Ramona, Rita and Ramona's mum (born in Ireland), a nephew, and a friend spent a week together in April near Drogheda, just north of Dublin. We explored a 5200-year-old passage tomb, Newgrange, where the sun shines into a burial chamber on the winter solstice. We enjoyed the Irish countryside, the people, Dublin and some delicious food! There is laughter galore when 3 generations, and a friend, travel together.
Ramona Kitto Stately
Stories I Didn't Know in NYC /
Last month, on April 7th, director Rita Davern and Ramona Kitto Stately, Dakota Educator held a LIVE virtual Q&A with 300 NYC middle and high school students. They watched Stories I Didn’t Know through a program called Movies That Matter put on by the Jewish Museum of NYC. The program invites middle and high school students to view award-winning documentaries that examine current social issues such as representation and identity, immigration, and civil rights followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers and Stories I Didn’t Know was one of those documentaries!
CreatEVE Event: Film Screening and Discussion, ‘Stories I Didn’t Know’ /
In recognition of National Women’s History Month in March, The Grand Center for Arts & Culture (New Ulm, MN) in cooperation with the New Ulm Film Society, will be screening our documentary, ‘Stories I Didn’t Know’ on Thursday, March 31 at 7pm.
Both director and producer Rita Davern and Dakota Educator Ramona Kitto Stately will be at the film screening and will hold a Q&A session following the film! This event is FREE and all are welcome.
Check out the article about us in The Journal.
Bringing Stories I Didn't Know to Louisiana /
At the beginning of March we were invited to screen Stories I Didn’t Know to the Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) - Department of New Media, Journalism, & Communications Arts students. Director Rita Davern, co-director Melody Gilbert, Dakota Educator, Ramona Kitto Stately and Dakota artist Reuben Kitto Stately were present for the Q&A. The screening was possible thanks to the Department of New Media Journalism and Communication Arts at NSULA in collaboration with The History We Stand On series organized by the Ethnic Studies and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Read more about the screening below:
Photo by Emily Zering (Purple Media Network)
Stories I Didn't Know on PBS World Channel during November /
We are happy to announce that Stories I Didn’t Know will show on the PBS WORLD Channel during November 1-12, throughout the U.S. Our film will be on in 71% of tv households ! To check the airing date and time please check your local listing using the:
OR
or simply go to our Screenings page and use the station finder.
FREE EVENT: Stories I Didn't Know at Lakeshore Players Theater /
Stories I Didn’t Know will screen at the Hanifl Performing Arts Center in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 11 at 7PM
The event is FREE and kindly sponsored by the Lakeshore Players Theatre company in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Director Rita Davern, Dakota educator, activist and artist Ramona Kitto Stately and Dakota and Ojibwe recording artist Reuben Kitto Stately, who both feature in film, will be there for a post-screening discussion.
We are looking forward to seeing you in person!
To book a FREE seat click on the button bellow:
NOTE: Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative Covid Test are required for indoor events at Lakeshore Players Theater.
Crew and Cast Party /
We’ve released Stories I Didn’t Know during a pandemic and we’ve never had the chance since then to get together the cast and crew to celebrate the successes of our film. We’ve seen each other plenty online but not enough in person.
Last Sunday, we finally managed to gather together most of the crew and cast for a small outdoor party. Some managed to join us virtually, some couldn’t make it but we were happy to have the chance to see and hang out with everyone!
Host a STORIES I DIDN'T KNOW community screening! /
We are thrilled to announce that now you can bring our documentary to your community! You can host a screening of Stories I Didn’t Know at your campus, theater, organization, or community venue. Also, you can book the co-directors Rita Davern and Melody Gilbert at your event.
We can wait to connect with you and your communties!
Webinar: "Reckoning with Two Paths: Histories and Futures in Mni Sota Makoce" - Center for Community and Civic Engagement at Carleton College /
On Monday May 3rd, Stories I Didn’t Know co-directors, Rita Davern & Melody Gilbert, Dakota educator Ramona Kitto Stately and Dakota artist Reuben Kitto Stately, who both feature in the film, were on a panel called “Reckoning with Two Paths: Histories and Futures in Mni Sota Makoce” alongside Minnesota filmmaker Keri Pickett (First Daughter and the Black Snake) at Carleton College. The Carleton Community had the chance to stream both films for free before the discussion.
“The ‘Prophecy of the 7th Fire’ says a ‘black snake’ will bring destruction to the earth. We will have a choice of two paths. One is scorched, and one is green.” So begins the story of environmentalist and Ojibwe White Earth Community leader Winona LaDuke’s fight against the Embridge Pipeline 3 Project in northern Minnesota chronicled by director Keri Pickett in the documentary First Daughter and the Black Snake. In LaDuke’s activism we see not only see how to stop and choose a different path but also to reclaim from the snake what has been lost to the fire. The peoples of Minnesota have followed the two paths with their contesting visions of life, land, and livelihood for generations. In a personal narrative, Stories I Didn’t Know, directed by Rita Davern and Melody Gilbert, Rita faces the consequences of her ancestors’ choices in settling on land taken from Dakota communities who had lived for generations on lands at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. As she researches methods of legal restitution, Rita meets activist and Bdote Educator Ramona Kitto Stately and musician Reuben Kitto Stately, from whom we learn the effects of the westward expansion through on the land on which we stand. ”
This event was sponsored by Center for Community and Civic Engagement, The Dean of Students, The Dean of the College, The Department of Political Science, The Department of History, American Studies, Environment Technology and Science, The Public Policy Program
Amplifying Indigenous Voices Panel at #AVFF2021 /
On Monday, April 26, 2021 co-director Rita Davern, Dakota educator Ramona Kitto Stately and Dakota artist Reuben Kitto Stately participated in a panel organised by Alexander Valley Film Society alongside filmmaker Shane Anderson ( Guardians of the River) and Sammy Gensaw, Yurok Native and Director of Ancestral Guard (Guardians of the River), filmmaker Daniel Byers (Aguilucho: Dance of the Harpy Eagle) and José De Jesús Vargas González, Co-Director Panama Programs - The Peregrine Fund (Aguilucho: Dance of the Harpy Eagle).
