The Desert has a Memory

A. Hemmers - Photo 2022

Ashley Hemmers

Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Tribal Administrator

Ashley is an enrolled member of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, whose reservation spans the states of California, Arizona, & Nevada. She is the Tribal Administrator for her Nation with specialization in multi-state cross-jurisdictional development & management of Tribal economies and government. She holds over 15 years of experience in Tribal enterprising & operational development, with emphasis in sovereign fiscal & capital wealth strategies, Nevada gaming, and public service operations. Ashley holds a B.A. from Yale University, and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management & Masters of Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She enjoys creating dialogue with Tribal Nations & federal/state partners, as well as sharing content that amplifies indigenous voices in the areas of business management, social policy, and climate action. Follow her on Instagram @tribalreclamation.

Transcript:

 [Music]

 
 

foreign

 
 

good morning everybody how are you guys

 
 

doing today

 
 

good

 
 

yeah so my name is Ashley hemmers

 
 

of Eco Manwich

 
 

so one of the things that I’m going to

 
 

do is share with you about the desert

 
 

and its memory

 
 

um I’m Mojave I’m from Avi Kwame which

 
 

is Spirit Mountain which is about 40

 
 

minutes south of here right in the

 
 

Desert Canyon that the the last speaker

 
 

was talking about I believe we have some

 
 

slides that are coming up right

 
 

and so I wanted to talk a little bit

 
 

about

 
 

um co-stewardship place and position

 
 

because when we think about Coast

 
 

stewardship we do the things that we

 
 

think about in terms of building

 
 

relationships with nature and building

 
 

relationships that can help us engage

 
 

and live with it

 
 

this this slide area shows where I’m

 
 

actually from it shows Avi Kwame

 
 

and it’s a large expansive place and for

 
 

Mojave people we believe we came from

 
 

that mountain and so for

 
 

people of the river we believe that we

 
 

were built out of the clay in the mud of

 
 

the Colorado River and that the

 
 

mountains and the animals and the

 
 

relatives were all here before us and so

 
 

the plants the birds the insects the

 
 

Scorpions The Gila monsters all of those

 
 

things are part of my natural landscape

 
 

my natural habitat and one of the things

 
 

that we do from a very young age for our

 
 

children is we teach them those things

 
 

when they’re small we teach them how

 
 

small they are in comparison of their

 
 

natural landscape of their natural being

 
 

and we share it through indigenous

 
 

ecological knowledge through shared

 
 

story so that when they grow they have

 
 

deeper conversations about what their

 
 

interaction with their environment means

 
 

and how that’s impacting everything we

 
 

have to live around and so I’m going to

 
 

take you down a little bit of

 
 

positionality in terms of what we what

 
 

we can think of when we think of the

 
 

history of the Mojave Desert there’s

 
 

three pictures here they’re kind of

 
 

small but we’re going to talk a little

 
 

bit about the vanishing Indian Sin City

 
 

and the Antiquities act so around the

 
 

turn of the 20th century there was this

 
 

notion called The Vanishing Indian there

 
 

were so many people moving into the

 
 

American southwest that

 
 

we didn’t know if mojave’s or other

 
 

people who look like me were going to be

 
 

around because of assimilation because

 
 

of interaction because of policies meant

 
 

to hurt my people because of policies

 
 

meant to remove my people those are

 
 

things that are part of American history

 
 

and so the first picture is a picture

 
 

from the Library of Congress from and

 
 

it’s entitled Musa which is Mojave girl

 
 

and it’s from a uh a very well-known

 
 

historical photographer of Native

 
 

Americans called Edward S Curtis and

 
 

when we think of the vanishing Southwest

 
 

and the vanishing natives of the

 
 

Southwest

 
 

oftentimes this picture of the Mojave

 
 

girl is posted but one of the things

 
 

that we like to tell people or share

 
 

with our friends is that Musa

 
 

was actually an entrepreneur

 
 

she was a businesswoman the railroad is

 
 

close to where my Village is and so when

 
 

