Cowboys, Indians, & Lawyers 2006
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Julia Dengel
Directed by Julia Dengel
DVD, color, 57 min.
Sr. High - Adult
American Studies, Anthropology, Business, Environmental Studies, Law, Native American Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Urban Studies
Date Entered: 06/27/2007
Reviewed by Douglas Reed, Department of Political Science, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, ARIn the American West, no political issue is more contentious than water. Much of the population and economic growth in this region can be attributed to public works projects that made water available for irrigation and development. In recent decades, however, citizens have expressed serious concern about the environmental impacts and taxpayer expense of additional dam projects.
Cowboys, Indians, and Lawyers presents an interesting and insightful evaluation of one of these projects, the 30-year political struggle to construct a dam on the La Plata River in Colorado. This project, the Animas-La Plata (A-LP), would eliminate one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Rocky Mountains. A new resident to the state, the filmmaker brings a fresh perspective to this struggle. Even though she opposes the project, Dengel provides a balanced assessment of the competing arguments. She interviews both parties and gives them equal time to express their viewpoints. Moreover, the documentary traces strategies each has used throughout the years to start or stifle the cause, illustrating that one person’s pork barrel project is another’s economic lifeline.
The first-person narration is attention-getting and poetic. In addition, the documentary is visually appealing with images of the Colorado wilderness contrasted with urban growth. Moreover, the film tells a completed story. The proponents of the A-LP downsize their proposal, eliminating an irrigation system to assist agriculture, and the dam receives federal funding for construction. Viewers see the project well underway as heavy construction equipment is at work building the dam. The filmmaker also comes full circle. She returns to New York City, unable to bear the destruction of one of nature’s rare treasures.
Cowboys, Indians, and Lawyers aired on PBS in April of 2007. It won "Best of Festival List" at the 2007 Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival and was an entry at festivals in Durango, Santa Cruz, and Vermont.
Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.