Layla Staats

Layla Staats
Mohawk, Turtle Clan, Six Nations
Indigenous Film Maker, Speaker, and Activist

Layla Staats is an inspirational and creative multidisciplinary Artist, based on Six Nations of the Grand River. Her work stems from her reclamation journey to take back the Mohawk Teachings that were taken from her before she was even born as a generational survivor of residential schools.

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Layla is a Filmmaker and storyteller who just premiered her second documentary “Boil Alert” at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the film Layla guides you as she investigates and campaigns around issues of unsafe and unclean water supply in indigenous communities in both Canada and the United States. Toronto Star called Boil Alert “an Ambitious documentary that Transcends geographical boundaries.”

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Layla is also a singer/songwriter, and a powerful Speaker and Activist. She advocates for Indigenous rights and utilizes her mediums to provide a platform for the stories and movements of her community.

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She has dedicated her life to her family and to her people. She uses her voice, her films, her music and sometimes putting her body on the front lines, to defend the Land and Water. Her unique ability to emotionally connect the audience to the issues leaves people forever changed, inspiring compassion, respect, and admiration for Indigenous people and their roots. With a shining light that seemingly never dims and a strength that can't be broken, Layla's work speaks for itself - revealing a one-of-a-kind voice that stands with courage and conviction.