Lost Nation: The Ioway

"Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City" & "The Barn Raisers" Win Telly Awards

Quad Cities—Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films are pleased to announce that their historical documentary film The Barn Raisers, and the museum film they produced for South Dakota, Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, have won Bronze Telly® Awards in the 39th annual competition.

The Barn Raisers tells the story of Midwestern barns by examining them through the lens of architecture.  The film explores what building methods, barn styles, and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in the settling and building of the Nation.

Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City presents the fascinating and forgotten story of the Blood Run National Historic Landmark. 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 Good Earth site in Iowa and South Dakota was occupied between 1500 and 1725 by ancestors of the present-day Omaha, Ponca, Ioway and Otoe tribes. At its peak, the site was home to 6,000-10,000 residents--the largest city in what is now the United States.

“It is exciting to see how perfectly this year’s winners capture the innovation and energy of the rapidly changing video and television industry,” said Telly's managing director Sabrina Dridje.

"The Barn Raisers" and "Good Earth" were selected from among over 12,000 entries from all fifty states and five continents. Other 2018 Bronze Telly® Award winners include PBS (Ken Burns and Lynn Novick), CBS, NBC, HBO and numerous local PBS stations.

The Rundles have received Telly® Awards previously for Lost Nation: The Ioway and Country School: One Room - One Nation.

The Telly® Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens. Entrants are judged by The Telly® Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks.

Fourth Wall Films is an independent media production and distribution company based in Moline, Illinois.

“Lost Nation: The Ioway 2” will screen at Iowa Lakeside Lab June 26

Ioway Annie Assefa (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) and her sister Sarah James at the U.S. Indian School in Genoa, Nebraska where their mother was forced to attend when a young girl.

Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, producers of the award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, will showcase the second in their three-part documentary series Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.  The free event is sponsored by Friends of Lakeside Laboratory and is partially funded by Humanities Iowa.  John Doershuk, Director of the Office of the State Archaeologist - University of Iowa will introduce the program.  Q&A with the Emmy® nominated filmmakers will follow the one-hour documentary.

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.

Ioway Tribal elder Joyce BigSoldier-Miller (Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma) and her granddaughter.

“I believe all the tribes had their trail of tears, said Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma Tribal Elder Joyce Big Soldier-Miller.  “They all suffered--all those Indians who made those treks away from their former homelands.”

“It’s always good to look at the past and remember that it does affect the future,” said Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska tribal member and Reuben Ironhorse-Kent. “The ancestors did the best they could with what they had.”

Ioway Elders and tribal members join other Native scholars, historians, archaeologists and anthropologists 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.  The state of Iowa takes its name from the Ioway Tribe.

Iowa Lakeside Laboratory is located at 1838 Highway 86, Milford, Iowa.  Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 will screen free at 7:00 p.m.  The filmmakers will take part in Q&A following the documentary.  Lost Nation: The Ioway 3 will show at a later date. The films contain mature themes and historical images that may be disturbing to young children.

The award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 film series continues to screen throughout the U.S. and received numerous film festival awards.  The full-featured DVDs were released nationally and include an alternative soundtrack in the nearly extinct Ioway language.  For more information about the Lost Nation: The Ioway film series and to schedule screenings, visit www.IowayMovie.com.

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.

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.

Lakeside Lab is owned by the state of Iowa and operated through the Board of Regents. Its mission is to provide science classes and research opportunities for university students, and to offer Outreach Programs and provide services through the state universities. Lakeside's 147-acre campus is located on scenic West Okoboji Lake, on Little Miller's Bay. The bay and adjacent natural areas are used as outdoor classrooms for Lakeside's university courses and Outreach Programs. The campus is open year round, and visitors are welcome to visit during daylight hours.

Humanities Iowa is the only non-profit organization in Iowa committed to bringing the humanities to life and to the public through interactive programming, publications, and events.  The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities Iowa or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

To purchase Fourth Wall Films' award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD series, click HERE!

Good Earth State Park Visitors Center Film wins Seven Awards at International Film Festival

Actors Larry Yazzie and Delshay Webster Jr. re-enact flintknapping for a scene shot at Good Earth at Blood Run State Park in Sioux Falls, SD.

The Good Earth State Park at Blood Run Visitors Center film “Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City", produced by Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, won seven awards at the 2018 Archaeology Channel International Film Festival (TACFF) held in Eugene, Oregon May 3-6.

"Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City" presents the story of the Good Earth/Blood Run historical and cultural site as told by a fictional Native American grandfather to his grandchildren. The Good Earth city was an important Native-American trading center for pipestone, bison hides, and culture. It was home to 6,000-10,000 Omaha, Ponca, Ioway and Otoe people at its peak in 1650--the largest city in what is now the United States.

“Out of the 800 submissions, the festival accepted 176 films from 45 countries, and in the end selected just 30 films for the competition,” said Rick Pettigrew, executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, based in Eugene, Oregon. “This year’s crop of films is the best group we have ever assembled, and possibly the finest lineup of cultural heritage films ever put together anywhere.”

"Good Earth" -- a 20-minute documentary produced for Good Earth State Park at Blood Run in Sioux Falls -- was chosen "because it's a super film," Mr. Pettigrew said. "It had to be in order to compete with the huge array of competing films. We've had films from Fourth Wall before; they're a quality shop. It's quite an honor for them to come out in the top 30 films."

Omaha actor George McCauley records narration for "Good Earth" while Kelly Rundle directs.

“Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City” received seven awards during the film festival’s gala awards ceremony: Best Narration (by Omaha Tribe of Nebraska member George McCauly); Honorable Mention by Jury in Best Film Competition; Honorable Mention (1^st runner-up) by Jury for Inspiration; Honorable Mention (1^st runner-up) by Jury for Script; Honorable Mention (1^st runner-up) by Jury for Public Education Value; Honorable Mention by Jury for Animation & Effects; Honorable Mention by Jury for Music.

Ioway Lance Foster, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer during his interview for "Good Earth".

The film project received consulation from tribal representatives of the Ioway tribes (Lance Foster, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska THPO/artist/writer; Eagle McClellan, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma THPO), Omaha (Thomas Parker, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska THPO, and Marisa Miakonda Cummings), Ponca (Shannon Wright and Randy Teboe, Ponca Tribe of Nebraska THPO) and Otoe (Elsie Whitehorn, Otoe-Missouria Tribe THPO), and archaeologist, Des Moines-based Dale Henning, who says the area is the most important and interesting site he's ever worked on.

Ioway artist Reuben Ironhorse-Kent shapes pipestone during a scene in "Good Earth".

Reuben Ironhorse-Kent, a tribal member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, portrayed an Ioway artist in the film, and created pottery in the Oneota style for the project.  He also consulted actors on pottery-making and contributed music and did an on-camera interview for the film.  

Ioway elder Pete Fee portrays an Ioway trader and actor Zack Morris is an Arikara trader in "Good Earth".

Ioway tribal elder Pete Fee, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, portrayed an Ioway trader in the film, and provided an on-camera interview.

Native American actors, and other actors, from Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota and South Dakota were cast in the film.

Director/Writer Kelly Rundle and Producer/Writer Tammy Rundle are the producers of "Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City" and the "Lost Nation: The Ioway" series.

Fourth Wall Films was chosen by the state to produce the film for a state-of-the-art theater in South Dakota's newest state park. Filming for the documentary took place on Good Earth/Blood Run sites in Sioux Falls and Lyon County, Iowa; and other sites in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. "Good Earth" premiered at the Visitors Center in May 2017 during the park’s grand opening.

The award-winning team of "Good Earth" includes: Kevin Railsback (Filmmaking Naturally) was the nature director of photography; Chris Ryder, re-enactment director of photography/visual effects; Melinda Carriker, period wardrobe/props and set designer, and Irma White assisted with period wardrobe; Kimberly Kurtenbach was the casting director and served as assistant director; Lora Adams served as contemporary wardrobe supervisor and assistant director; Jon Van Allen was the film's gaffer; Angelique Verver was the South Dakota hair and make-up artist and Sara Wegener was the Iowa/Illinois hair/make-up artist; Michael Kopriva was production assistant and sound; Delshay Webster, Jr. was production assistant intern. Computer animation was created by the award-winning team at Grasshorse Studios under the direction of Kathy Buxton and Steve Jennings.

The Archaeology Channel is a streaming media website brought to you by Archaeological Legacy Institute. ALI is a nonprofit organization devoted to nurturing and bringing attention to the human cultural heritage, by using media in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

TACFF attracts filmmakers and archaeologists from around the globe to participate in one of only two juried competitions in this hemisphere, and one of the leading events of its kind in the world.

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!

Archaeology Channel International Film Festival features Ioway "Good Earth" Story May 3

Fourth Wall Films' "Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City" opens the Archaeology Channel International Film Festival on Thursday, May 3 at 7pm at the Shedd Recital Hall in Eugene, Oregon. The film was one of 800 submissions made to the festival worldwide.