Edward S Curtis

 
 

um made his way to Mojave territory he

 
 

was looking for people who look like me

 
 

and at that time we did what we did what

 
 

we do now we go to coffee shops we go to

 
 

Railroad stations we have cell phones we

 
 

weren’t set aside into our Villages not

 
 

uh knowing that there were other folks

 
 

who were there so when we think of these

 
 

Indian territories we have to think of

 
 

them not as separatists but as engaged

 
 

ways of people interacting with one

 
 

another and building those relationships

 
 

and so for him

 
 

his his vision of capturing the Mojave

 
 

people is actually asking someone hey

 
 

would you dress up in your regalia would

 
 

you wear your regalia so I can take a

 
 

picture of you because at the beginning

 
 

of the 20th century it was a scare that

 
 

there would be no more mojave’s in the

 
 

way that we were living before then

 
 

fast forward 100 years and I’m still

 
 

here dressed as a Mobby living on my

 
 

homelands right so people don’t really

 
 

know too much right

 
 

needless to say that second picture is

 
 

very instrumental for Las Vegas because

 
 

that’s a picture of the Fremont depot

 
 

which is the railroad station a couple

 
 

blocks from here so when we think about

 
 

the place and the position of the desert

 
 

there were people migrating into the

 
 

desert 100 years ago 150 years ago and

 
 

we were having these same discussions

 
 

about the vanishing Indian in the

 
 

environment and what Revolution or

 
 

Industrial Revolution or technology was

 
 

going to do with it

 
 

the the final picture there is of

 
 

President Theodore Roosevelt who signed

 
 

the Antiquities act has anyone ever

 
 

heard of the Antiquities act probably in

 
 

like eighth grade government right

 
 

and what the Antiquities act did was

 
 

that it allowed the federal government

 
 

to protect large Parcels of public land

 
 

for public trust and that’s something

 
 

very familiar with Indian communities

 
 

because when we made our negotiations

 
 

with the federal government when we

 
 

became government to government

 
 

um when we built our government to

 
 

government relationship with the federal

 
 

government the federal government told

 
 

us that hey we will put these lands in

 
 

Trust

 
 

as part of the United States and we will

 
 

protect them in the way so that we can

 
 

keep them stable for the whole country

 
 

right and so for us we’re like okay cool

 
 

they’re in trust we’re still going to

 
 

have this conversation and so the

 
 

Antiquities act came about because those

 
 

public trust lands were then looked at

 
 

as a place for easily establishing

 
 

development in what looks like

 
 

non-existent parent land right hey

 
 

government can I put something here to

 
 

help develop a railroad to help develop

 
 

technology to help develop energy and so

 
 

in this conversation of the vanishing

 
 

Indian

 
 

Sin City coming to be and also the

 
 

Antiquities act what ended up happening

 
 

was that

 
 

through that Act Congress said well wait

 
 

a minute before we start releasing all

 
 

of these lands right not having a

 
 

conversation like hey we made we made

 
 

agreements with tribal governments but

 
 

before we start releasing all these

 
 

lands for development maybe we need to

 
 

protect those that have a cultural or a

 
 

scientific or a physical

 
 

or physically special to what it is that

 
 

is America

 
 

and so this Joshua tree is the largest

 
 

Joshua Tree in the state of Nevada

 
 

and it is located only 30 minutes south

 
 

of where we are right here now Joshua

 
 

trees take two to three inches of water

 
 

a year

 
 

this Joshua tree is 24 feet high so it’s

 
 

a two-story Joshua Tree

 
 

28 feet wide

 
 

and so from what we can understand about

 
 

this Joshua tree is that it’s around 96

 
 

to 150 years old

 
 

and when we think about how

 
 

we protect things like this we use it

 
 

with the Antiquities Act is it cultural

 
 

for me as a Mojave woman that’s medicine

 
 

to me

 
 

we teach our children how to use its

 
 

roots so that they can heal it provides

 
 

a shade and culturally we have stories

 
 

about the resilience it takes to live in

 
 

the desert

 
 

