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Film shows what life was like in Fairfield before settlers arrived
By Nicole Major, The Fairfield Ledger
Aug. 21, 2017 5:00 am, Updated: Aug. 21, 2017 1:17 pm
FAIRFIELD — As smoke rose from a fire pit and wafted through the air, Iowa tribe historic preservation officer Lance Foster held a pinch of tobacco while explaining to a group the spirituality behind the ancient Native American tobacco ceremony.
The Creator gave all animals gifts — such as fur or claws — but the human was the 'poorest of them all,' Foster said. But humans were not left empty-handed, he added: 'The creator gave us tobacco.'
Foster is one of several Native American experts invited to Fairfield last spring to shed light on people who inhabited the land before it was called Fairfield. Along with retired State Archaeologist Anton Hill, artifact hunter Gary Nelson and University of Iowa architectural historian Marlin Ingalls, Foster will be featured in the documentary 'Life Before Fairfield.'
The 50-minute film, which will show Saturday and Sunday in Fairfield, is the first in a planned eight-film series about Fairfield, a city of 10,200 in southeastern Iowa.
The Fairfield History Series will include films over the next three to five years about heroes of Fairfield, agriculture in the region, Parsons College and Maharishi University of Management, said Dick DeAngelis, a Fairfield resident who is director and producer of the series.
The 2-minute trailer for 'Life Before Fairfield' shows soaring aerials of prairie grasses and snippets of interviews with historians, Native Americans and Bob Bakker, a well-known paleontologist who advised on the movie 'Jurassic Park.'
'He actually did research just about Iowa so that he could contribute specific comments about the megafauna of this area,' DeAngelis said of Bakker.
So many experts in their fields had volunteered their craft, which helped to ensure the quality of the production, he said.
'Around 80 volunteers have been a part of this,' he said. 'Something like this would have cost $100,000 to make, we've done it for around $20,000.'
Producing one documentary, much less five, is a daunting task, but DeAngelis said it's been a labor of love. He's been aided by donations from individuals and businesses that include Everybody's Whole Foods, Libertyville Savings Bank, First National Bank of Fairfield, Farm Bureau and Cafe Paradiso.
Recently, DeAngelis has had conversations with Produce Iowa, the state office of media production, and hopes the films may one day air on Iowa Public Television. The free public showings this weekend are in the Sondheim Theater at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, which has a seating capacity of 525. The Saturday show at 7:30 p.m. will be followed by a Q&A with DeAngelis, State Archaeologist John Doershuk and a historian from the Iowa tribe.
[naviga:h3 style="padding-left: 60px;"]IF YOU GO
What: 'Life Before Fairfield' documentary
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Sondheim Theater at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, 200 N. Main St.
What: This is a 50-minute documentary about the pre-settler history of Jefferson County. The Aug. 26 showing will be followed by Q&A with the director and experts.
Cost: Free
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