New TIFF documentary shines a light on boil water advisories across Indigenous communities

A documentary that sheds light on the unclean water crisis in Indigenous communities across the country is premiering this week in TIFF.

The film, Boil Alert, directed by Stevie Salas and James Burns takes viewers on a journey with Layla Staats, an artist and activist from Six Nations of the Grand River.

Six Nations is located around two hours away from where the Toronto Film Festival is, yet some of the community is still facing the struggle of unclean drinking water.

The film follows Staats as she investigates these issues surrounding unsafe water in Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.

“I’m so excited for the world to hear these stories, these voices, and I can’t wait for people to take It in, for people to understand and for it to change them, like it changed me,” Staats told CityNews in an interview.

Throughout the documentary, Staats is also on a journey of reclaiming her identity as a Mohawk woman.

“I grew up in an urban town and very disconnected from my culture. With generational traumas from residential schools in my family … And for me the water was a guiding force in that path. It just kept reminding me that I’m connected.”

RELATED: Fight for access to clean water for all Six Nations of Grand River residents

Salas said they wanted the documentary to be these two stories that merge and tie together.

“One of them has a story about identity. We [are] all trying to figure out who we are, especially as Indigenous people, some of us growing up not on a reservation some of us on the reservation but not knowing the outside world. And it’s a story about Staats going around, trying to figure out how to heal herself by getting to know herself,” he explained.

Staats said she was shocked at how many people aren’t aware about what’s going on in Indigenous communities who live without clean drinking water.

“Most people, they’ve never heard of it. They don’t know it exists but it’s the longest boil water advisory in Canada. So for me it was seeing these things that I can’t unsee and knowing that the world needs to see them too,” shared Staats. “Once you see it, you can’t unsee it, you can’t unknow this. And it inevitably allows you to take more action, to be more conscious of your connection with water.”

It was important for Salas to bring that awareness to the issue through this film. “We feel like lack of awareness might be just as dangerous to Indigenous and poor people than dirty water itself.”

The film premieres at TIFF this Friday. You can find more information on showtimes and about the film here.