32 species of birds live in the Joshua

 
 

tree from our stories 32 birds all at

 
 

once and so when we think about the

 
 

cultural significance yes there’s a

 
 

cultural significance when we think

 
 

about the scientific significance how

 
 

did a Joshua tree live for 150 years and

 
 

one of the most drought-ridden areas in

 
 

the American southwest and be

 
 

undiscovered until 2020

 
 

right so when we think about the memory

 
 

of the desert the desert has so many

 
 

secrets and when you are building a

 
 

relationship with the desert it allows

 
 

you to build that memory with it because

 
 

our short period of time is this small

 
 

in comparison to everything else that

 
 

the desert protects

 
 

a Joshua tree is one of the younger

 
 

trees in the Mojave Basin mesquites can

 
 

grow even older Willow Cottonwood they

 
 

all build there and so when you think

 
 

about people people’s time frame within

 
 

that environment are very small and

 
 

that’s what we teach our little guys

 
 

when they’re growing up so we tell them

 
 

when you walk with the land know that

 
 

you’re only a visitor because people or

 
 

our relatives are Joshua Tree relatives

 
 

are going to be here much longer than

 
 

you

 
 

so think about the responsibility that

 
 

you have

 
 

to help them continue their Journey with

 
 

the desert when you are long gone when

 
 

your children are here when your

 
 

grandchildren are here

 
 

now the third aspect of the Antiquities

 
 

act because we hit culture we hit

 
 

science is physicality right the

 
 

position

 
 

can we use this act to protect a 150

 
 

year old tree you know for for many

 
 

people you know when they look at a tree

 
 

they’re like well we’ll just grow

 
 

another one yeah in 150 years on two and

 
 

three inches of water that’s pretty hard

 
 

to do right and so what we know as

 
 

indigenous knowledge and some people

 
 

call you know aspects of its science is

 
 

that people we can move right we can use

 
 

our arms and our legs to move away from

 
 

all of the things that don’t necessarily

 
 

have to harm people

 
 

and for indigenous communities who have

 
 

been found to have been Protectors of 80

 
 

percent of the remaining world’s

 
 

biodiversity 80 percent in the world are

 
 

protected by indigenous cultures and

 
 

peoples like

 
 

minecuff people of the river people who

 
 

understand not why they know that the

 
 

river is important but people who have

 
 

stories and history that remind us that

 
 

we are younger siblings of that river

 
 

that we are caretakers of that River and

 
 

that we have a responsibility and you

 
 

might feel a calling towards that you

 
 

might feel a calling towards that when

 
 

you come to my homelands and go into the

 
 

canyons and visit the Grand Canyon visit

 
 

the Havasupai in the Hualapai who

 
 

continue to live there in an indigenous

 
 

way and then come South through the

 
 

canyon through Black Mountain who

 
 

continue to to Steward that land to have

 
 

the relationship with that land and the

 
 

easiest way that I can help explain that

 
 

is for a parent to a child that’s what

 
 

stewarding is not that we are the parent

 
 

but that the Earth is our parent it

 
 

gives us life without water we don’t

 
 

have life without the sun we don’t have

 
 

warmth

 
 

these are realistic tangible things in

 
 

indigenous mindsets that still continue

 
 

to be taught in my homelands throughout

 
 

and this is why I’m here sharing it with

 
 

you

 
 

so I wanted to give you a little

 
 

framework because when I’m not taking

 
 

pictures of Joshua trees I am a policy

 
 

provider and Advocate and I also work

 
 

with my nation to help continue these

 
 

conversations with the federal

 
 

government because one of the things we

 
 

know about American society is that we

 
 

grow at a rapid rate and so sometimes we

 
 

forget those agreements that we’ve made

 
 

with governments like mine and we forget

 
 

the responsibility that those agreements

 
 

hold for protecting the things that we

 
 

all can hold and Trust together and so I

 
 

call it leading with Merit and the first

 
 

part is identifying where you fit in it

 
 

me where am I do I have good medicine am

 
 

