“If we do nothing it will all be gone…” This haunting line is from a beautiful music video featuring ten year old Ta’Kaiya of the Sliammon First Nation in British Columbia.

Her voice is both young and wise.   Her splendid singing of the song “Shallow Waters” is artistically contextualized with video clips related to the theme of the song and of Ta’Kaiya herself.  As if this weren’t enough, she was at the Cinema Night screening and introduced the movie with poise and sincerity that gave me goose bumps.

“Shallow Waters” was written to raise awareness about the proposed oil pipeline planned between the Alberta Tar Sands and Kitimat, BC.

Cinema Nite (May 18, 2011) was a part of the week long International Marine Conservation Congress.  This evening event was attended by over a hundred people, mainly marine scientists and graduate students.  All the more amazing that with this critical crowd, Ta’Kaiya and “Shallow Waters” received a standing ovation.