Expired July 27, 2020 6:59 AM
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One word ripples outward, vibrating with healing power. Sawalmem, meaning Sacred Water. Sawalmem could help us unravel the climate crisis we’ve created…For Winnemem Wintu young man Michael "Pom" Preston Sawalmem represents an entire worldview, a vital vision for healing the world and for healing from the legacy of the Shasta Dam that, since the 1940s, has harmed salmon and the Sacramento River and the Winnemem Wintu people of Shasta Mountain, California. As a student of environmental studies at UC Berkeley, Pom did not feel heard. He felt he was being told that his indigenous viewpoint was irrelevant. The time has come to listen to Pom and to the Winnemem Wintu tribe. And to observe Sawalmem. In violation of state law, against all scientific reason and risking contamination of Northern California’s water supply as well as “ethnocide” against the Winnemem Wintu people, a Shasta Dam raise is being fast-tracked by the Trump administration, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Westland's Water District. Pom's mother Chief Caleen Sisk speaks out at every opportunity and organizes Run4Salmon, an annual 300-mile prayerful journey by foot, boat, horse and canoe. Pom dances in tribal ceremonies on Mount Shasta to stay strong in this latest battle as a warrior for Sawalmem. Sawalmem…A vision of the return of the salmon to their ancestral home waters and the restoration of the largest river in California, the Sacramento. The spiritual is political. Sawalmem

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    19 minutes
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    USA
  • Premiere
    Nevada Premiere
  • Director
    Natasha Deganello Giraudie, Michael "Pom" Preston
  • Screenwriter
    Natasha Deganello Giraudie
  • Producer
    Micro-Documentaries LLC
  • Cast
    Michael "Pom" Preston
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