Autumn Peltier’s advocacy featured in documentary premiering at Toronto International Film Festival

By Sam Laskaris

OTTAWA— Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner Autumn Peltier will soon have yet another impressive venue to further her advocacy for clean drinking water.

A documentary about the 15-year-old water advocate, a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, will have its world premiere on Sept. 14 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The film, titled The Water Walker, follows Peltier as she travels to New York City to speak at the Climate Action Summit held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters last September.

Peltier had also spoken at the UN General Assembly in 2018, about the importance of protecting water in Indigenous communities around the world, when she was just 13.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity for my message to be heard,” Peltier, a Grade 11 student who moved to Ottawa a year ago, said about the documentary.

Despite her youthfulness, Peltier has become a sought-after speaker at events around the globe.

She met famous teen activist, Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, at the World Economic Forum this past January in Davos, Switzerland.

“I honestly do feel Greta is doing amazing work,” Peltier said.

Peltier, however, believes Indigenous and Black advocates and activists are treated differently. She is hoping The Water Walker will start to make a difference towards this issue.

“Hopefully it does change people’s perception of Indigenous peoples,” she said.

Stevie Salas, a Native American who wears many hats including being a musician, author and TV host, produced The Water Walker.

Salas, who has Apache ancestry and lives in California, said he first heard about Peltier last year, when he was in Northern Ontario, helping to install a clean water system giving access to clean water to local residents of Namaygoosisagagun for the first time in 40 years.

“I said, ‘I need to meet this girl,’” Salas said. “This sounds like a magical story.”

Salas met Peltier and her mother Stephanie last September in Toronto. He then decided he would produce the film about the teen’s work.

Salas also believes Peltier’s work is comparable to what Thunberg is accomplishing, but without the same worldwide recognition.

“I believe Greta gets more support from her country,” Salas said, adding he believes a public relations campaign, which will follow the release of The Water Walker, will provide a significant boost. “We are finding ways to get more support for Autumn.”

Salas also believes that the fact The Water Walker will premiere at the renowned Toronto festival is a huge positive.

“Our debut is at TIFF, which is gigantic,” he said. “With [the film being showed at] TIFF, I believe the film is going to explode.”

Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Glen Hare is among those who already speak highly of Peltier.

“The Anishinabek Nation is proud of the Water Commissioner and the work that she has been doing internationally,” he said. “Autumn Peltier has travelled across the big pond to speak on issues of water and environment and has travelled on her own without any government officials in attendance with her. You can see and hear the compassion in her voice and in her words how important water is to her for everyone. You can see and hear the conviction in her voice and through her trials and tribulations her understanding of the need to protect water.”

Grand Council Chief Hare is also hoping the documentary continues to enlighten others about the importance of Peltier’s advocacy.

“The Anishinabek Nation supports the Water Commissioner in her film and we know the true value of water,” he added. “‘Water is life,’ are the words that you can hear from Autumn as she states, ‘You can’t drink oil’.”