SANDPOINT — For decades, the coal industry has polluted water in British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho, threatening the cultural resources of the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation, including the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, according to the Idaho Conservation League.

The league’s new documentary, "Shared Waters: Ktunaxa and the Coal Mines”, shines light on the long-standing issue. The film will show in the Panida Theater on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 6 p.m.  

Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Vice Chairman Gary Aitken Jr. leads the story in the 43-minute documentary film, which reveals the far-reaching impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining in British Columbia’s Elk Valley. 

Idaho’s Kootenai River is one waterway affected by mining pollution. As the problem gains international attention through a Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 investigation, regulators face a pivotal choice: continue to prioritize the industry or protect the water, people, and future of the watershed by holding polluters accountable. 

Together, Ktunaxa leaders and other scientific and policy experts are racing against time to seek solutions, as new mines and mine expansions that are quickly moving through permitting process risk locking in decades of pollution. 

Along with the documentary showing, the event will include a discussion and an audience Q&A with Aitken, film director Jennifer Ekstrom, and cinematographer Jimmy Matlosz.  

“'Shared Waters’ amplifies a powerful Indigenous vision for justice, accountability, and restoration,” said Ekstrom. “The unprecedented indigenous leadership of the Boundary Waters Treaty investigation gives us hope for accountability for the coal industry in British Columbia.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased for $7 at https://www.panida.org/event/shared-waters.