tribes endured hardship and challenges to their traditions and culture to achieve successful land claims and self-determination in the1970s. Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3 brings the dramatic Ioway story full circle.
Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 were partially funded by grants from Humanities Iowa, and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, as well as humanities councils in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City presents the fascinating and forgotten story of the Blood Run National Historic Landmark as told by a Native American grandfather to his grandchildren. Produced in 4K, the documentary combines vivid present-day views of the park's scenic vistas and wildlife with dramatic historical reenactments portraying daily life in the year 1650. The film was produced for South Dakota's newest State Park, Good Earth at Blood Run near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Good Earth site in Iowa and South Dakota was occupied between 1500 and 1725 by ancestors of the present-day Ioway, Omaha, Ponca and Oto tribes, making it one of the oldest long-term habitation sites in the United States. At its peak around 1650, the site was home to 6,000-10,000 residents--more than Boston (2,000) and New York (New Amsterdam-1,000) in that same year.
Fourth Wall Films is an Emmy® nominated and award-winning independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois. Fourth Wall Films focuses on telling Midwestern stories through historical documentary films that reach viewers via PBS broadcasts, theaters, film festivals, national DVD release and online streaming.
To purchase Fourth Wall Films' award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD series, click HERE!
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