D  e  s  e  r  t     E  x  p  o  s  u  r  e     May 2005

Gathering at the River

A new festival, May 20-22, celebrates the history, ecology and culture of the Gila River.

By Siri Dharma

"To put your hands in a river is to feel the chords that bind the earth together." —Barry Lopez

Two local women, Nanda Currant and Allyson Siwik, have created an opportunity for us to honor the life-giving source of our region—the Gila River—with the First Annual Gila River Festival, May 20-22. They want the local community to know more about the Gila River system and to appreciate the role the river has played in the history and culture of this area.

A scenic view of the Gila River, taken by festival organizer Nanda Currant.

It doesn't take long living in the Southwest to understand the importance water plays in our survival. The fact that our bodies are 90 percent water means that we are cellularly tied to the water systems of the Earth. The nature of water reminds us of ourselves, our purpose and the nature of life.

The Gila River proved that this winter when it showed local residents what "flood plain" really means.

Gregory McNamee, author of Gila: The Life and Death of an American River and Desert Bestiary, writes: "For 60 million years, the Gila River, longer than the Hudson and the Delaware combined, has shaped the ecology of the Southwest from its source in New Mexico to its confluence with the Colorado River in Arizona."

One can have many physical homes in one's life but finding a home that suits your spirit/soul is a blessing. The Gila River is such a home to many people. Lying in the river on a hot summer day could be described as a religious experience. The human interpretation of what the river offers is as diverse as its ecology. Those of us who play around the river have our own interpretation, the environmentalists another, the farmers and ranchers another.

"Gathering around the river is as old as time," writes Nanda Currant in a theatrical presentation, River Voices, River Bodies, that will be part of the festival. "People have gone to the river to pray, to die and to find passage to a new land, to travel the fierce energy of water, to be blessed and cleansed, and baptized. Water willingly like spirit sacrifices itself on our behalf each day quietly, often unnoticed."

According to the organizers, "The impetus for this festival derives out of our appreciation of the Gila River and its value not only as a part of the natural world but also in the myriad of other ways it has become a part of our everyday lives. The festival will be a cultural celebration that enables people to learn more about and share with each other how the Gila River flows through our communities and our hearts. It will also be about how we can bring the arts and sciences together in a common celebration of the many ways of a river."

To do this we need what Nanda Currant calls an "ecological imagination." As one of her favorite authors, Jim Nollan, puts it, "If indeed the environmental crisis is a crisis of perception, work in the arts can present us a vision, a new perception and a new impulse to help guide us in the future." To that end this festival offers an opportunity to see the workings of the Gila River from many angles, inside and out.

Organizers have created venues where both adults and children can have a personal experience with the river. With the help of many guides and experts, the multi-disciplinary festival will see history flow with biology, which will flow with art. Hydrologists and biologists, farmers and ranchers, historians, authors, musicians and artists, Apache cultural experts, local herbalists, trackers and birders, and the Audubon Society have donated their expertise so we can learn and experience and enjoy the offerings of Mother Nature in our own backyard. The Gila Native Plant Society, Gila Conservation Education Center, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, Gila Resources Information Project, the US Forest Service and the Nature Conservancy have all helped bring this vision into reality.

The schedule is full with events for both children and adults. On Saturday, May 21, kids will have the chance to track animals, test water quality, play insect bingo, create rock art and learn about stream critters. Adults can tag along or pursue their own play. It may be tough to choose between an archeological tour with Bob Schiowitz or a riparian walk. But you also don't want to miss Joe Saenz' talk on Apache Culture Balance in the Wild.

As Currant says, "Lest we forget, the river is actually the one bringing us together even if we are doing the work. It is the voice of the river that pulls us. The voice that is as old as time calls us to its banks. We may think it's about the fish, or preservation, or needing to bring water to town, but the river is teaching us to the point of personal sacrifice about giving, about the movement and value of life."

For those who wonder if this is a renewal of the Bird & Nature Festival, it is not. It is most definitely about the Gila River and its inhabitants. But on both Saturday and Sunday there are birding adventures planned by the Audubon Society—to the Gila Bird Area on Saturday and to Redrock on Sunday.

There is a fee for these organized day trips, and the Saturday night Gala, but otherwise all events are free.

