Elevating Untold Water Stories
Water is deeply intertwined with the cultural heritage and lived experiences of communities around the world. Yet, the dominant narratives surrounding water management, conservation, and access often overlook the rich diversity of perspectives, traditional knowledge, and place-based connections that exist at the local level. To address this gap, a growing movement of community-based initiatives is emerging to amplify marginalized voices and preserve cultural water legacies.
One such approach, known as “community-based archiving and curation,” empowers residents to become the stewards and interpreters of their own histories. By placing community members at the center of the documentation and storytelling process, these efforts not only recover forgotten or suppressed narratives, but also foster deeper connections to land and water resources.
Through the lens of several exemplary projects across California, this article explores how community-based archiving can serve as a powerful tool for preserving cultural water narratives, promoting environmental justice, and cultivating a more inclusive understanding of the state’s complex hydrosocial landscape.
Reclaiming the Water Commons
Water is perhaps one of the most fundamental elements that shapes human culture and identity. From sacred rituals and traditional ecological knowledge to stories of migration, conflict, and resilience, the ways in which communities relate to water are intrinsically tied to their histories, values, and worldviews. However, the dominant water management paradigm has long privileged technocratic, top-down approaches that often disregard these localized, experiential understandings of water.
“The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more when it is in context,” explain Elizabeth Laval and Candice Pendergrass of the Sikh Youth Public History Project. This sentiment lies at the heart of the community-based archiving movement, which seeks to reframe water as a “commons” – a shared resource and cultural wellspring that belongs to the people, not just the state or private sector.
By establishing community-driven archives and interpretation centers, marginalized groups are reclaiming their rightful place as the keepers and interpreters of local water histories. As Theresa Harlan of the Alliance for Felix Cove notes, “Retelling the stories of the first land stewards of this place is crucial” in California’s ongoing reckoning with the wrongs committed against Indigenous peoples.
Amplifying Diverse Water Narratives
From the Tongva and Chumash peoples of Southern California to the Punjabi and Hmong communities of the Central Valley, community-based archives are unearthing a diverse tapestry of water-related experiences and worldviews. These initiatives not only preserve endangered cultural knowledge, but also provide platforms for historically underrepresented groups to share their own stories and perspectives.
The “Kumeyaay Comics” project, for example, utilizes the comic book medium to share accurate, Indigenous-centered accounts of California’s history, including the vital role of water in Kumeyaay culture and lifeways. Similarly, the “Sowing Seeds” exhibit at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History amplifies the stories of Filipino farmworkers who shaped the state’s agricultural landscape through their labor and water-management practices.
By centering the voices of marginalized communities, these projects challenge the dominant narratives surrounding water and environmental stewardship. As Ethan Baregas, director of the “Kumeyaay Comics” initiative, explains, the goal is to “increase understanding and access to Indigenous histories and perspectives” – perspectives that have long been obscured or devalued in the annals of California’s water history.
Building Cross-Cultural Solidarity
Beyond preserving endangered cultural knowledge, community-based archiving initiatives also serve as vital platforms for building cross-cultural solidarity and collective action around water issues. By creating spaces for shared storytelling and dialogue, these projects foster greater empathy, understanding, and a sense of common purpose among diverse stakeholders.
The “Braiding Water” festival in San Luis Obispo County, for example, brings together BIPOC communities to celebrate their varied relationships to water through art, culture, and collective visioning. Similarly, the “Eyoomkuuka’ro Kokomaar (We Paddle Together)” project in the San Francisco Bay Area involves a collaboration between Two-Spirit, Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, Latinx, Filipino, Pacific Islander, and African diasporic communities to build a traditional plank-built boat, known as a ti’aat, as a symbol of cultural renewal and cross-cultural exchange.
These types of collaborative, community-driven initiatives not only foster a deeper appreciation for the diversity of water narratives, but also spark new pathways for collective action. As L. Frank Manriquez, the director of “Eyoomkuuka’ro Kokomaar,” explains, the project aims to “create ‘canoes not built in 200 years, and reviving languages not spoken in 100 years” – a powerful testament to the transformative potential of community-based archiving.
Redefining Water Stewardship
By positioning community members as the primary curators and interpreters of their own water histories, community-based archiving projects are redefining what it means to be a water steward. Rather than relying solely on technical expertise or top-down policy, these initiatives recognize the vital role that local, experiential knowledge and cultural traditions play in shaping sustainable water management practices.
The “Water Is Life” project at the Mt. Shasta Museum Association, for example, uses a combination of videos, interactive exhibits, and community storytelling events to explore the rich diversity of relationships between people and water in California’s Siskiyou County. Similarly, the “Redwood Time” initiative in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties invites residents and visitors to reexamine a local redwood round as an “encyclopedia with deep time origins” that holds histories, legends, and timescales often overlooked in dominant narratives.
By elevating these place-based, culturally-grounded perspectives, community-based archiving projects challenge the notion that water stewardship is the exclusive domain of experts and policymakers. Instead, they demonstrate how the lived experiences and traditional ecological knowledge of local communities can inform more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable approaches to water management.
Towards a Water-Resilient Future
As California grapples with the mounting challenges of climate change, drought, and water scarcity, the preservation and amplification of cultural water narratives has never been more crucial. By placing community members at the center of the storytelling and interpretation process, community-based archiving initiatives offer a powerful counterpoint to top-down, technocratic approaches to water governance.
Through projects like “Liquid Legacies,” “Water Is Life,” and “Redwood Time,” marginalized groups are asserting their rightful place as the stewards and interpreters of local water histories, challenging dominant power structures, and building cross-cultural solidarity around shared concerns. In the process, they are not only preserving endangered cultural knowledge, but also laying the groundwork for a more inclusive, water-resilient future.
As the state continues to face complex water challenges, the lessons and insights gleaned from community-based archiving initiatives can serve as a vital resource for policymakers, water managers, and the public at large. By embracing the diverse perspectives and place-based connections embodied in these projects, we can chart a more equitable and sustainable path forward – one that honors the liquid legacies of California’s vibrant cultures and communities.
