COEUR d’ALENE — It was the winter of 2006 when documentary filmmaker Sonya Rosario received an urgent phone call from Valerie Fast Horse, a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

Rosario, of Meridian, learned from Fast Horse that then 73-year-old Amy Trice, former chairwoman of the Kootenai Tribe, had double pneumonia.

“She said that if we lost this voice, Idaho would lose its history and the Kootenai Tribe would lose its history,” Rosario said.

Rosario seized the opportunity to document what happened in Bonners Ferry on Sept. 20, 1974, the day Trice led her people to officially declare war against the US Government in order to save them from poverty, isolation and possible extinction.

Rosario’s documentary, “Idaho’s Forgotten War: A Lost Tale of Courage,” will air on Idaho Public Television on Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 9 p.m.

“This is, in my opinion, the last official war between Indians and Americans,” Rosario said.

The hour-long film tells the story of how the dwindling members of the Kootenai Tribe were suffering, unrecognized by the government as a tribe, and cut off from federal aid.

After a tribal member froze to death in his unheated home, Trice organized the 67 tribal members and they took a stand.

Trice made a formal declaration of war, and they blocked the highway through their reservation and demanded a toll of 10 cents. It got the attention of folks in Washington, D.C.

Without bloodshed, the war led to federal recognition for the tribe, the return of some of their ancestral lands and money for buildings and services.

Today, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho owns the Best Western Kootenai River Inn and Casino, offers educational scholarships for tribal students, and oversees a variety of programs including health, environment and fisheries.

“People got jobs because of Amy Trice,” Rosario said. “She promised that Indian and non-Indian would work side-by-side and today they do. It was about the community as a whole ... everyone was hurting, everyone was jobless.”

Amy, 77, still lives in Bonners Ferry.

Making the film was a life-changing experience for Rosario, one she considers a blessing.

“I believe that Amy Trice did something incredible not just for her people but for all the people of Idaho. The power of one is still alive and well and one person can make a difference,” Rosario said. “I believe she left a legacy for little Indian girls throughout the country, ‘You can become a powerful chairwoman and do incredible things for your community.’”

For the San Antonio-born Rosario, who describes herself as “half-Mayan and half-Mexican,” it was a powerful experience to join Trice, another indigenous woman from a very different place, to preserve the Kooteanai Tribe’s history and make sure others hear their story.

“They’re hoping to have the film in all the schools by 2011, and it will be released to colleges and universities to be part of women’s and Native American studies, ethics and poli-sci courses,” Rosario said.

A copy of the film has been sent to Oprah Winfrey.

“I believe Amy should get national recognition,” Rosario said.