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Welcome
The Cherokee Word for Water is based on the true story of the Bell Waterline Project. The feature film is set in the early 1980s in a rural Oklahoma Cherokee community where many houses lacked running water. Led by Wilma Mankiller (played by Kimberly Guerrero, A&E’s Longmire) and Cherokee organizer Charlie Soap (played by Mo Brings Plenty, Netflix’s House of Cards), the community of volunteers built nearly 20 miles of waterline to save their community. The successful completion of the waterline, using the traditional concept of gadugi — working together to solve a problem – led to Wilma’s election as Chief, Wilma and Charlie’s marriage and sparked a movement of similar self-help projects across the Cherokee Nation and in Indian Country that continues to this day.
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Welcome
The Cherokee Word for Water is based on the true story of the Bell Waterline Project. The feature film is set in the early 1980s in a rural Oklahoma Cherokee community where many houses lacked running water. Led by Wilma Mankiller (played by Kimberly Guerrero, A&E’s Longmire) and Cherokee organizer Charlie Soap (played by Mo Brings Plenty, Netflix’s House of Cards), the community of volunteers built nearly 20 miles of waterline to save their community. The successful completion of the waterline, using the traditional concept of gadugi — working together to solve a problem – led to Wilma’s election as Chief, Wilma and Charlie’s marriage and sparked a movement of similar self-help projects across the Cherokee Nation and in Indian Country that continues to this day.
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About The Film
The Cherokee Word For Water was voted the top American Indian film of the past 40 years in a survey conducted by the American Indian Film Institute in 2015.
Watch the Trailer
Available In The Following Formats
To show The Cherokee Word for Water in a community venue or on campus, you must first purchase a screening license. The process is simple: Click the button below to get started.
Live Streaming for The Cherokee Word For Water is now available.
Host A Screening
Host A Screening
Help us bring The Cherokee Word for Water to your hometown!
We’ve partnered with Tugg.com, a web-platform that helps individuals, groups and organizations to set up personalized movie screenings in theaters across the country. The process is simple - YOU pick the time, place and date, and Tugg will reserve the theater and give you a personalized event page for your screening. Here’s the trick though - you need to pre-sell a certain amount of tickets in order for the event to be confirmed!
Once you get your event page, it’s up to you to spread the word to your community and let folks know the event will only take place if enough tickets are reserved before a deadline. Once enough tickets are sold, your event will be confirmed and you can sit back and enjoy the show! If there aren’t enough tickets sold, then no one will be charged for the reservation and the screening will be called off.
Upcoming Screenings
Upcoming Screenings
MAY 9, 2016
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER CENTER
Noon screening followed by Q&A with Director Charlie Soap and Producer Kristina Kiehl.
APRIL 11, 2016
IU CINEMA, Bloomington, IN
7 p.m. 9th Annual Film series, sponsored by First Nations Educational and Cultural Center, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
DWELLING SPACES
119 S. Detroit Ave. Tulsa, OK 74120
918-582-1033
MEADOWLARK MEDIA
meadowlarkmovies.com
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN-D.C.
Fourth Street & Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20560
202-633-1000
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN-N.Y.
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004
212-514-3700
NORTHWEST NATIVE EXPRESSIONS
stores.northwestnativeexpressions.com
PROSPERO'S BOOKS
Weiner Leo utca 20, Budapest, 1066 Hungary
REBECCA'S INDIAN TRADING POST
219 W Mission Ave., Bellevue, Nebraska
402-292-1577
TALKING LEAVES BOOKSTORE
30 Nickeh Drive, Cherokee, NC 28719
828-497-6044
ZANGO MUSIC
zangomusic.com
800-688-0187