PORT TOWNSEND — A film that tells the story of a Native American activist will inspire people to take similar action in their own lives, according to the exhibitor.
“We can all learn a lot about getting down in the trenches and working with people who don’t agree with you,” said Janette Force, Port Townsend Film Festival executive director, of “The Cherokee Word for Water,” a biographical film of one-time Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller.
“It shows how unlikely groups can work together.”
The film’s first screening will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park.
Director Charlie Soap, who was married to Mankiller, and producer Kristina Kiehl will speak after the film is shown.
The group will travel to Peninsula College at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., in Port Angeles for an afternoon discussion followed by an evening showing on
Jan. 26.
There will be a 6:30 p.m. screening on Jan. 27 in the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe’s community room at the Tribal Center, 1033 Old Blyn Road, Force said.
The following day the group will screen the film in LaPush for the Quileute tribe, she added.
The public events are free, Force said.
Mankiller led the Cherokee Nation for a decade — from 1985 to 1995 — and was the first woman to lead a tribe in modern times, according to a news release.
Mankiller co-founded the Political Action Committee Voters for Choice, along with author and feminist Gloria Steinem.
She died of pancreatic cancer in 2010, according to a news release.
The movie is not a documentary. It features actors who portray Mankiller, Soap and other characters.
It tells the story of how Mankiller brought water to the reservation by supervising the dig of an 18-mile pipe, something she was told was impossible, Force said.
“The film has a beautiful voice and shows how people can make a difference in the world all by themselves,” Force said.
Force added that it has a local angle.
“We are all in this together. It’s not like ‘these people have a problem so I don’t have a problem,’ ” Force said.
“If we don’t gather together, as we did to take down the Elwha Dam, we are missing the opportunity to become that dynamic society that we can be,” she said, referring to the destruction of the Elwha Dam in 2012 and Glines Canyon Dam in 2014.
The dams, which had been erected without fish ladders, were taken down as part of a $325 million effort to restore the river west of Port Angeles to its wild state.
“It’s a fine example of why it matters to look beyond your fences and consider your neighbors,” Force said.
For more information, go to ptfilmfest.com or call 360-379-1333.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
