The vast territory known as the Owens Valley was home for centuries to Native Americans who lived along its rivers and streams fed by snowmelt that cascaded down the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
Then came European settlers, and over time, the tribesmen lost access to almost all of that land. Over time, water was also lost: in the early 20th century, Los Angeles developers built a 226-mile-long aqueduct from Lake Owens to the city. It was this project, so the story goes, that allowed Los Angeles to become the booming metropolis it is today.
Less familiar is what happened to the Owens Valley and the people who lived there, after most of the water was sent south. Owens Lake is now a mosaic of saline pools covered in pink crystals and wetlands dotted with gravel mounds designed to trap dust. And today, the four recognized tribes in the area have less than 2,000 acres of reservation land, estimated Teri Red Owl, a local Native American leader.
But things are changing, tribe members say. They have recently reclaimed corners of the valley, spurred by the growing push across the country to return the land to indigenous stewardship, also known as the “Land Back” movement.
In recent years, Native American tribes have reclaimed hundreds of acres of ancestral lands, often after decades of defense. Members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation have repurchased 130 acres in Illinois, which will become a federally recognized reservation for the tribe. And about 850 acres of land along the Mattaponi River in Virginia were returned to Indian stewardship and preservation.
In California, state and local leaders have acknowledged a dark history of brutality toward Native Americans, and tribes have claimed territory across the state.
Earlier this year, the state transferred ownership of the Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery, a European-style stone hall built in 1917 and with manicured grounds, to the Fort Independence Paiute Indian Community, in the first return of this type under a new state directive. .
And last year, the owners of a healing retreat called Three Creeks sold their five-acre property to a water advocacy group representing three local tribes.
Along Highway 395, the desolate highway that runs along the base of the Sierra Nevada, the landscape is rocky and covered in brush. But access to Three Creeks is like a portal to a different world, opening to a lush green expanse and a pond reflecting the clear blue sky. On the property itself, apple, cherry and apricot trees bloomed on a recent afternoon as the sounds of dripping water and laughter wafted through the air.
This is not what the tribesmen’s ancestors would have seen. But Red Owl, executive director of the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission, the group that bought Three Creeks, said it’s no less important.
“To me, it’s sacred,” he said as he took a break in the fresh air of what is known as the Heron Hut, a circular building on the property used for meetings and ceremonies.
The former owners of Three Creeks had established the site about 25 years ago for visitors from around the world to stay, tend the gardens, hike the nearby mountains and learn about the history of the area from local tribesmen. In the process, they built relationships with the Native American community.
Gigi Coyle and her partners were told they could have sold the property for $1.5 million on the open market. Instead, they accepted the commission’s proposal to buy it for $900,000 as a gesture toward the people whose ancestors were there first. Donations to fund the commission’s purchase came from people around the world who were moved by the community’s call.
Coyle, 74, said he hoped the return of the land would inspire others to challenge beliefs that land is simply property that must be passed on to heirs.
“Maybe think twice,” he said. “Recognize how important the relationship with place is and that these places have destinations, just like these people.”
Members of the area’s Native American community, who make up a relatively large proportion of the area’s overall population, have carried the legacy of brutal displacement and broken promises by the federal government. (According to census data, 13.8 percent of the roughly 19,000 residents of Inyo County, which includes the valley, identify solely as American Indian, compared to 1.7 percent in California overall.)
At the Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center, maps show where local tribes once lived near water sources. The name of their home, Payahuunadü, translates as “land of flowing water.”
Other exhibits tell how, in the 1850s, white miners and ranchers discovered water and came to terms with a U.S. government that continually reduced their territory.
Today, the four recognized tribes in the area struggle to provide sufficient housing for their members, many of whom have left as a result. On the Bishop Paiute Tribe’s reservation, trailers are parked in the front yards of ranch-style homes and weathered duplexes. Above our heads rise the steep, towering peaks of the mountains, this spring covered in blinding white.
While many land returns involve sites that have historical or ceremonial significance, tribal leaders in the Owens Valley say they also want to reclaim property that community members can use for housing and jobs that can sustain their lives.
“We take care of our roads, we take care of our water, we take care of our housing — the state doesn’t do that for us,” said Carl Dahlberg, chairman of the Fort Independence Tribe, whose reservation is about 40 miles south of the Bishop Paiute Tribe.
The Fort Independence Tribe, which is not part of the group that purchased Three Creeks, took ownership of the Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery thanks to a recent rule change that gives tribes the right of first refusal when the state dispenses with excess ownership.
Marilyn Bracken, 85, a longtime member of the Friends of Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, which has helped preserve the site, recalled visiting there for field trips and birthday parties as a child growing up on the Fort Independence reservation. . She said it was significant that her community now controlled the site.
“It’s heartening, because this was once our land,” he said as he helped prepare for a tribal member’s wedding on the hatchery grounds. “Do we feel like we are the ones who should get it back? No, it should have been my grandparents and my great-grandparents. But it is happening now.”
Environmental groups are working with Indigenous leaders in hopes of keeping more water in the Owens Valley and, in particular, Owens Lake. They say Los Angeles’ demand for water has left the region’s ecosystems barely surviving. They hope that after two wet winters, Los Angeles water officials will have more freedom to rethink how much water they really need and rely more on conservation and recapture measures in Southern California.
“We have a moment here. There is water in the lake. People are ecstatic,” said Wendy Schneider, executive director of Friends of the Inyo, an environmental nonprofit.
Los Angeles water officials said they have a mandate to keep water bills affordable for the millions of customers they serve in the city. And water from the Sierra Nevada and below the Owens Valley is the cheapest source in the utility’s water portfolio, which includes purchasing water from the overused Colorado River.
Officials also stressed that in drier years, their first responsibility is to provide water to tribes, which often leaves less for the utility.
“We’re trading off impacts from one area to another,” said Jaime Valenzuela, who manages Lake Owens planning for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “It’s a big balancing act.”
The Owens Valley Indian Water Commission, the group that owns Three Creeks, sees more potential for land return in the area. A couple who own a neighboring property, bordered by a creek, is already working on a letter of intent to sell it to the commission.
For now, tribal members and other community members are working to make Three Creeks a sanctuary for anyone interested in learning about the indigenous history of the Owens Valley. They are creating camps around the edge of the pond and growing native plants like rose hips and nettles.
Julia Morales, 33, a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe who lives in a cabin in Three Creeks with her daughter, tended to a clump of bushes in the garden on a recent afternoon. She also has a job at a restaurant in Bishop, but she said she always wanted to work outdoors and with the environment.
“I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
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