The image of Juana Maria, superimposed in front of the Rose Bowl. Last of the Nicoleños, she lived alone on San Nicolas Island off the coast of Alta California from 1835 until her removal from the island in 1853. The image is a collage reflecting the juxtaposition of cultures and values amid the artifacts of a modern civilization.
Documentary Feature | USA | 53:54 mins. Emmy® Award Winning Filmmaker, Robert Lundahl
In the Mojave Desert of Southern California,
the world’s energy companies converge to produce power. They’ve destroyed ecosystems, migrating birds, tortoise, and sacred places from ancient civilizations.
The LA Times indicates we are at a “Flashpoint” between competing value-systems. Bodies have been exhumed, and geoglyphs destroyed, in an area that is a long-term indigenous settlement.
“Who Are My People?” depicts how the world’s energy firms like Solar Millennium, have met their match in a small group of Native American elders, in the hottest desert on the planet.
The film takes us behind the scenes of two of the largest solar projects in the world, “fast tracked” by US renewable energy policies.
“Who Are My People?” focuses on unique cultural sites that would be lost, and the cultural significance of these sites to Native Americans, if renewable energy projects in the Mojave Desert moved forward as planned. The film raises the profile of the obligation the federal government has under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to consult with tribes whose ancestral lands will be impacted by these renewable energy projects. According to Bill Powers P.E., the film “…played a major role in delaying or stopping some of the most damaging projects…”
With Don Alfredo Figueroa (Yaqui, Chemehuevi), Reverend Ronald Van Fleet (Mojave Traditional/Hereditary Chief), Phil Smith (Chemehuevi). Preston Arrow-weed, (Quechan/Kumeyaay), Chemehuevi Chairman Charles Wood.
Campaign to Save the Mojave Desert
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Greenbelt Society 