Award-Winning Documentary, ‘Lost Nation,’ Screening At Davenport’s Putnam Museum
The award-winning documentary Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 from Moline-based Fourth Wall Films will be shown on the Putnam Museum and Science Center’s Giant Screen on Saturday, Sept. 26th at 2 p.m., with a Q&A with Emmy-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle following the one-hour documentary.
The special film screening is part of the Putnam’s programming introducing the new “Legacy of Land: Treaties and the Shaping of America,” a powerful educational exhibition presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution.
Lost Nation: The Ioway Part 2 is a compelling documentary exploring a pivotal chapter in Ioway history, according to a Fourth Wall release. The film follows the experiences of the Ioway people after their forced removal from their ancestral homelands to a reservation in Kansas. As broken treaties, land loss, and efforts to erase Native language and culture challenged the tribe’s future, the Ioway demonstrated remarkable resilience, ultimately leading to the establishment of a second Ioway Tribe and their own “Trail of Tears.” Through compelling storytelling and historical insight, the film sheds light on a history that continues to shape Indigenous communities today.
“I believe all the tribes had their trail of tears,” Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma Tribal Elder Joyce Big Soldier-Miller said in the release. “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 in the film 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.
The Putnam Museum exhibit “Legacy of Land” explores how key treaties transformed the American landscape, reshaped communities, and continue to influence our nation today. Through artifacts, historical documents, and personal stories, visitors will examine the lasting impact of these agreements, with a special focus on the Black Hawk Treaty of 1832, a defining moment that ultimately led to the founding of Davenport, Iowa.
The Putnam Museum and Science Center is at 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport. Tickets for the film are $8 per person, available at https://www.putnam.org/events/lost-nation-the-ioway-part-2-screening/.
The award-winning Lost Nation: The Ioway film series screened at film festivals 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. The documentaries are also available via streaming. Visit FourthWallFilms.com for more information.
Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2 & 3 was 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 a five-time Mid-America Emmy 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 Blu-ray and DVD release and online streaming.
