Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April

Transcription

1 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April Dear Stronach Committee & Supporters: March and April have brought many challenging though not insuperable tasks, which our team met with the sort of allegiance that speaks to the sustainability of this project past the termination of my Stronach appointment this summer. Requisite to any project's success is knowing when to bring specialists on board to carry out tasks for which one is inexpert, and then doing so. If I have learned anything, it is the importance of tenacious leadership and thoughtful team-building. MAPPING: The GIS Specialist/Cartographer who came in from Hawaii to work with us took our mapmaking activities to the next level. We now have a catalog of maps which express archival and current Paiute irrigation systems for nearly the entire Owens Valley. Our current map project shows changes over time extending back 157-years. The data we have collected is as precise as it is telling. Any scientist, lawyer, or tribal leader would be sufficiently armed to carry out a diverse number of successful investigations using these data and attendant maps. We are not quite finished, but we are close and will surely be finished by summer's end. We have temporarily suspended mapping activities until late May to Mid-June when we can get another GIS Specialist on board, as our Hawaiian cartographer has finished his contract with us and has moved on to another project. But there's more to be done. PAYA HISTORY GATHERINGS: The workshops are going well although attendance is down a bit. But the quality and depth of inquiry remains at a steady incline with each new workshop. So for this, I'm happy. We have been reviewing many of the Paiute myths and legends around water, attempting to tease apart the meanings that have been projected onto these stories over the past 150-years. Additionally, we have been discussing the ways in which Paiute water history has been excluded from the larger OV-LA Water Story narrative...and proposing ways to ameliorate this phenomenon. Our findings from these sessions have been properly recorded using audio, film, and text. The results will be included in the documentary film, the museum exhibits, on the website, and in a final report at the conclusion of the project this summer, which will be made available to the committee, the public, and the tribe. The gatherings are held monthly on the Bishop and Big Pine reservations. MUSEUM EXHIBITS: I have had brief meetings with the Cultural Committee at the Bishop Cultural Center about the Paiute Water History exhibit. I believe the exhibit should be thought of as "theirs" not "mine". Thus, I am currently assisting them in a decision process to determine what will be exhibited, how, and when. There are many qualified, experienced members of the committee and even the tribe's administration staff who would serve the exhibit better than I in this regard. I am encouraging them to step forward. As far as my role, I am here to provide financial assistance, copies of archival materials from UC Berkeley, creative consultation, and such. But ultimately, the committee and tribal members must make the final decisions about their water history exhibit. The Bancroft exhibit materials are currently being selected for the Fall exhibit at the Bancroft. I am working closely with a student intern, my UCB faculty advisor, and the curators to select oral histories and photographs from the 1930s, maps from the 1850s, and photographs and oral histories from my own project. These exhibits will likely be the last parts of my project to be finalized. DOCUMENTARY FILM: We have been filming PAYA the Movie for a month now. This part of the project is by far the most unfamiliar to me. As a writer and performer, I am very familiar with relying on "the script or screenplay" to bring a story to life. But this story cannot be scripted (with the exception of the historical narrative which only makes up about 5-minutes of the opening film sequence). Thus, the creative process around the film is more about "letting go" and "surrendering" to the characters I've chosen and steering the story in a particular direction aimed at my goal of "recovering cultural memory within the tribe". This requires an enormous amount of patience and intuition. Factor in that I've never produced, directed, or written my OWN film, although I've held various roles on other film projects. Thus, there is a huge learning curve that often overwhelms me. That said, we have hired a sound person, an animator, an illustrator, we are currently negotiating with an editor although everyone on my team knows how to edit to some degree, and I am doing most of the actual filming myself. The story, at least the scripted part, is being written by John Walton (one of my faculty advisors) and me. However, the characters and film crew all contribute to the overall story given that the film at its core is about the process of discovering their history through making the film. It's essentially a film about a film. Or a film about my overall project. It's kind of

2 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April hard to explain, but you'll see soon! Overall, I'm thrilled by the process of watching the story develop through the characters' engagement with my project. After pitching my story to the producer of the awardwinning film, FLOW, to use his words, he called it "Media as cultural healing...straight from the heart." I think that's an accurate way to think about PAYA the Movie. OTHER STUFF: I am currently negotiating stories with several publications about my project and the Paiute irrigation systems which I will author. I continue to meet with publishers, academics, press, and film producers and crew about collaborations and other ways to keep getting this story out to more people. As contracts are signed, I will update you accordingly. I give classes and lectures regularly in the community and at universities. I recently gave a talk to the same class at UCB that sourced this project nearly 2-years ago. That was cool! I am scheduled to lead multiple panel discussions and classes over the next couple of months related to this project. As those are completed, I will update you. Harry Williams, my primary community counterpart, was awarded the first-ever UC Berkeley Community Scholar Award through the American Cultures department and signed by the Chancellor. A ceremony was held in his honor and he attended activities for three days during which he was able to review many of the archival items that document his tribe's history. Although one can never be certain, we believe he is the only Paiute (living or otherwise) to ever hold these documents in his hands. This was a highlight for all of us, as our project comes full circle. Pictures of his visit can be seen below. We held an Earth Day event at Bishop city park this past weekend to raise funds for the film. We gave out Free Water to park visitors and sold t-shirts. We raised $337 to help pay for an underwater camera housing so that we can get footage of the Owens River and its creek system. Pictures below. An article featuring a class Harry Williams and I gave at the local college, Sierra Cosa: A link to the Making of PAYA the Movie, updates are made regularly. A link to the Movie website: Thanks to all for your continued support. We are nearing the finish line...although I don't believe this project will ever truly be "finished". But rather, this is only the beginning... Best, Jenna Cavelle Visting

3 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April Latest Movie Poster Jenna and Harry being filmed for PAYA the Movie

4 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April Me in my PAYA T- shirt holding a Paiute friend's baby...at Earth Day

5 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April Our team working hard at the Earth Day booth as Mark Bagley of Owens Valley Committee stops by to say hello The PAYA team celebrates after a 9- hour day at Earth Day

6 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April

7 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April Harry's Visit to UC Berkeley to receive his award!

8 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April Shots of the beautiful valley!

9 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April

10 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April

11 Jenna Cavelle Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize Letter Home March-April