The Colorado River is the 5th longest river in the US at 1,450 miles long and provides water to over 40 million people. According to the Nature Conservancy, the river could shrink by up to 31% in 2050. Stories from the Colorado River Basin: Indigenous perspectives on water and land protection features speakers Louise Benally, grandmother, mother, and clan mother from Big Mountain in Northern Arizona, Reuben Cruz, a Piipaash/Quechan/Mexican writer raised at the confluence of the Gila and Salt Rivers in the desert, Leona Morgan, a Diné organizer and educator on nuclear issues in the Four Corners since 2007, and Woman Stands Shining, a Diné mother, grandmother, artist, advocate for the sacred water.
About The Waters Connect Us
All of our precious, finite water sources are connected, from flowing surface streams across the planet, to the aquifers below us, to the raindrops falling from the clouds above, all water is connected. The Waters Connect Us is a multi-generational work to protect Sacred Water that was inspired by Debra White Plume (Oglala Lakota/Cheyenne) of Owe Aku / Bring Back the Way, and a tight knit group of Indigenous and non-native people committed to environmental and human rights work. Our work honors the footsteps in which we follow that were created by our relatives who dedicated their lives to protect our life, lands, and waters for seven generations. We are dedicated to strengthening and building solidarity to increase the effectiveness of the many movements to protect lands and waters. We are all connected through water, land, and life.
- Crying Earth Rise Up Trailer + 10 minute short sample. To screen the PBS broadcast version, go to Prairie Dust Films’ Vimeo page and enter the Password: cleanwater (open for a limited time).
- The Waters Connect Us: Recording of a conversation about protecting and restoring water with Indigenous Communities, Environmental Scientists, and Media Creators in the Pacific Northwest, at The Evergreen State College, 11/14/18, featuring Louise Benally, Willie Frank, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Ed Johnstone, Carri LeRoy, Jessica Plumb, Klairice Alita Westley, and Rosebud White Plume.
Listen, learn, educate.
| Watch + Listen + Read |
| Speaker Biographies |
| Water Stories Videos |
MSU Denver is located on the lands of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Lakota, and Ute, and other Indigenous peoples who maintain a continuous relationship with this land.