In the Navajo Nation–the largest Native reservation in the United States–water is not taken for granted. Here, more than one in three Diné must haul water to their rural homes, often across long distances. The Diné, who are 67 times more likely to lack running water than the average American, use the least amount of water per person in the U.S., but pay the most. Eighty miles away, residents of Utah’s Washington County rely on the same water supply yet pay less for that water than almost anyone in the country, and until recently, consumed the most. This contrast reflects inequities of power and access across rural and racial lines through our most fundamental resource.
As the American Southwest endures its driest period in 1,200 years, lawmakers have an opportunity to make significant changes to how water is allocated and address gaps in equity. For the first time in over a century, the U.S. federal government is drafting a new plan—one that anticipates a drier future and sets the world’s most litigated river system on a sustainable path. It also promises to center Native perspectives and remedy a water supply divided along racial lines. Indigenous communities, whose relationship with the government has been largely defined by broken promises, remain deeply skeptical.
This project is close to home–living between the two communities in my daily life, I too rely on the same water–which I enjoy safely, cheaply and reliably. As an artist and journalist, I feel compelled to expose the inequities my Indigenous neighbors face. For two years I built relationships within the communities. Through a fellowship at the University of Colorado, I studied the underlying contextual forces that have wrought this gross inequity. In the second year, I slowly began making work using a 6x7 camera, supported by the Center for Contemporary Documentation. I believe in the power of conversation to span political divides, and through awareness, move the needle in this critical moment.
Website
https://elliotstudio.com/
Collaborating Artist
Alice Gabriner