""Good Earth" was chosen because it's a super film," TAC Film Festival Director Rick Pettigrew said. "It had to be in order to compete with the huge array of competing films. We've had films from Fourth Wall Films before; they're a quality shop. It's quite an honor for them to come out in the top 30 films."

"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.

The documentary screens daily at the Good Earth State Park Visitors Center.  Representatives from the Ioway, Omaha, Ponca and Oto Nationas provided consultation and on-camera interviews for the film, including Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska's Tribal Historic Preservation Officer/Artist and writer Lance Foster, Ioway tribal elder Pete Fee, and Ioway artist Reuben Ironhorse-Kent.

Reuben Ironhorse-Kent also created Oneota-style pottery for the film and Visitors Center, and appeared in the historical re-enactments as an Ioway artist. Pete Fee also appeared in the film as an Ioway trader.

The award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway 1 and 2 were also official selections in prior TAC International Film Festival. 

Fourth Wall Films' Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 is an award-winning documentary series. To order the DVDs visit: http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm

Iowa Tribe regains part of its reservation in Nebraska in deal with Nature Conservancy

Ioways Alan Kelley (Vice Chairman Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) and Lance Foster (Tribal Historic Preservation Officer).
Photo copyright Omaha World Herald.

By David Hendee / World-Herald staff writer
Apr 5, 2018
Omaha World Herald

The river bluffs, hardwood forest and tallgrass prairie along the west bank of the Missouri River were once the edge of the world to the Iowa people.

Now these natural features are the center of the universe to a little-known American Indian tribe whose tiny reservation spills out of Kansas into the far southeastern tip of Nebraska.

The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska recently transferred 160 acres of Richardson County bluff land cloaked in hardwoods and patches of tall prairie grasses to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. The tribe has been working toward ownership of its reservation lands and the newly acquired parcel falls within the reservation boundary, said Alan Kelley of Rulo, tribal vice chairman.

“This return of a part of our reservation, in a natural condition much as our ancestors would recognize it and which we will continue to restore, is helping us to heal the land and as a tribe,” Kelley said. “This tract of land with medicinal plants and animals put here by the Creator is very special for us. Little remains of that original world now.”

The newly acquired land — the equivalent of a quarter square mile — is a piece of the last remnant of historic tribal land of the Iowa.

Read MORE!

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Purchase Fourth Wall Films' award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD series HERE!

10th Anniversary of Award-winning "Lost Nation: The Ioway"

 

It has been ten years since the DVD release of Fourth Wall Films documentary Lost Nation: The Ioway.  The film premiered in the fall of 2007 and received excellent reviews and film festival awards in the months that followed.

As part of the 10th Anniversary, Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD is available for a limited time at a special SALE price of just $15.00 and shipping is FREE. View the video above and then click here to order: http://fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

Thank you for celebrating with us!

Here are just a few of the accolades the film received:

 "The Rundles expertly capture the oral history, the people you won’t soon forget and their past that must not be forgotten." by Movie Reviewer Linda Cook 
Quad City Times

"Lost Nation: The Ioway provides a powerful and moving case study of the relationship between the early arriving Europeans and the native people. The documentary and its supporting materials can be used to explore the general themes and issues of this relationship, as well as to examine the methods of social science research...This DVD provides a potent look at the past for students of social studies and American history and has the potential to enrich a unit of study in which students conduct interviews, engage in memoir writing, or develop oral story-telling skills for language arts."  Multimedia & Internet @ Schools featured review of the Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD

"...you likely already know that it's something special - a fantastically informative, beautifully constructed, and (not for nothing) thoroughly enjoyable piece of work...Yet while the film is pretty great, its DVD is absolutely outstanding. Lost Nation: The Ioway has been made with intelligence and skill, and as Kelly Rundle says on one of the movie's two commentary tracks, viewers appear responsive to it "not because it's a Native American story, but because it's a human story." Fittingly, the bonus features have been assembled with as much thought, care, and filmmaking savvy - and joy - as Lost Nation itself. (There's even something akin to a gag reel.) The extras here do exactly what DVD extras ideally should: They entertain, but they also expand your appreciation of the movie by offering so much more to appreciate."  Mike Schulz, Film Critic, River Cities Reader 

Marisa Miakonda Cummings Presents "Traditions" Feb. 7 at Iowa Tribe of KS/NE

A very special presentation on TRADITIONS by Marisa Miakonda Cummings of the Omaha Tribe will take place at the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska Tribal Complex, Ogden Building, 3345 B. Thrasher Rd., White Cloud, Kansas on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. 

