Karuara, People of the River Film Screening and Discussion
Join us for an evening about Indigenous communities fighting for water rights and protections. We will screen the documentary Karuara, People of the River, which follows a brave Kukama Indigenous woman, Mari Luz Canaquiri, and her community in the Peruvian Amazon as they stand-up to powerful interests to protect their river and the magic spirit universe below, winning legal personhood for the Marañón River in 2024.
Closer to home, the Alderville First Nation Council unanimously passed a resolution last year recognizing the legal personhood status of Pemadeshkodeyong (Rice Lake) near Peterborough, a historic outcome culminating from two years of work by the Council, community elders, and knowledge keepers.
This screening of Karuara, People of the River will be followed by a discussion between the film’s co-director, Stephanie Boyd, and Alderville Chief Taynar Simpson about these cases of Indigenous water protection and the importance of expanding Indigenous rights and the rights of nature in the face of climate change and other threats to our shared environment and ways of life.