An exploration of Effigy Mounds National Monument through film and story
Effigy Mounds National Monument announces a series of special events celebrating the American Indian tradition of storytelling in winter. Winter Stories will occur on Saturday and Sunday afternoons beginning February 22, 2020 through the end of March. Activities will take place in the Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center located at 151 Highway 76, Harpers Ferry, IA 52146. Presentations span multiple genres of storytelling including traditional storytelling, cinematography, and art. Honored guests include the Bill Quackenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Lance Foster, Vice-Chairman and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Kelly and Tammy Rundell, Fourth Wall Films; Justin Deegan, Thunder Revolution Studios; Reuben Ironhorse-Kent, Ioway artist; and Jack Meggers filmmaker. Winter Stories is funded by BeWildReWild, a project of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
Storytelling is a critical component of American Indian culture. It is through story that community history and values are passed on forging vital connections between the past and present as well as charting a course for the future. Storytelling is a fundamental human activity grounding people to place and culture. It reminds us of those inextricable ties to the land and our own wild nature and of who we are as individuals and communities.
Winter Stories at Effigy Mounds National Monument is an exploration of American Indian storytelling rooted in the tradition that stories are told after the first frost and before the first thunder. Winter is a quiet time for reflection and remembering; storytelling opens the door.
BeWildReWild is a loosely-knit group of volunteers with a passion for wild things. It is also a special fund within Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation for the purpose of exploring three questions: What do you/we mean by wild? What lifestyle changes are needed for us to live within the bounds of sustainability? How can we create a wilder, more beautiful, more biologically diverse, and a more enduring Mississippi River Watershed? And at bewildrewild.org it is a place for visioning, debating, storytelling, teaching, and learning.
All events will take place in the visitor center auditorium. For more information contact the park at 563-873-3491.
Schedule of Events:
Lost Nation: The Ioway Parts 1 -3
February 22, 2020
1:00pm – 4:30pm
Fourth Wall Films, Tammy and Kelly Rundell
Lost Nation: The Ioway Parts 1 -3
February 23, 2020
1:00pm – 4:30pm
“Ho-Chunk Oral Stories: Are They Still Relevant Today?”
February 29, 2020
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Bill Quakenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin
Ioway Images Then and Now
March 14, 2020
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Reuben Ironhorse-Kent, Artist, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Ioway Images Then and Now
March 15, 2020
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Reuben Ironhorse-Kent, Artist, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Honoring Tribal Legacies – Cancelled
March 21, 2020
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Thunder Revolution Studios, Justin Deegan
Ioway Storytelling – Cancelled
March 22, 2020
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Lance Foster, Vice-Chairman Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
The Burial – Cancelled
March 28, 2020
1:00pm
Jack Meggars
The Burial – Cancelled
March 29, 2020
1:00pm
Jack Meggars
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person storytelling events are indefinitely postponed. We hope to feature these storyteller’s voices at future events or in a different medium.