UW Tacoma will highlight Northwest American Indians’ struggles for civil rights at a film showing and discussion Tues., April 29, from Noon to 2 p.m. in the Birmingham Hay & Seed Factory Building, Room 103. Watch an updated version of the landmark 1971 film “As Long As the Rivers Run” and join filmmaker Carol Burns and Puyallup Tribe activist Ramona Bennett for a discussion after the film. The event is free and open to the public.
“As Long As the Rivers Run,” recently updated from its original 1971 release, documents the struggles of Northwest tribal members to exercise and preserve their treaty rights to fish, a fight that is linked to the larger American Indian movement for tribal self-determination. The film examines the violence and massive demonstrations leading up to the hallmark decision in Washington’s Bolt fishing rights case. Bennett, one of the activists involved in the original demonstrations, and Burns, who helped make the film, will speak about their experiences.