Drowned Land

Logline: Deep in the Choctaw Nation of rural Oklahoma rages a fight to preserve the Kiamichi River, reckoning with a cycle of land
loss for the Indigenous diaspora and the community at large.

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 continue to try to commodify the remaining water and build a hydropower plant on the small 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 rematriation and the rights of Nature, reinforcing a commitment to end the cycle of disconnection from our land.

Drowned Land has been generously supported by ITVS, Ford Foundation JustFilms, Vision Maker Media, the Sundance Institute, Patagonia, Firelight Media, the University of Arkansas, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, Nia Tero, the Center for Cultural Power, Patagonia, New Orleans Film Society, Santa Fe Film Institute and the Redford Center.