2021 National Gathering Welcome & Opening Plenary: Headwaters
Our journey began at the headwaters as we consider water’s pathways through our lives and work, how communities are mobilizing locally and nationally to reimagine and redesign our water systems, and opportunities for building a cultural front in the movement for water equity. Dr. Michael Marchand, former chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, opened this space with a water story, followed by welcoming remarks by Gathering hosts Imagining America, the Ashe Cultural Arts Center, and Tulane University, and a grounding in place by Geneva Lebeouf, member of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe. Our opening session continued with a conversation with plenary panelists Monica Lewis-Patrick, Jessa Calderon, Maritza Alvarez, and Benny Starr, members of the national Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus, guided by Dr. Robyn Rodriguez, Imagining America National Advisory Board member and professor and former chair of Asian American Studies at the University of California Davis.