Cinema Politica will be screening a documentary based on the Standing Rock protests in 2016.
Sacred Water: Standing Rock Part 1 showcases candid interviews and offers historical context about the protests which took place in North Dakota against the Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil pipeline which will eventually wind through four States, bisecting sacred Indigenous sites and burial grounds along the route.
The protest started on April 1, 2016 when an elder of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe founded the Sacred Stone Centre to demonstrate the construction through their ancestral homeland.
Eventually thousands of people converged on the camp. They feared that a leak could contaminate the Missouri River and be disastrous for the area and the people that live there.
The protests drew international attention and in October of the same year armed soldiers and police with riot gear cleared the encampment directly in the proposed pipeline’s path. After United States President Donald Trump approved the completion of the project, the number of protesters diminished and in February 2017 the remaining ones were evicted from the site.
Sacred Water delivers insight into struggles like this taking place across North America, including those in B.C. where First Nations leaders and environmental activists are protesting against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
The documentary was written and directed by Michelle Latimer and stars Sarain Fox.
Speakers at the screening will include local environmental activist Mike Gildersleeve and Gerry Pinel with the Golden Ears Transition Initiative.
Screening of Sacred Water: Standing Rock Part 1 takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Mar. 22 at Maple Ridge City Hall Council Chambers at 11995 Haney Place.
It is a free event open to those 19-years and over.
Donations will be accepted for Cinema Politica Ridge Meadows, an organization that screens films to encourage debate and discussion on issues they deem relevant to the residents of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and the Katzie First Nations.
For more information contact Oosha at 604-466-3144 or email ridgemeadows@cinemapolitica.org.
