We return to the 3rd Annual Ben Lujan Leadership and Public Policy Institute held at New Mexico Highlands University on May 19 & 20, 2008. Objectives for the Institute include bringing people together to learn about efforts to protect land and water rights, to promote and demonstrate the viability of land-based livelihoods, and to figure out how to work these themes into the educational system. Our presenters in this show, Quita Ortiz and Estevan Arellano, give us an understanding of acequia features on the landscape using maps and oral histories. Quita shares with us a project she completed for her master’s degree using GIS to analyze the acequias in Alcalde. GIS stands for Geographical Information Systems and is a computerized database that uses maps, aerial photos, and other information to be able to see and make calculations about landscape features. And later in this show, Mr. Arellano gives us important information about the cultural and historical understanding of the landscape and its importance to mapping efforts and the continuation of acequia culture.
Special thanks to Cipriano Vigil for our theme music