Mary Lyons, an Ojibwe elder and spiritual advisor, at Standing Rock.
Join us for a free screening of Thirst for Justice, an award-winning documentary film about the quest for clean water, directed and produced by Leana Hosea. The event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 7 pm in the Salem Family Auditorium at the Barrington Public Library. The 58-minute film will be followed by audience response.
This event is part of the Land Trust Learning Series, a partnership between the Land Trust and the Barrington Public Library and supported by local sponsors.
Armed only with facts and their illnesses, extraordinary citizens take on industry and government, risking arrest to protect clean water. From Flint to the Navajo Nation, via Standing Rock, this is their story.
THIRST FOR JUSTICE follows Janene Yazzie as she searches for the source of contamination in her son’s school’s water in Sanders, Arizona. She suspects drinking uranium-contaminated water from the 1979 Church Rock dam spill caused her ovarian cancer.
Armed with a geiger counter she begins investigating radioactive waste on the Navajo Nation and finds areas hotter than evacuation zones in Chernobyl.
When the epic movement for water justice ignites in Standing Rock, Janene is compelled to join. There she meets Flint water activist Nayyirah Shariff and their struggles converge.
Janene travels to Flint, where she sees first hand the similarities between what’s happening in this inner-city and the Navajo experience.
The sacredness of water flows through the film, with the water ceremonies and teachings from water carriers, like Mary Lyons and other Water Protectors.
Thanks to our 2025 Land Trust Learning Series Sponsors!
Meridian Custom Homes ~ Providence
Charles E. Millard, Inc. General Contractors – Bristol
Tiffany’s Salon & Spa – Barrington
PODS Swimming – East Providence