Marisa will share insights into the connections of the Omaha and Ioway people, women in traditional culture, and the struggle to protect the health of the Missouri River and life-giving water.  Refreshments will be served.  Don't miss this special evening!

For more information contact Lance Foster, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, at lfoster@iowas.org or call 785-595-3258.

If you need a copy of the award-winning LOST NATION: THE IOWAY DVD series, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

Fourth Wall Films - Making 'Movies That Matter'

Filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of the award-winning Fourth Wall Films celebrated their tenth year in the Midwest producing historic Midwestern documentary film stories.

"Fundraising is the single most challenging part of independent filmmaking," said producer Tammy Rundle.  "And while Fourth Wall Films has received more than a dozen Humanities Media Grant Awards from seven Midwestern states for various documentary projects, we must raise matching funds for each grant awarded to our film projects."

"Each year we reach out to supporters and fans of our film work for contributions to help us continue making Movies that Matter," said director Kelly Rundle.

You can help Fourth Wall Films continue to make "Movies That Matter" through a new GoFundMefundraising campaign.  Supporters can contribute any amount at GoFundMe.com/fourthwallfilms.

Money raised will be used as matching funds for recent grants awarded to two Fourth Wall Films projects ("Riding the Rails to Hero Street" and "Sons & Daughters of Thunder") and will be used for editing, licensing and production fees.

The campaign is live December 2017 (for year-end-contributions) through the end of 2018.

Fourth Wall Films' Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 is an award-winning documentary series. To order the DVDs visit: http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm

#ShopSmall And Order "Ioway" For Your Holiday Gift Giving

The Lost Nation: The Ioway DVD series is getting around! It is available locally at Makers Studio, 661 15th Avenue in East Moline, Illinois and also can be purchased on Amazon.com! 

Makers Studio will host a hot chocolate bar on Saturday for you to enjoy while shopping! Step in from the cold and load up on special holiday gifts, including our DVDs, at this marvelous shop!

Saturday, November 25th is Shop Small day. When you are considering your holiday shopping, remember us at FourthWallFilms.com/dvds.htm for your DVD gift-giving!  #ShopSmall

New Native American film holds lessons for today

Native Americans traditionally view the earth and its creatures as sacred, and the new film is appropriately reverential and a sacred gift in itself -- building on the educational ground the Rundles plowed in their "Lost Nation: The Ioway" films."

Movie review by Jonathan Turner
Entertainment Editor - Moline Dispatch

Our national leaders might learn some valuable lessons from the new documentary "Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City" from Moline-based Fourth Wall Films, which explores the importance and influence of Native American tribes four centuries ago.

The gentle, insightful 20-minute film premiered May 19 as a permanent fixture at the new Good Earth at Blood Run State Park Visitor Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.

"Good Earth" will have its big-screen premiere during National Native American Heritage Month at the Putnam Museum’s National Geographic Giant Screen Theater, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. Tickets are $8.50, and they're available at putnam.org.

The family-friendly program will include the movie; a "making-of" feature; and a question-and-answer session with Native American tribal dignitaries, including Lance Foster, Ioway tribal Historic Preservation Officer/artist/scholar from the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and Omaha tribal elder Calvin Harlan of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. Members of the cast and crew also will take part in the panel discussion.

The Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle successfully competed with 32 other production companies nationwide in March 2016 to produce the documentary for a state-of-the-art 40-seat theater in South Dakota’s newest state park.

The Rundles engaged the services of Quad-Cities and Iowa residents to complete the project, which was filmed at Good Earth/Blood Run sites in Sioux Falls and Lyon County, Iowa, plus Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa; Port Byron; and other sites in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

"Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City" presents the story of the historical and cultural site as told by a fictional Native American grandfather to his grandchildren. The documentary lovingly combines present-day views of the park's scenic vistas and wildlife with dramatic historical re-enactments portraying daily life in the year 1650, in what was then one of the land's largest cities.

The film features commentary from tribal elders and representatives, and an archaeologist, Des Moines-based Dale Henning, who says the area is the most important and interesting site he's ever worked on.

As in their 11 other documentaries, the Rundles treat their subjects with quiet simplicity and respect, reveling in the glories of nature, wildlife and the intimately human characters.

Read the rest of Jonathan Turner's Review HERE!