An Unforgettable and Vivid Journey into America's Native Past & Present!
Lost Nation: The Ioway 1
In 1824, during the twilight of Native American dominion, two conflicted Ioway leaders met with William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) to sign a momentous treaty. White Cloud (Mahaska) saw cooperation as survival for his people, while Great Walker (Moanahonga) regretted the loss of their ancestral homeland. This pivotal moment led both men to different tragic destinies in their battle with epic change.
Ioway Elders join historians and archaeologists to tell 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.
Four time Emmy award winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films (Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, Letters Home to Hero Street) began shooting Lost Nation: The Ioway in July 2005 and completed the project in the summer of 2007. The project received grants from Humanities Iowa, the the Nebraska Humanities Council, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Oklahoma Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.
Lost Nation: The Ioway premiered at the State Historical Building in Des Moines October 2007 and has screened throughout the country.
It was an Official Selection at numerous film festivals, including the Landlocked Film Festival. It won BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Cherokee International Film Festival, the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, and the Iowa Independent Film Festival; Second Place (out of 40 documentaries) in the "Best Documentary" category at the Beloit Independent Film Festival; HONORABLE MENTION at the Archaeology Channel's International Film Festival; a Bronze Telly Award for "Excellence in a Television Documentary". It was released nationally on DVD in 2008 and has aired on PBS stations throughout the Midwest.
An educational Curriculum Guide to "Lost Nation: The Ioway" was developed and created by Middle School teachers Kathy Jensen and Alice Kurtz and was launched at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in October 2009. The Curriculum Guide integrates social studies, language arts and reading skills for students grades 4th-8th. The goals and objectives of the Curriculum Guide meet Iowa State Standards.
A high school and college Teacher's Study Guide created by Archaeologist Colin Betts of Luther College is also available with the film for classroom use.
Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3
Two films in the award-winning series bring the Ioway story full circle.
Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 - When the Ioway were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands to a reservation bordering Kansas and Nebraska, Ioway leader White Cloud (the Younger) believed the move would ensure survival for his people. But broken treaties, land loss, the end of communal living, and attempts to diminsh their unique language and culture led to the establishment of a second Ioway Tribe and their own "trail of tears."
Lost Nation: The Ioway 3 - As two separate Nations, the Ioway entered the 20th century amid American Indian policies aimed at Native American assimilation. From the Ghost Dance to the American Indian Movement, the Ioway experienced cultural disintegration and rebirth. Successful land claims in the 1970s propelled both tribes toward greater self-determination and a revival of time-honored Native traditions.
Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle (Country School: One Room - One Nation, The Barn Raisers), parts 2 & 3 of the Ioway documentary series were awarded grants from Humanities Iowa, the the Nebraska Humanities Council, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Oklahoma Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, and received funding support from the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and The Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.
Lost Nation: The Ioway 2&3 premiered at the Natural History Museum in Iowa City in 2013. It has won numerous film festivals, including the Archaeology Channel's International Film Festival. It was released nationally on DVD in 2008 and has aired on PBS stations throughout the Midwest.
To purchase the Lost Nation: The Ioway documentary series, CLICK HERE.