Water Learning Series: LA - Session One with Tina Calderon, Annie Mendoza, Teri Red Owl & Kyndall Noah

“More than what you call the capturing or retention of these waters, is speaking up to give the waters their rights. They need to flow freely. We need to stop taking the water from up north, which means we need to figure out how to stop damming up our waters. We had water sources. What happened to them? We need to bring that back. More than what we call things, we need to use our voice to do the right thing.” –Tina CalderonWelcome to the first session of the year-long Water Learning Series: Los Angeles, where we will host 11 conversations with organizations, community projects, tribal organizations, activists, organizers, and leaders from LA and places impacted by LA’s water story.  We begin this series with indigenous voices at the forefront. We welcome Tina Calderon (Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash and Yoeme), Teri Red Owl (Bishop Paiute Tribe Nuumu from Payahuunadu), Annie Mendoza (Gabrieleno-Tongva), and Kyndall Noah (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) to share their stories about what the area that is now Los Angeles once was and how an indigenous perspective is needed in relation to how water is treated in LA. The conversation explores the questions: What is the truth of the past? How does that impact the present? What is the future we want to become? Through the reflections of the guests, we traverse the past when there was a reciprocal relationship with the water, water was a relative, and before reckless and profit driven modes of extraction. The guests share how the history of colonization and ownership of water has informed the present and created a system of scarcity and fear used to push infrastructure in LA with voters kept in the dark about where their water comes from. The guests and the community on the call widen the conversation, sharing stories of youth empowerment through education, developing projects to educate the public about the truth of water in LA, and breaking the isolation by working together towards collective futures.TINA CALDERON (Gabrielino Tongva, Chumash and Yoeme) Tina Orduno Calderon is a Culture Bearer for her family; the descendants of Komiikranga of the Santa Monica mountains which is shared territory for the Chumash and Tongva. Tina is wife, mother, grandmother, sister and auntie to many. Tina is a singer who also enjoys creative writing and composing poems and songs.TERI RED OWL (Bishop Paiute Tribe Nuumu from Payahuunadu) Executive Director at Owens Valley Indian Water Commission. Co-Produced Award-winning film PAYA THE WATER STORY OF THE PAIUTE. She lives in Bishop, California with her husband and children.ANNIE MENDOZA (Gabrieleno-Tongva) Annie is cocreator and director of the “Aqueduct Between Us,” a five-part social justice multimedia radical oral history documentary that aims to educate the people of Los Angeles about the Indigenous communities (Tongva –Gabrieleno and the Owens Valley Paiute/ Shoshone) who have been greatly impacted by their land and water use.KYNDALL NOAH (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) Project Coordinator/Communication Specialist for the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission, working to ensure that the story of Owens Valley is inclusive and told from the perspective of the Indigenous people. Hosted by: Kate Bunney Produced & Edited by: Anne Carol MitchellIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter StraussIf you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here.For more info go to Walking Water website Hosted by: Kate BunneyProduced & Edited by: Jay LamarsIntro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter StraussIf you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here. https://walking-water.org/donate/For more info go to Walking Water website. https://walking-water.org/