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I think the Hiawatha pattern is fantastic and have been admiring the great Holiday coffee pot that youngmoderns recently posted. I found this teapot on ebay a year or so ago. I'd assumed it was a fairly common piece and recall that a photo appears in the Stetson chapter of Mike Pratt's "Mid-Century Modern Dinnerware". I believe this is the Rio shape.
Rio teapot
I love the pattern, too. You know, there was apparently two other 'Indian' patterns that debuted with this one. I have never been able to figure out if they were actually produced and/or what pattern goes with what name. I have seen one pattern that looks like arrowheads on a gray striped background, so it's similar to Hiawatha, but the 'Indian' names I found aren't clues.
The Rio teapot hung around longer than the coffee pot I think. At least, that's been my observation. I'm guessing I've seen about 6 or more of the Rio teapots, so I would call them hard to find, but not rare. Still, it's fun to find one and if I saw another one reasonably priced, I'd buy it too!
This is conjecture, but I think Murphy may have felt bridled at Stetson. Stetson's audience was different than Red Wing's and I am guessing Murphy really wanted to be a modernist at this juncture. Who would have ever figured he'd end up being a realistic wildlife artist in the end?
There are some really rare items that the archives shows in the Hiawatha pattern. I've never seen them, but I bet they are out there. I am always finding cool shapes I haven't seen before in Stetson. Unfortunately they are often depict some stamped floral. Some Hiawatha pieces to look for--a monstrously long celery dish, maybe as big as 20"; a wine carafe, and ceramic serving utensils. Probably many other items, too.