ALABAMA GATES 2024 - THERE IT IS

Alabama Gates 2024 was a weekend of free community events in Lone Pine, California, November 15 – 17, 2024, commemorating the centennial of the Alabama Gates Occupation. This significant historical event occurred when the people of Owens Valley non-violently seized the Los Angeles Aqueduct’s control gates just north of Lone Pine on November 16, 1924, diverting the entire flow of the aqueduct into the historic Owens River channel in protest of the City of Los Angeles’ aggressive land acquisition and water harvesting activities within the valley that began with the construction and completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. The 1924 Alabama Gates occupation evolved into a multi-day community picnic as 700 to 1,500 Owens Valley residents gathered in solidarity with the occupiers over four days.

Our event marked this legendary act of civil disobedience, which reverberated worldwide, illuminating these two regions’ complicated and intertwined water history. But it also reflects how white settlers had previously confiscated and occupied Payahüünadü, the ancestral lands of the Paiute and Shoshone People in what is now called Owens Valley, along with the repercussions of this settler colonialism on contemporary Tribal residents who continue to live here.

Our November 2024 event included a free-to-the-public roundtable discussion series at Statham Hall, Lone Pine’s Inyo County-administered community center. Our three two-hour panels scheduled over two days featured renowned Owens Valley historian John Walton, author of Western Times and Water Wars (UC Press, 1993) with Dr. Sophia Borgias, a human-environment geographer whose research focuses on Owens Valley Indigenous water rights, moderated by Jon Klusmire, journalist and former director of the Eastern California Museum; a panel with Payahüünadü Tribal representatives moderated by Dr. Sophia Borgias; and an environmentally-focused roundtable discussion with leaders from four non-profit Owens Valley conservation groups. Other free weekend events included an opening reception, a no-host community picnic at Lone Pine’s Spainhower Park featuring local food truck concessionaires, film screenings at Lone Pine’s Museum of Western Film History, and an interpretive walking tour with a local naturalist at Patsiata (Owens Lake).

This event was produced by There It Is—Take It! in partnership with Sierra Forever (formerly ESIA). Our event partners include Friends of the Eastern California Museum (FECM), Friends of the Inyo, Metabolic Studio, Museum of Western Film History, Owens Valley Committee (OVC), Owens Valley Indian Water Commission (OVIWC), and Sierra Club Range of Light Group. Our program was made possible with support from California Humanities, a partner of the NEH. For press inquiries, contact Kim Stringfellow at mail@kimstringfellow.com.

Read Ian James article, “A century after Owens Valley aqueduct protest, event marks tense time in L.A. water history” published by the Los Angeles Times on November 15, 2024.

~PROGRAM~

Friday, November 15, 2024

4 to 6 pm Opening reception at the Eastern California Museum hosted by FECM and Sierra Forever. Location: Eastern California Museum, 155 N. Grant St., Independence, CA 93526. Free to the public.

RSVP requested. Click to register.

Saturday, November 16, 2024

10 to 11:30 am Roundtable discussion with Payahüünadü Tribal representatives including Kathy Bancroft, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe; Kyndall Noah, Communications Specialist, OVIWC; and Noah Williams, Water Program Coordinator for the Big Pine Paiute Tribe. Dr. Sophia Borgias, Assistant Professor at Boise State University will act as panel moderator. Location: Statham Hall, 138 Jackson St., Lone Pine, CA 93545. Free to the public.

RSVP requested. Click to register.

Noon to 2:30 pm No-host community picnic featuring local food truck concessionaire, The Rolling Chef, and live music by Hay Blackbird, a local Bluegrass trio with Ray Finch, Howie Schwartz and Anna Montgomery. Location: Spainhower Park, HWY 395, Lone Pine, CA 93545. Free to the public. Bring a camp chair! Seating is limited.

RSVP requested. Click to register.

3:30 to 5:00 pm Keynote panel discussion with Professor Emeritus John Walton, author of Western Times and Water Wars (UC Press, 1993) and Dr. Sophia Borgias moderated by Jon Klusmire. Location: Statham Hall, 138 Jackson St., Lone Pine, CA 93545. Free to the public.

RSVP requested. Click to register.

7 to 9 pm Evening film program at the Museum of Western Film History. Screenings will include Frontier Horizon (Republic Pictures, 1935) and several documentary film shorts, including the award-winning PAYA: The Water Story of the Paiute (2016). Location: Museum of Western Film History, 1701 South Main, Lone Pine, CA 93545. Free to the public.

