Drowned Land

Special guest speakers and/or pre-show activities to be announced

Winding its way through southeastern Oklahoma, the Kiamichi River is a bastion of ecological diversity. Already twice-dammed, the state of Oklahoma and a Texas corporation are now trying to dam and divert the remaining water from the river.. For a group of locals, this isn’t just a fight for a river; it is a lifelong reckoning with the cycle of land theft and displacement that began with the Trail of Tears. Now, in a region where the community relies on the Kiamichi’s ecosystem for subsistence, taking the water out of the watershed could mean yet another relocation.

The narrative arc follows the river as its main character—witnessing the ebb and flow of its life-giving ability through the seasons, and the detrimental impact caused by damming and development projects. The director, Colleen, explores the

effects of her grandfather’s work designing dams for the Army Corps of Engineers, her tribe’s ongoing struggles with resource exploitation, and how it shapes her reconciliation of the past with the present.

Interwoven are the stories of the river’s advocates—residents, Choctaw culture- keepers, and scientists—who have come together to save the river and initiate a paradigm shift grounded in ideals of re-matriation and the Rights of Nature, reinforcing a commitment to end the cycle of disconnection from our land.

The New Leaf Series is created in partnership with Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust and is co-sponsored by Forest Society North at The Rocks, Tall Provisions, and Liquid Death