Can you Kickstart PAYA: The Untold Story of the LA-Owens Valley Water War?
This came from someone in my son's network of friends; please pass it on to anyone you think can help Jenna finish her project.
My ancestors were some of the first white settlers in the Owens Valley; and I lived in Bishop when I was in first grade. Being related to President Polk also causes me to feel indebted to the natives whose land was occupied by us. Sharing this is the least I can do to shine a light on the dark aspects of American history.
Happy new year,
Colleen Fernald
:fishy:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/jennacavelle/paya-the-untold-story-of-the-la-owens-valley-water
Project Background & Objective:
The year 2013 marks the centennial anniversary of the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. This engineering marvel diverts Owens River over 220 miles across the Mojave Desert to supply LA with its largest source of water. There is a widely held belief that Los Angeles went out and “stole” Owens Valley’s water. This viewpoint has produced an entire body of literature and film on the "LA-Owens Valley Water War". In nearly every case, these works focus solely on how LA took water from white settlers at the time the aqueduct was completed in 1913. From academic journals, to best-sellers, to documentaries and film noir, for the past 100 years, the Los Angeles-Owens Valley water story always begins and ends with the LA Aqueduct. But there is a greater story - an untold story that is rich in history and human achievement - a story that is as much a part of American memory as the creation of our great cities. This story is the history of the Paiute Indians who populated and irrigated Owens Valley for millennia, long before the aqueduct was built.
This project sheds light on the pre-history of America’s longest-lived water war, telling the untold story of Paiute Native Americans and the vast irrigation systems they engineered. These complex networks of ditches, canals, and dams were erected using communal labor and managed under the direction of a head irrigator who was elected by the tribe. The indigenous waterworks irrigated 60 miles of desert valley into a sustainable system of agriculture on which the Paiute survived for thousands of years. For the ancient Paiute ("Pai" meaning water), water was central to both their cultural practices and socio-political hierarchies. Colonization of Paiute territory and the takeover of their waterworks, without regard to first user water rights, led to the displacement of the Paiute, erasure of their irrigation practices, and suppression of their customs and history. Over time, tribal members have lost touch, or simply don’t remember the livelihood practices their people engaged in for nearly 9,000 years. Perhaps what is most miraculous about this untold story is that living tribal elders have identified what they believe are remnant waterworks in the current Owens Valley landscape. This project documents both Paiute irrigation history and remnant waterworks using web media, photography, videography, archival materials, cartography, and oral histories. The media resulting from this project will be featured in museum exhibits in the Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center in Owens Valley and UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library, in a documentary film, and on the project website.
I have over a decade of experience working as a published journalist, photographer, and researcher. I've worked on behalf of marginalized communities throughout the world - in Mexico, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and here in the United States. My project advisors, Dr. Pat Steenland of UC Berkeley, and Dr. John Walton, author of the award-wining book, Western Times and Water Wars, have worked with me for the past year and a half to design and implement this project. With the 100-year anniversary of the LA Aqueduct upon us, this project is both timely and urgent. By supporting my project, you can rest assured that you’ve backed something that is already in motion and projected to succeed. All I need is that extra push to help my project cross the finish line. I hope you’ll make that journey alongside me and the Owens Valley Paiute.
Current Progress & Project Needs:
For the past year, I have worked with tribal members to create and execute a creative project aimed at restoring cultural memory associated with ancient Paiute irrigation practices. The funding I received as part of the 2012 Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize from UC Berkeley jump-started my project by securing housing on the Bishop reservation and necessary transportation to move between UC Berkeley and the three reservation sites within the Valley for one full year. This funding has also paid for costs associated with multiple workshops I've held with tribal members to obtain oral histories and Paiute archival materials such as maps and surveys of the ancient irrigation systems. However, I am still in need of additional funding to help secure various items such as video and camera equipment, a PC computer needed to use cartography software, video editing software, digitizing and printing costs associated with the website and museum exhibits, and exhibit materials such as display cases for video, photo, and archival items. With your help, I will be able to complete this project, sharing the untold story of Paiute irrigation history through a documentary film and museum exhibits. Ultimately, you have the opportunity to help me restore a critical piece of American Indian history that is in danger of being lost in the Owens Valley landscape through weathering and human neglect, and in American memory through the loss of culturally transmitted traditional knowledge. (see website for more.)
