NIU-created Lincoln documentary
to air Sunday on WTTW Channel 11
 NIU Communications Professor Jeff Chown has scored a major achievement in the world of independent filmmaking: landing a mainstream audience.
Chown’s latest creation, “Lincoln and Black Hawk,” will air at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, on WTTW Channel 11 , Chicago’s PBS station. The broadcast has the potential to reach thousands of viewers.
“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to reach a wider audience,” Chown said. “As a filmmaker, you work hard on something and want people to see it, and WTTW has a long tradition of excellence. I think the airing also says something about the quality of the documentaries that are being made by students and faculty in the communication department at NIU.”
Chown directed the 52-minute documentary, focusing on Lincoln’s service in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War of 1832. It was produced by Drew VandeCreek, director of digital projects for NIU Libraries, and edited by NIU Communication Professor Laura Vazquez, who also served as cinematographer. The Illinois Humanities Council provided funding for travel and image procurement.
“We think it’s important to showcase local history, and we think this is a good example of a work that tells a story that needs to be heard by viewers,” said Dan Soles, vice president of programming for WTTW.
“It’s a story about our native son Abraham Lincoln, about the displacement of American Indians and about manifest destiny as it played out in Illinois,” Chown added. “We compare the trajectories of these two great leaders: Black Hawk, at the end of his distinguished career, and Lincoln, at the outset. The events parallel the ascension of white culture at the expense of native culture. This history doesn’t get taught enough in Illinois schools, so we’re hoping teachers will take a look at the documentary.”
During the spring of 1832, Sauk and Fox Indians under the leadership of Black Hawk left the Iowa territory and returned to northern Illinois. The American Indians had lost their Illinois lands in a disputed 1804 treaty, and their return sparked widespread panic among white settlers. Illinois Gov. John Reynolds quickly called up the militia, which included the 23-year-old Lincoln.
FULL STORY
NIU Veterans Club to host ceremony
for Veterans Day, rededicate flagpole
 Members of the NIU community can honor veterans Friday, Nov. 10, during the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the flagpole across from Altgeld Hall. The Student Association-funded event is open to all.
Scheduled for 11 a.m. – ceremonies typically take place at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the NIU Veterans Club-sponsored event offers a chance to pay tribute to men and women who have served, or are serving, in the military.
This year’s observance is held a day early because Veterans Day falls on the weekend.
Club members also will rededicate the Veterans Memorial Flagpole, originally given to the university in 1956 by the NIU Veterans Club. Jerry Beckus, an alum of the NIU Veterans Club, will attend the ceremony and speak about how and why the flagpole was donated.
FULL STORY | 
