Denaturalizing Dispossession in the Political Ecology of the American West: Reassessing the History of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and Its Implications for Indigenous Land and Water Rights

Abstract

Indigenous dispossession has been left out or relegated to the historical background of much of the political ecology of the American West, naturalized as a precursor to natural resource policy rather than as a direct and ongoing consequence of it. This article offers a framework for denaturalizing dispossession, drawing on Indigenous and settler colonial studies to examine the specific legal, political, and territorial processes by which dispossession is produced and contested over time. This framework is used to examine the long-overlooked history of Indigenous dispossession wrought by the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the early twentieth century. In-depth archival, legal, and ethnographic research reveals how, in the 1930s, this history became obscured by naturalizing discourses that continue to be invoked in disputes over tribal land and water rights today. The study underscores the complex intersections of law, history, and justice in struggles over dispossession and highlights the need for more engagement on these issues from political ecologists of the American West.

Key Words:

• American West
• dispossession
• Indigenous rights
• political ecology
• water

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all those that helped make this research happen, whether through providing early input on research design, sharing insights in interviews, assisting with archival research, or reviewing my written work. This research would not have been possible without the partnership of the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission, as well as the formal authorization provided by the Tribal Councils of the Bishop, Big Pine, and Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribes. Special thanks to Teri Red Owl, Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, Monty Bengochia, Harry Williams, Sally Manning, Alan Bacock, Anna Hohag, and the OVIWC staff and commissioners for their guidance and feedback through various iterations of this work over the years. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Lynn Johnson and Lee Hanover for their assistance with allotment research, to Ian Bell for the use of his maps and figures, and to the archivists at the National Archives and the Eastern California Museum for their help finding and accessing historical documents. Finally, I am grateful to Meg Mills-Novoa, colleagues in the School of Public Service, and three anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the article.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Land Transaction Case Records 1950–1958, Independence; Record Group 75; National Archives and Records Administration–Pacific Region (San Francisco) [RG 75, NARA–Pacific Region (SF)].

2 General Land Office Records, U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx.

3 Executive Order 1496 reserved approximately 2,800 acres of former Forest Reserve lands between Bishop and Independence. Executive Order 1529 reserved an additional 67,164 acres on the tablelands near Bishop that Indian Agents would later ask to have revoked, reasoning that having it on the map made it “impossible to show the urgent necessity of purchasing land for the homeless Indians in this Valley” (H. K. Palmer and White,1922 90).

4 Board of Water and Power Commissioners to Owens Valley Investigation Committee, April 14, 1931, 5 pgs., IND-INV 1925–1937, WP06-2-1, Owens Valley Historical Records, Real Estate Division, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Eastern California Museum [ECM].

5 Ray R. Parrett, Superintendent, to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, May 5, 1925, 4 pgs. ECM.

6 Ray R. Parrett, Superintendent, to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, October 1, 1925, 4 pgs. File 66039 – 25 Bishop, General Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, California, Sacramento Area Office, RG 75; NARA–Pacific Region (SF)

7 Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of Interior, to Guy C. Earl, May 28, 1929, 3 pgs., Executive Orders File 5-1, Miscellaneous, Box 8 – Native Americans, Inyo National Forest Archives [INF].

8 Wilbur to Earl, May 28, 1929.

9 See notes 1 and 2.

10 Jack Sepsey Allotment File, IND #74, Folder 1, p. 31, Box 6, Land Transaction Case Records 1950–1958, Independence; RG 75; NARA–Pacific Region (SF).

11 John Collins Allotment File IND #110, Folder 1, p. 7, Box 8, Land Transaction Case Records 1950–1958, Independence; RG 75; NARA–Pacific Region (SF).

12 Superintendent Ray Parrett to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, September 1, 1925, pp. 3–4. General Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, California, Sacramento Area Office, RG 75; NARA–Pacific Region (SF).

13 Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of Interior, to Guy C. Earl, May 28, 1929, 3 pgs., Executive Orders File 5-1, Miscellaneous, Box 8 – Native Americans, INF.

14 Meeting minutes, Independence Court House, February 23, 1935. Owens Valley Indian Water Commission Collection [OVIWC].

15 For reference, this is a fairly typical water duty for irrigated lands in the area, although it is slightly less than the five acre-feet per acre that LADWP allocates to its ranch leases for flood-irrigated pasture and alfalfa production.

16 J. M. Stewart, Chief, Land Division. Memorandum to Commissioner Collier relative to conference had by the writer with Dr. Clements and Mr. Clifford L. Rawson of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce during the past month, concerning the Owens Valley Indians. December 3, 1934. 2 pgs. OVIWC.

17 Congressional Record of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5299, “Authorize the Secretary of the Interior to Exchange Certain Lands and Water Rights in California,” 75th Congress, Sess. I, March 10, 1937, pp. 2077–78. OVIWC.

18 Congressional Record of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5299.

19 Congressional Record of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5299.

20 Congressional Record of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5299.

21 Clarence S. Hill to Board of Water and Power Commissioners, Los Angeles, January 15, 1936, 2 pgs., Indian Policy 1929–1937, WP06-1-13, Owens Valley Historical Records, Real Estate Division, LADWP. ECM.

22 Frederic L. Kirgis, Acting Solicitor, to Secretary of Interior, June 2, 1937. M. 29232., pg. 1. OVIWC.

23 Consent forms included in letter from Alida Bowler, Superintendent, Carson Indian Agency, to Fred A. Baker, Land Field Agent, October 22, 1937. OVIWC.

24 Alida Bowler, Superintendent, Carson Indian Agency, to J. M. Stewart, Director of Lands, Indian Office, November 22, 1937, 4 pgs. OVIWC.

25 Harry Gilmore, Bishop Community Worker, to Ralph Gelvin, Superintendent of Carson Indian Agency, December 9, 1944. OVIWC.

26 “Indian Project Named for Dr. Hayes.” Official Bulletin of the City-Owned Department of Water and Power. March 1939, p. 2. OVIWC.

27 “Indian Project Named for Dr. Hayes.”

28 Los Angeles counts the groundwater that the Tribes pump from beneath the reservations for domestic water supply against the 5565.92-acre-foot irrigation allocation (Interview, August 14, 2018).

29 This would amount to about two acre-feet per acre of additional water if distributed evenly across the five reservations.

30 Principles of Agreement. 1997. OVIWC.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (BCS-1920807), an Evelyn L. Pruitt National Dissertation Fellowship from the Society of Woman Geographers, the Margaret Trussell Scholarship for Women Students Pursuing Graduate Studies in Geography from the Association for Pacific Coast Geographers, a Dissertation Grant from the American Association of Geographers (AAG), and the Alexander B. Murphy Dissertation Enhancement Award from the Political Geography Specialty Group of the AAG. The research was also supported by programs at the University of Arizona: the Environment and Society Fellowship from the Climate Assessment for the Southwest; the Summer Dissertation Fellowship from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; the Carson Fellowship supported by the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice; the Confluence Graduate Fellowship from the Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry; predoctoral and dissertation research grants from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute; and travel and research grants from the Graduate and Professional Student Council and the School of Geography, Development & Environment.

Notes on contributors

Sophia L. Borgias

SOPHIA L. BORGIAS is an Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Programs of the School of Public Service at Boise State University, Boise, ID 83706. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests center on water governance in the arid Americas, with a focus on rural–urban water conflicts, Indigenous rights, and movements for water justice.