The AMPLIFYING INDIGENOUS VOICES panelist had a thoughtful conversation around how to create more seats at the table for indigenous folx to tell their own stories and what can they as creators and allies do when funding and access to resources can be an issue.
Watch the full conversation down below.
Credit: Alexander Valley Film Society
Stories I Didn't Know:Filmmaker Discussion /
Sunday, March 28 Stories I Didn’t Know co-directors Rita Davern & Melody Gilbert, Ramona Kitto Stately, Dakota educator & Reuben Kitto Stately, Dakota artist who are both featured in the documentary, participated in a discussion about the film and the many benefits of story sharing.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event and shared their thoughts about our film, participated in group discussion and sent lovely messages afterwards. We hope the film and the event has made you learn more about yourself and maybe even encouraged you to further explore or better understand a story in your family’s history.
If you attended the event and haven't yet filled in the feedback form, you can do so here: https://bit.ly/3fDDGKZ
A big thank you to Minnesota Humanities Center, TPT - Twin Cities PBS & Moving Lives Minnesota for organizing and moderating the event !
TWIN CITIES PBS -TPT BROADCAST /
We can finally share with you a secret we’ve been keeping for awhile! STORIES I DIDN’T KNOW will air on TWIN CITIES PBS - TPT on
Monday, March 22 at 9 pm on TPT 2
Sunday, March 28 at 4 pm on TPT 2
On March 28 right after the film (5pm CST) co-directors Rita Davern and Melody Gilbert, together with Dakota educator Ramona Kitto Stately will discuss the film and the ways one can create empathy and understanding through story sharing.
To RSVP for the discussion event on March 28, click the button bellow:
More news about other broadcasts around PBS stations around the country very soon. Stay tuned!
Exclusive Virtual Screening & Conversation /
We have so many interesting events to share that will take place during the first half of next year. The first one is a special screening of “Stories I Didn’t Know” at Minnesota Humanities Center followed by a community conversation with our director Rita Davern, educator Ramona Kitto Stately, and artist Reuben Kitto Stately.
Join us and Minnesota Humanities Center on January 14 between 6:30pm and 8:30pm for a lively discussion on “ how one person’s discovery of truth can create a significant positive impact on a personal and statewide level. Explore with us the transgressions made by the federal government and non-Native leaders and how together we can confront current systemic failures as we work to create a more just Minnesota.”
Meet Ramona Kitto Stately /
For those who have seen our documentary film, Stories I Didn’t Know, you may wonder, “Who is Ramona Kitto Stately, and what is she up to these days as an educator and leader?”
Below find Ramona’s profile, along with part 1 of a recent interview with Ramona and Rita about Stories I Didn’t Know. The interview comes from Inclusivi-Tee – a company committed to “co-creating a sustainable, kind, and equitable future through the sale of earth-friendly books and fashion, the organization of workshops and podcasts, and participation in strategic partnerships.”
In this episode of Inclusivi-TALKS, Lori is joined by co-host Shannon Crossbear, filmmaker Rita Davern, and Ramona Kitto Stately, We Are Still Here Minnesota...
Ramona Kitto Stately is an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Dakota Nation. She has a BA in Dakota Art and Culture, and a Masters of Education with an emphasis on Teacher leadership from Augsburg University. After 15 years teaching Indian Education in Minnesota, she is now Project Director for the We Are Still Here Minnesota, creating action for narrative change. Ramona is the mother of two children, an accomplished beadwork artist with moccasins on display in the Science Museum of Minnesota, a part of the scholars' team with of the Minnesota Humanities Center’s for Learning from Place: Bdote and has served as the Chairperson of the Minnesota Indian Education Association since 2016.
Ramona Kitto Stately - Santee Sioux Nation
Project Director - We Are Still Here Minnesota (WASH-MN)
MA Education & Teacher Leadership
ramonastately@gmail.com / (651) 263-0942
"Fostering cultural, social, and policy change by empowering Native Americans to counter discrimination, invisibility, and the dominant narratives that limit Native opportunity, access to justice, health and self-determination."
Ramona Kitto Stately (Still from Stories I Didn’t Know)
Stories I Didn't Know at Lake County Film Festival /
We were very happy to have Stories I Didn’t Know screen this month at Lake County Film Festival. Watch below the lovely Q&A we had at the festival together with the director of the fest Nat Dykeman and Greg Allen, director of “Reparations” short film that accompanied the screening of Stories I Didn’t Know at Lake County Film Festival.