Lecturer: Andrew Curley, Assistant Professor at the School of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona

Title: Decolonizing the Colorado River

Date: Thursday, February 23

Time: 12:00 p.m., MT

Location: CU Denver Building, 2nd floor gallery

RSVP: Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

Lecture Description

Climate change is seen as the main culprit behind a drier, hotter Arizona. But what are the other factors contributing toward our water crisis? For 100 years, the Colorado River Compact established the law of the river. It codified water rights and spurred the modernization of water infrastructure. It fundamentally reshaped the natural environment and the way of life for Indigenous nations. What is the cultural legacy and impact of Arizona’s dams, reservoirs, and water systems? Can Indigenous ways of thinking about our relationship to water and land help us tackle the challenges of our changing environment?

About Andrew Curley

Andrew Curley is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment at the University of Arizona. Dr. Curley’s research focuses on the on the everyday incorporation of Indigenous nations into colonial economies. Building on ethnographic research, his publications speak to how Indigenous communities understand coal, energy, land, water, infrastructure, and development in an era of energy transition and climate change.