Water was and still is an essential resource for the O'odham people. In researching the role of water, the chain of events that led to the destruction of the ecosystem, the failure of the O'odham agriculture and in effect the disentigration of the community and culture of the people demopnstrated the importance of water in survival. Upriver settlement was the primary cause of the water problems which compounded as more non-indians moved into the area adn the water resources were mismanaged and redistributed. Many of my questions have been answered thorugh my reading but I think the disregard for the Native Americans of the area by the government as well as other settlers is an interesting area needing more time. I also want to observe what cultural aspects fell victim to the lack of water in relation to the surviving.
Posted by franzenj at April 24, 2005 09:12 PMJoe, you have a great overview of what is going on with water (good luck with folder 9!). How were you planning on observing the cultural aspects? While we don't have to ask hard questions about alchohal or the like, I'm not sure what exactly we should ask about water. There was a suggestion made that we look at the way people use the water in their day to day lives, so recording that should be a stepping point. We should also record what is going on around the damns now and how wells are set up around the area. Looks like we have our hands full.
Posted by: Sara at April 26, 2005 02:44 PM