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 (the Iowa Tribe of Kansas & Nebraska, and the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma) toward greater self-determination and a revival of time-honored Native traditions.

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.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Kelly Rundle, along with wife Tammy, has produced, directed, written, and edited documentary films for over 25 years. As Fourth Wall Films, the Rundles are the recipients of four Mid-America Emmy® nominations, more than two dozen film festival awards, and grant awards from eight state humanities councils. Their films include Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City, Lost Nation: The Ioway (series), Villisca: Living with a Mystery, and Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Rundles recently released Sons & Daughters of Thunder, their first docudrama, and they are in post-production on The Amish Incident: Wisconsin vs Yoder.

AWARDS and SCREENINGS:

Effigy Mounds National Monument Winter Stories Festival, Landlocked Film Festival.