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Paya: The Water Story of the Paiute Film Screening and Panel Discussion

May 25th from 6:00pm-7:30pm

You’re probably aware of some of the stories of water in the Owens Valley and Los Angeles. Books have been written on the subject and even Hollywood movies made about it. But there is more, much more, to the story.

 

Paya: The Water Story of the Paiute tells the untold story of America’s longest-lived water war between the Owens Valley Paiute and the City of Los Angeles. Millennia before Los Angeles diverted the Owens River through the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Paiute had constructed miles of intricate irrigation systems.

 

Using archival maps from 1856, the filmmakers spent four years working with Paiute elders to locate and map their remnant irrigation systems, and ultimately laying the foundation for a ‘first use’ water rights case now underway.

 

Join ESLT as co-host with The Owens Valley Indian Water Commission for an online screening of Paya: The Water Story of the Paiute and a moderated panel discussion with the following indigenous water protectors:
  • Brian Poncho, Bishop Paiute Tribe’s Board Representative for the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission;
  • Paul Huette, Vice Chairman of the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission; and
  • Teri Red Owl, Executive Director of Owens Valley Indian Water Commission.

 

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Please check back soon for new opportunities to get out, explore, and get involved in our conservation efforts here in the Eastern Sierra.