The Salt River Water Walk
DOCUMENTARY
The Salt River WATER WALK DOCUMENTARY
Video by Krista Davis and Jenny Zander / Narration by Sharon M. Day
In February 2020, Sharon M. Day (Ojibwe) led a group of Water Walkers through the Arizona desert to honor the Salt River. They collected a pail of water at the river’s headwaters then walked in-relay along its path for 5 days — 160 miles — to it’s confluence with the Gila River.
Brought together by the shared goal to care for the water, these once-strangers work together to keep the pail moving forward. Roles emerge, community is built, and new relationships develop between the walkers, the water, and the land through which they travel.
Through animation, live-shot footage, interview and song, this documentary follows their path across countryside and through the Valley of the Sun — sharing the story of this Indigenous-led ceremony to preserve and be mindful of the waters for our ancestors in the generations to come.
Project organized through the Museum of Walking, with support through the Desert Humanities Institute at Arizona State University.
SCREENINGS:
•Mesa International Film Festival, Mesa, Arizona, December 2-5, 2021
•Yellowknife International Film Festival, Yellowknife, NWT, November 3-7, 2021
•Eugene Environmental Film Festival, Eugene, OR, October 1-10, 2021
•White Mountains Art Festival, Gorham, NH, September 18, 2021
•Fear No Film @ Utah Arts Fest, Salt Lake City, UT, August 27-29, 2021
•Riverside Arts Festival, Dawson City, YT, August 13-16, 2021
•Regina International Film Festival, Regina, SK, Aug 10-14, 2021
•Denali Film Festival, Denali, AK, July 17-18, 2021
•15 minute Film Festival, Wheeling, WV, July 17, 2021
•Weengushk International Film Festival, M’Chigeeng, ON, July 8-11, 2021
•Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, Minneapolis, MN, May 13-23 (+ Best of the Fest 24-27)
•Grand River Film Festival, Cambridge, ON, May 5 – 8, 2021
•Indy Film Fest, Indianapolis, IN, April 29 - May 19, 2021
•Dawson City International Film Festival, Dawson City, YT, April 1 – 4, 2021
•Honoring the Water: Salt River Water Walk: screening + conversation w/ Museum of Walking + Desert Humanities, March 17, 2021
•Media Done Responsibly Virtual Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA, March 3-11, 2021
•Apex Short Film & Music Video Festival, Tucson, AZ, February 21-22, 2021
•McMinnville Short Film Festival, McMinnville, OR, February 18-28, 2021
•Available Light Film Festival, Whitehorse, YT, Feb. 5-22, 2021
•Wolf Tree Film Festival, Marshall, MI, January 23, 2021
NINJA IZHICHIGE NIBI ONJE
EXHIBITION
EXHIBITION @ THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE FOR ART
May 6, 2021 - September 12, 2021
Katherine Kierland Herberger Gallery (Community Commons)
Free
This exhibition explores the importance of nibi (the Ojibwe word for water) as a life-giving force. For the past ten years, Ojibwe artist and community leader Sharon M. Day has been guiding Nibi Walks as extended ceremonies to pray for the water. Water is gathered in a copper vessel and carried by walkers along the length of the river, until they reach the confluence, where it is released to remind the river of its original state.
“Ninga Izhichige Nibi Onji / I Will Do It For The Water” brings together art, images, words, and works by the community of water walkers who have criss-crossed Turtle Island to bring healing to the waters. The reflections on these journeys invite you, the viewer, to act to protect water in your own life.
Curated by Sharon M. Day, with Emily Jarrett Hughes, Krista Davis, Pamela Jumper Thurman and Jennifer Tonko.
For more information about this exhibition, and past and present walks, visit the Nibi Walks site.