I walking in a good way do I know my

 
 

environment do I know where I’m living

 
 

do I know the resources I use do I know

 
 

how I got here do I know who lived here

 
 

also do I know if that is you know

 
 

sacred land if it’s not sacred land if

 
 

it’s common use these are things that

 
 

that we have to think about if we’re

 
 

going to lead with Merit the second part

 
 

of that Target is to reclaim all right

 
 

so sometimes when we have dialogues

 
 

about the environment it becomes so big

 
 

that it’s like what am I supposed to do

 
 

to help this situation I don’t take a

 
 

straw right all that’s that’s my I won’t

 
 

do that or I’ll recycle I’ll do that but

 
 

you have to remember that even though

 
 

America is so big it’s also based on the

 
 

premise of that individual and so when

 
 

you reclaim your voice in that then you

 
 

can ask your leaders what they think

 
 

about protecting these spaces are they

 
 

protecting spaces with cultural physical

 
 

or scientific

 
 

necessity are they interested in that do

 
 

they know about these things that’s how

 
 

we can engage together and when we start

 
 

to reclaim that process then guess what

 
 

leaders who are responsible for looking

 
 

at policy

 
 

who are responsible for leading to

 
 

overcome something when you’re driven

 
 

with a goal you’re often tunnel vision

 
 

right you’re often thinking how do I get

 
 

to that next step but for people who are

 
 

working in an indigenous mindset you

 
 

have to slow that down and open not only

 
 

to think about how I’m getting to that

 
 

goal but how that goal is affecting and

 
 

impact the people that I live with how

 
 

is it impacting the people that rely on

 
 

the land that we’re using and how is it

 
 

impacting the people or the animals the

 
 

plants the birds how is it impacting

 
 

them all right

 
 

and when we get there it becomes less of

 
 

a this or that and more of a how do we

 
 

do this and that’s why we’re here having

 
 

events like this because we’re talking

 
 

and we’re sharing about how we do that

 
 

and one of the ways that we can is

 
 

through impacts by asking leaders to

 
 

think about how they’re reclaiming their

 
 

place and their responsibility with

 
 

those older agreements to protect this

 
 

land and to Steward it alongside one

 
 

another

 
 

as a Mojave woman I know that America is

 
 

not going anywhere

 
 

all right we made agreements with

 
 

America

 
 

made agreements with us

 
 

and so now we have to move beyond that

 
 

and talk about how we’re going to make

 
 

those agreements work

 
 

and that’s when we get to transform when

 
 

we finally reclaim our place in the

 
 

process when we talk about how our

 
 

actions impact our everything around us

 
 

and our environments in our communities

 
 

then we can have transformative

 
 

conversation of whether or not this is

 
 

the right thing to do whether or not

 
 

we’re going to be able to come together

 
 

and protect it together

 
 

and then we will finally be able to have

 
 

that conversation of whether or not

 
 

we’re a true friend of the desert this

 
 

picture was put in the LA Times I love

 
 

this picture and it was recently posted

 
 

in 2022 but is a place called Avi Kwame

 
 

it’s a sacred place to my people my

 
 

people believe that we came from this

 
 

mountain but the picture doesn’t just

 
 

depict Mojave leaders or Mojave women

 
 

it’s a picture of an ecologist of a

 
 

Mojave of a cultural preservationist of

 
 

a policy leader of an athlete of an

 
 

intern of a volunteer and of media and

 
 

so if we can come together around this

 
 

space then the desert might remember us

 
 

as friends

 
 

and if we live in a meritorious way and

 
 

understand our place and position with

 
 

our environment then we can Coast

 
 

Steward it together

 
 

thank you so much for your time today I

 
 

really appreciate it

 
 

[Music]