| To this date there has never been a feature film regarding the Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians. This has not been for a lack of trying, though. Valiant efforts have been made over the years to write scripts or put together a production but for one reason or another, these projects either were not completed or publically released. Other than a recent mention in a film regarding Native boarding schools, Hiawatha's reality remains elusive to the American public. But not for long... |
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| Seventeen years ago, our screenwriter stumbled across a book regarding the asylum and was shocked and disturbed by its contents. Interested in the asylum and its history, she began to research on her own, realizing that the truth had never been revealed to the public. She realized that a movie would be a great medium by which to release this information. This led her on an amazing trip through time where she had to remain decidely low-key in her research. The asylum, while a non-subject to the people of the City of Canton, is still a painful and dark subject for many Native Americans. Many elders still refuse to talk about Hiawatha or what went on there. Out of respect for their pain and the past, she progressed slowly and carefully, garnering information wherever and whenever she could. After spending several weeks in the South Dakota State Historical Archives, she found herself talking to Harold Ironshield, a Lakota journalist and then head of the Native American Reburial Restoration Committee. It was Mr. Ironshield who shed much more light on how much more went on behind the walls of Hiawatha, things that while barely touched upon in the state archives, had far more sordid detail in reality. Seeing her determination and drive to see this project to completion on the screen, we at Still Springs joined her in the production process. In 2006 we joined forces with Dr. Todd Leahy of Fort Hayes State University, the foremost academic authority on the asylum. Dr. Leahy possessed far more information and documentation than the state archives regarding the asylum. We were able to see pictures of actual patients, learn the content (or lack thereof) of patient files and Dr. Hummer's journals. With a very well written Dissertation - which there is a link to on our Hiawatha links page - Dr. Leahy reveals the true and horrifying realities of Hiawatha, the abuse of its patients and the arrogant dictatorship of Dr. Hummer. All of this aided in creating a well rounded picture of the asylum and what truly went on there. The end result is Hiawatha Diary, a full length feature docudrama. |
| As many of our support system already know, funding for Hiawatha Diary has proven to be a challenge - basically due to unrealistic demands by investors. One investor asked that we "trade out Indians for black people to make the movie more marketable". Another demanded palm trees around the asylum. Yet another requested that the producers "introduce him to a nice Indian woman he could marry" in exchange for the exact amount of funding. Needless to say, money has been handed back more than once. While this has thrown us off schedule, it has not dampened our resolve. Just the opposite. We are determined more than ever to bring this information to the public and have been blessed with a great support system who are willing to wait just as long as we are to see that this information is revealed. At this time, having developed into the Friends of Hiawatha Foundation, we are still actively looking for funding and have attached some terrific actors such as Brandon Oakes, Moses Brings Plenty and Sarah D'Angelo. It is our continuing goal with Hiawatha Diary to bring this part of history out into the open where it needs to be. We would like to force it into the history books if at all possible - and we already started in certain venues. What happened at Hiawatha should not be forgotten. It cannot be changed, its sins cannot be eradicated, but the memory of those who suffered and/or died there can be honored in acknowledging that they actually existed. |
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| We also have another goal with this movie. In going to Canton and viewing the cemetery and property on which the asylum stood, it was obvious that the dreams of the Native American Reburial Restoration Committee were never realized. It had been Mr. Ironshield's goal to have an actual monument built there. To this date there is not even a historical marker nearby to indicate that the asylum was even there. We want to make sure that a historical marker is placed near the asylum's former location so that people will at least know that it was there and replace the tired, cracking mass tombstone that sits in the middle of the cemetery now. At one time Harold Ironshield had drafts of what he felt would be an appropriate monument replacement. It is our hope to one day replace the crumbling monument with something close to what Mr. Ironshield envisioned. |
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| Please keep checking back for progress with Hiawatha Diary and share what you've learned here with others. |
| HIAWATHA DIARY |