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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Ancestral Waters’ highlights new fight for Indian rights

Dan Webster

The Magic Lantern's Meaningful Movies Project will continue on Sunday with a 6 p.m. screening of "Ancestral Waters," a documentary exploring the three-year fight of the Puyallup Tribe to stop construction of a natural gas plant on ancestral land.

The film was directed by Darren Moore and was co-written by Moore and his wife, Benita Moore, who is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Writing in Indian Country Today, reviewer Frank Hopper wrote that the "moving emotional center to the film" involves the moment "the fight becomes personal for one young tribal member … a young Puyallup warrior named Dakota Case."

The screening will be followed by a discussion led by three activists: community organizer Jacob Johns, photographer Jeff Ferguson and retired minister George Taylor.

Meaningful Movies is cosponsored by the Magic Lantern and the Social Justice Coordinating Council of the UU Church of Spokane. The series screens on the third Sunday of every month beginning at 6 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are enouraged.