Conversation with Land Defender Kim Smith

Kim Smith is a Todích'íí'nii (Bitterwater clan) woman from St Michaels Arizona. As a woman of a water clan she holds her responsibilities to water dear and has dedicated her life to protecting water & her homelands from resource extraction. For the past 10 years her organizing efforts include art activism, raising awareness about resource extraction on the Diné Nation, water rights, food sovereignty, permaculture & indigenous empowerment in efforts to uphold many inherit responsibilities. As a young Diné woman looking at personal and political choices she makes efforts according to her cultural teachings and values; thinking and behaving in a way that is consistent to the teachings of ancestors and with the laws of nature. In an effort to restore balance to the land and community. Kim is also a board member for Honor the Earth & Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment ( Diné CARE) two pioneer indigenous environmental organizations. Kim is also the curator for a national traveling exhibition called, "The Art of Indigenous Resistance".