'United By Water' chronicles tribes' riverine journeys
(Courtesy photo) Kalispel navigate their canoe away Sandpoint City Beach near the Liberty Statue, skippered by carver Loren Bowman.
It’s movie time again! The Native Heritage Film Series begins on Saturday, Oct. 20, with two free screenings of “United by Water,” at the Sandpoint Library.
“United By Water” is a documentary film that chronicles the riverine journeys to Kettle Falls in June 2016 of the Upper Columbia United Tribes — Kootenai (Ktunaxa), Kalispel (Qlispe’), Coeur d’Alene (Schitsu’umsh), Spokane (Spokan), and members of the Confederated (11) Tribes of the Colville Reservation in traditional, newly carved, cedar dugout canoes.
A War Pony Pictures production, directed by Derrick Lamere, and narrated by Shelly Boyd with poetry by Sherman Alexie, the film has won numerous awards. It is the first time that it has been shown in Sandpoint, and we’re grateful to the tribes for allowing us to show it free of charge.
There are two screenings: 12:30 and 3 p.m. There will be a discussion following each show led by some of the tribal carvers and paddlers of the River Warrior Society, a group that formed as a result of this cultural experience. The tribes continue to travel by river in their canoes — like this past August on Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River -- to bring attention to the fact that water is life, and that the salmon need to return to the upper reaches of the Columbia River. Hydroelectric dams like the Grand Coulee have all but destroyed this essential wild fish and food of sustenance. The film is excellent and promises to get us all talking about awareness of water issues and solutions.
This year features a shorter season with only two other films. They are:
- Saturday, Nov. 10: “Mankiller.” A newly released documentary about the life of Cherokee Principal Chief, Wilma Mankiller. Perfect for the political season!
- Saturday, JN. 12, 2019: “Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian”. This is a deeply personal film that follows Charles Eastman, a Dakota, activist and author, who was one of the first Native American doctors. We also will show a new short film on the Niimi’ipuu, or Nez Perce people, called “Of One Heart.”
The series is funded by TransEco Services and Bonner County Human Rights Fund of the Idaho Community Foundation.