{"id":2081880,"date":"2025-10-10T14:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2081880"},"modified":"2025-10-10T14:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:15:11","slug":"where-to-watch-the-american-southwest-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/where-to-watch-the-american-southwest-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Where To Watch \u2018The American Southwest\u2019 Documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Colorado River\u2019s uncertain future is the focus of the new nature documentary \u201cThe American Southwest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Stunningly captured by director Ben Masters with narration from model and climate justice advocate Quannah ChasingHorse<\/a>, the film debuted in theaters on Sept. 5 and hits major streaming platforms Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe American Southwest\u201d highlights the abundance of life in the 1,450-mile-long waterway \u2014 including elk, trout, salmon, condors, Mojave rattlesnakes and jaguars \u2014 while revealing what stands to be lost if the river isn\u2019t protected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Colorado River, which serves as a lifeline for over 40 million people, has lost trillions of gallons over the past two decades from drought, climate change and overuse. Human attempts to control the river with reservoirs and dams allowed cities to blossom, but also erased ecosystems and hastened the river\u2019s long-term decline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For ChasingHorse, the urgency of the crisis is undeniable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn my Lakota culture, mn\u00ed wi\u010dh\u00f3ni means \u2018water is life.\u2019 And I think every single culture that I have experienced has their own version of that,\u201d she told celebrity.land.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Model<\/picture><\/div>\n
Model and climate justice advocate Quannah ChasingHorse told celebrity.land why it was crucial to include an Indigenous perspective in “The American Southwest,” a new documentary about the Colorado River.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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\"The<\/picture><\/div>\n
The documentary highlights the abundance of life in the 1,450-mile-long waterway, as well as its uncertain future.<\/figcaption>
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Ben Masters\/The American Southwest<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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As part of Alaska\u2019s Han Gwich\u2019in people and a member of the Lakota\u2019s Sicangu and Oglala nations, ChasingHorse was taught that people should be the stewards \u2014 and not masters \u2014 of the land and water around them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re the ones that have experienced these things for generations and generations and generations,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re the ones who know these lands like the back of our hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That perspective could be key to the river\u2019s survival, yet Indigenous people have long been excluded from decisions about how it is managed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When the Colorado River Compact was signed in 1922, the seven basin states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) divvied up the river\u2019s flow without consulting tribal governments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That exclusion allowed for the prioritization of urban and agricultural growth over ecological health and Native water rights. Worse, it relied on faulty data from unusually wet years, granting states water that didn\u2019t exist \u2014 a mistake that might have been avoided if tribal leaders, with their generational knowledge of drought cycles, had been included in the discussions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A century later, ChasingHorse said, little has changed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Stunningly<\/picture><\/div>\n
Stunningly captured by director Ben Masters, “The American Southwest” reveals how elk, salmon, rattlesnakes, jaguars and more depend on the Colorado River and its dwindling resources.<\/figcaption>
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Ben Masters\/The American Southwest<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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\"Sharing<\/picture><\/div>\n
Sharing a simple truth about how to treat nature, ChasingHorse told celebrity.land, “I grew up being taught, ‘Don\u2019t take more than you need. And if you take more than you need, something will be taken from you.'”<\/figcaption>
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Ben Masters\/The American Southwest<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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\u201cIn the work that I\u2019ve done, I\u2019ve noticed that any time Indigenous people offer their knowledge, it isn\u2019t really taken seriously or believed in the same way a Western scientist is immediately believed and trusted in their work,\u201d ChasingHorse told celebrity.land.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBut a lot of the time, they\u2019re just now figuring out things that we\u2019ve known for years,\u201d she continued, adding how she hopes \u201cThe American Southwest\u201d will \u201chelp people understand that our knowledge is just as needed as Western science.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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ChasingHorse believes Indigenous expertise and the priorities of Native communities must be front and center as states, tribes and other stakeholders negotiate the river\u2019s future ahead of the expiration of current guidelines in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For her, debates about who gets what from the river overlook a simple truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI grew up being taught, don\u2019t take more than you need,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if you take more than you need, something will be taken from you.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe American Southwest\u201d is now playing in theaters and available to stream on Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home and other major platforms. For more information about how you can help save the Colorado River, visit TheAmericanSouthwest.film.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n