07-04-2025
‘Drowned Land' shines light on Choctaw water rights movement
Sandra Hale SchulmanSpecial to ICT
It took seven years for the feature directorial debut of Colleen Thurston's 'Drowned Land' to be completed, a journey that took her along with a community of people within her tribe, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and their fight to preserve water rights to the Kiamichi River.
The damming and diversion projects that corporations and states actively pursue in spite of the harmful consequences unfurl through the stories of local advocates, scientists and Choctaw culture-keepers.
'Drowned Land' highlights a fight that is as much about protecting the river ecosystem as it is about breaking cycles of exploitation and displacement.
The film premiered in Washington, D.C. The next screening is April 25 at Thin Line Film Festival in Denton, Texas. Upcoming screenings are planned for Seattle, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Omaha.
'The looming threat of a dammed Kiamichi is not just existential,' Thurston told ICT. 'This is a source of life-giving water and the risk that diversion and commodification bring not only threatens the river's survival but that of its surrounding communities. My hope is that by connecting our peoples' history of displacement due to resource extraction with the present-day struggle of water protectors who are actively working to break these cycles, 'Drowned Land' can offer a glimmer of hope that there are real solutions.
'Among those is a call to return to our traditional matriarchal ways of being where life-giving sources – mothers and rivers – are centered in our societies. These issues exist within the larger context of the Rights of Nature movement, which recognizes waterways as living beings with inherent rights. Acknowledging the Kiamichi in these ways can and will help protect it.'
Thurston attended the premiere screening in D.C. with hundreds in attendance.
'I was there along with Sandy Stroud, Choctaw, and Charlotte Robbins Leonard, Choctaw, who are two of our protagonists from the documentary and our producer, Michelle Lee Svenson. Then the other two screenings in Santa Fe and LA went really well. There were post screening discussions in both places, and we had members of our team on the ground there as well. It feels really exciting and something to celebrate that everything came together like that.
'It was an urgent issue, but it took seven years from conceptualization until release.'
Thurston said it started out as a different documentary that was looking at the story of man-made lakes in Oklahoma. But after working in the communities that were affected, she just kept hearing the call was the story of the fight to protect that water source.
'We built relationships and formed collaborations with some of the water protectors. I had an incredible crew of talented filmmakers as the story shifted with events. I was going to make the approach that was more of a historical documentary about man-made lakes and the stories of the people that were tied to the land. But it's really important if you're coming to a community and telling stories with them to be led by that community and tell the stories that they want to tell.'
Thurston said she learned a great deal.
'In Oklahoma, it often seems to be that nobody cares about us. Even from before the founding of the state with the removals of the eastern tribes into Oklahoma, it's like this was a dumping ground almost. It's been seen as a throwaway place, and I address that in the film. The new value comes from resource extraction, whether it's oil or water, coal or timber. What was most striking is the mindset shift that I felt I overcame, well, this is Oklahoma. So, of course, they're going to exploit this water source, but they can fight back and win. '
Thurston said she realized, if that can happen in rural Oklahoma, an environmental movement can protect a water source anywhere.
'I'm hoping that the film can shed light on the positive aspects of Oklahoma. It's a beautiful place. It's full of people that have survived this trauma, relocation and dispossession. We continue to survive trauma from both internal forces in the state and external. But at the same time, this is what resiliency looks like. And it's not just surviving. It's people that are thriving. It's people that are creating a film community, being leaders and environmental movements. That's really empowering.'
Thurston hopes the film will build awareness of this water rights movement. Another part of it is to elevate the concept of protecting the rights of nature, which focuses on recognizing and granting legal protection for non-human bodies like water sources such as rivers.
'We're really hoping to accomplish a lot, but even if somebody comes into our screening from a different community, and they leave thinking, 'Where does my water come from when I turn on the tap? What is that water source?' And if they start to think about who are the stewards of that water, both currently and historically and traditionally, that's an educational campaign that we want to amplify.
'I want to utilize this film as a jumping-off point for other Choctaw filmmakers. This is the kind of work that we can be doing in the state and in the Choctaw nation, to gain awareness for that and support for that as well.'
Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