The festival offers a perfect opportunity to learn more about the ecology, history and culture associated with the Gila. But it is more about celebrating the awesomeness of the Gila River. It's a hands-on, get down and rock and roll with, connect-to-the-beauty kind of event.

What stories lie in the depths of any river? What stories lie in the depths and banks of our river, the Gila? What stories can she tell as she reaches forth from the heart of the Gila to eastern Arizona? One thing I've learned from the Gila is the reason rivers meander: They have all the time in the world to get to where they are going.

Sir Dharma writes the Into the Future column for Desert Exposure.

Gila River Festival Schedule Highlights

Friday, May 20

All Day, Silver City Public Library—Children's art and poetry show. The library plays host to a series of exhibits throughout May honoring the Gila River.

10 a.m., Gila Fairgrounds—David Ogilvie, owner of U-Bar Ranch, gives a guided tour of the ranch highlighting the restoration efforts for the largest population of Southwest Willow Flycatchers anywhere.

5 p.m., Silver City—Leyba & Ingalls hosts the Gila River Festival Invitational Art Show Opening Reception. This show will feature local artists' interpretations of the Gila River in a variety of media. Ron MacFarland will accompany this show on acoustic guitar.

Saturday, May 21

All Day—A wide variety of free events, for both children and adults, are planned in and around Cliff. The hub of activity will be the Grant County Fairgrounds, where you will register, get maps and meet up with transportation, also the site for food, music, crafters and information. The Lichty Center, USFS Mogollon Camp Ground, USFS Gila Bird Area will play host to a variety of presentations, talks and walks throughout the day. A tour of the Woodrow Archaeological Site will highlight the Mimbres Culture, which vanished in the 11th century.

7 p.m. Rydeski Center, Silver City—A Gala Celebration and Performance ($7) featuring special guest speaker from Tucson, Gregory McNamee, author of Gila: The Life and Death of an American River and Desert Bestiary. This event will open with a bilingual theatrical presentation produced by Nanda Currant entitled River Voices, River Bodies. The presentations will be followed by a reception with music by Wally Lawder.

Sunday, May 22

7 a.m.—Southwest New Mexico Audubon Birding trip to Redrock. Meet at the Visitor's Center in Silver City. $12; box lunch provided.

Bring your friends and family to these and other events. (Sorry, no pets please.) For more information and a complete schedule, go to www.gilaresources.info or call 538-8078.

The Apache and the Gila River

• The Gila River originates from the heart of Chiricahua country, which is to Apaches the center of the world.
  
• All Apache bands generated from the Gila River Basin area.
  
• The area that is referred to as the Gila Wilderness and Black Range is considered sacred to Apache.
  
• The headwaters of the Gila are considered both sacred and communal grounds for all Apache bands.
  
• The river and major tributaries were all used as pathways and trails for Chiricahua.
  
• Originally because of the sacred and cultural importance of the river, out of respect, the bands didn't camp right on the river but on the tributaries such as the Santa Lucia.
  
• The Gila watershed offered the greatest variety of food sources, from riparian to alpine, for Apaches.
  
• Geronimo was born at the headwaters of the Gila, and the confluence of the West and Middle Forks of the Gila has been proposed as a memorial site for Geronimo.

Environmental Factoids

• As a result of the Gila River's relatively unmodified condition and uncontrolled flows, it supports one of the most intact native fish communities in existence in the Lower Colorado River drainage.
  
• The natural, uncontrolled flood flows of the Gila River are probably the major factor contributing to the maintenance of the native fish populations by rejuvenating essential aquatic habitat and by depressing introduced fish populations.
  
• An estimated 254 species of birds have been recorded in the Gila River Valley. This is 60 percent of the total number of bird species observed in New Mexico. The Gila has the largest population of breeding pairs of birds in North America.
  
• The valuable habitats of cottonwood-sycamore-willow and riparian deciduous broadleaf are dependent on stream flows for regeneration and water for growth.
  
• Historically, periodic large floods have scoured the flood plain to prepare the soil for seed germinations. Floods have also prevented the establishment of less-desirable vegetation such as salt cedar.
  
• The Gila has all its native fish—although some are endangered.
  
• The Cliff-Gila Valley is the largest and last of its kind in the Colorado River Basin.

Source: US Forest Service Report on the BOR Upper Gila Water Supply Study

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