From the majestic peaks of the snow-capped Sierras to the parched valley of Payahuunadü, “the land of flowing water,? | dG1fV0JTNmE0cmdzb0U
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Short filmTranscript
00:00There are stories about things that happen here, but nobody listens.
00:14My people, my ancestors, my grandparents have lived on this lake for thousands of years.
00:22Outsiders came into this valley and renamed it.
00:26We called it Paya Hunada, which means the place where the water always flows.
00:32I was evacuated from Los Angeles on May 9, 1942.
00:36We were sent to the Manzanar concentration camp.
00:40The period I spent in Manzanar was the most traumatic experience of my life.
00:45Manzanar is one square mile of land that has a deep history of forced removal.
00:54Los Angeles bones in the heart of the valley.
00:57They came here for the water.
01:00They are trying to recharacterize this valley as always being a desert.
01:06What made it such a desert is their pumping.
01:09This was the lake.
01:11This was all water before that.
01:14Many people who lived at Manzanar developed upper respiratory breathing problems, like
01:19my grandmother.
01:21I just don't have any energy when I walk a little ways.
01:25I get tired real fast.
01:27Not only was water a major factor in the siting of Manzanar, water was also the means of resistance.
01:34This water, our water, it's there for everybody, natives, non-natives, everybody.
01:43Don't take everything.
01:45I think we've reached a point in America where we have to look on ourselves as more of a
01:50diverse nation.