Since time immemorial, Payahuunadü (Owens Valley) has been home to the NÜÜmÜ (Paiute) and Newe (Shoshone) people. Located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, the local name, ‘place of the flowing water,’ is reflective of the abundant water flowing down from the mountains.

Just 250 miles away from Los Angeles, Payahuunadü is also the source of roughly 30% of Los Angeles water needs. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) own 95% of the valley floor and have been pumping and exporting water since 1913 – for many it is seen that Los Angeles stole both the land and water through deception. It is a significant example of a system of extraction that is no longer viable in the necesity for climate resilience.

The impact of this on the area has been horrific for all beings that Payahuunadü is home to. And it has contributed to the growing mutually dependent, colonial relationship with Los Angeles … a relationship that has left the local peoples without voice. This has borne much conflict and legal actions over broken agreements and animosity for over 140 years now.

We invite all to understand that water cannot neatly be separated from the lived history of people, their culture, and values. Water is shaped by shared lived histories and a solution to understanding how vital our part is can be viewed through critical reflection on the historical injustices that continue to manifest in tribal contemporary water issues. Without critical reflection, we inadvertently constrain our options for innovative approaches to sustainable water futures for all.

With the impacts of climate change becoming ever more obvious: severe drought, high risks of earthquakes, year round fire risk, extreme heat and flooding, the need for LA and all peoples of place, to be accountable and responsible is ever increasing.

“As people of this land, our ancestral lineage, culture, values, and our perspectives on water sustainability and futures, constitute an invitation to have dialogue on the values and vision that will lean on the resilience and indigenous ways of being, which provides valuable instruction for thinking and living sustainably.”

Kyndall Noah, Owens Valley Indian Water Commission

We invite those who choose to walk with us to come to Payahuunadü to bear witness, to listen, to learn and to keep exploring ways to be in restored relations with water.

Click here for more information and to register.