Return to Rainy Mountain

27 min | Documentary Short | Jill Momaday

Return to Rainy Mountain is a documentary film that tells the story of N. Scott Momaday. It is a personal account of his life and legacy told in his own voice, and in the voice of his daughter Jill. Momaday speaks of his Kiowa roots, family, literature, oral tradition, nature, identity, and the sacred and important things that have shaped his life.

Release: November 1, 2019

Expiration: November 1, 2022

Distributor: New Mexico PBS

NOLA: HD05

Rights: Unlimited releases over three (3) years beginning 11/1/2019;

SCH/1YR (for K‐12); and non‐commercial cable rights.

Jill Momaday (Kiowa)

Director/Writer/Producer

Jill Scott Momaday has spent all of her life immersed in the arts. Growing up in a family who has a rich cultural, artistic, and literary background helped to inspire her passion for theater. Jill’s deep connection to her Kiowa Heritage has given her a rich background to draw from in her professional work as an actor, storyteller, and filmmaker. A few of her film credits include Tony Hillerman’s Coyote Waits, directed by Jan Egglesen and produced by Robert Redford; The Desperate Trail, directed by Paul Pesche; and Silent Tongue, written and directed by Sam Shepard.

Shirley Sneve (Rosebud Sioux)

Executive Producer

Shirley Sneve works with Indian Country Today in the expansion of their daily newscast to public television stations. She was President & CEO of the Tiwahe Foundation located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota from 2019-2020—an American Indian community foundation that provides micro-grants in Minnesota and directs the Oyate Leadership Network. From 2004 until 2019, she was Executive Director of Vision Maker Media.

Doug Crawford

Cinematographer/Editor

Douglas Crawford of Delighted Eye Video, is known for his direction and filming of the award-winning Surviving Columbus: The Story of the Pueblo People (PBS, 120 mins., 1992) and as Director of Photography for The Native Americans (TBS, six hours, 1994).