Registration is required to attend. Click to register.

Sunday, November 17, 2024

10 to 11:30 am Roundtable discussion with Owens Valley environmental leaders including Mary Roper and Nancy Masters, Board Members, Owens Valley Commission; Lynn Boulton, Chair, Sierra Club Range of Light Group; Wendy Schneider, Executive Director, Friends of the Inyo; and Michael Prather, Audubon wildlife advocate for Patsiata (Owens Lake). Location: Statham Hall, 138 Jackson St., Lone Pine, CA 93545. Free to the public.

RSVP requested. Click to register.

1 to 3 pm Michael Prather, former Inyo County Water Commission Chair and past president of other regional environmental organizations, will lead an interpretive walking tour of Patsiata’s revitalized bird habitat resulting from LADWP’s massive dust mitigation project at the lake. Meet-up location: Diaz Lake County Park parking lot on Hwy 395, three miles south of Lone Pine. Free to the public.

Registration is required to attend. Click to register.

Looking for weekend lodging? The Dow Villa Motel/Hotel in Lone Pine has provided a special event attendee rate. Use: Alabama Gates 2024 when booking a room.

Order Alabama Gates 2024 t-shirts by clicking this link.

Our program is dedicated to the memory of William Kahrl, author of Water and Power (UC Press, 1982) and those no longer with us who fought to protect and conserve the Owens Valley’s magnificent watershed for future generations.

Fault Line Radio, a broadcasting project of Metabolic Studio broadcasted our three panel discussions live from Statham Hall in Lone Pine on 89.9 FM.

VIEW SLIDE SHOW USING BUTTONS AT UPPER RIGHT. The Alabama Gates occupation began on Sunday, November 16, 1924, when about 70 men non-violently took control of the Alabama Gates, emptying the entire flow of the Los Angeles Aqueduct into the historic Owens River channel. Photo courtesy ECM.

The Alabama Gates occupation began on Sunday, November 16, 1924, and lasted four days, with 700 to 1,500 valley residents joining the occupiers in solidarity for a celebratory BBQ potluck on the final day of the occupation on Thursday, November 20, 1924. Photo courtesy ECM.

Owens Valley businesses posted this sign during the November 16 - 20, 1924 Alabama Gates occupation. Photo courtesy ECM.

Early Western actor Tom Mix allegedly sent his “orchestra” to perform for the occupiers while filming in the nearby Alabama Hills. Photo courtesy ECM.

The Alabama Gates today. Photo: Kim Stringfellow.

The Eastern California Museum in Independence, CA, hosted the opening reception on November 15, 2024.

The Alabama Gates 2024 reception at the Eastern California Museum (ECM) on Friday, Nov 15, 2024, hosted by The Friends of the ECM and Sierra Forever.

ECM director Shawn Lum addresses the crowd at the Alabama Gates 2024 reception at the Eastern California Museum (ECM) on Friday, Nov 15, 2024, hosted by The Friends of the ECM and Sierra Forever.

Our first Alabama Gates 2024 panel discussion at Statham Hall in Lone Pine on Saturday, Nov 16, 2024, with Payahüünadü Tribal representatives (left to right) Noah Williams, Water Program Coordinator for the Big Pine Paiute Tribe; Kyndall Noah, Communications Specialist, OVIWC; with Dr. Sophia Borgias, Assistant Professor at Boise State University as panel moderator. Metabolic's Audrey Clementine Turner (far right) broadcasts the event live on 89.9 FM.

Alabama Gates 2024 producer Kim Stringfellow with Noah Williams (left center), Water Program Coordinator for the Big Pine Paiute Tribe; Dr. Sophia Borgias, Assistant Professor at Boise State University (right center) and Kyndall Noah (right), Communications Specialist, OVIWC.

John Walton (left), our Alabama Gates 2024 keynote panelist, addresses the audience, with Jon Klusmire (center) and Audrey Clementine Turner (right).

Our Alabama Gates 2024 keynote panel discussion with Professor Emeritus John Walton (center), author of Western Times and Water Wars (UC Press, 1993) and Dr. Sophia Borgias (left) moderated by Jon Klusmire (right).

Speakers for the Sunday, Nov 17, 2024, environmental panel discussion included (left to right) Lynn Boulton, Chair, Sierra Club Range of Light Group; Nancy Masters and Mary Roper, Board Members, Owens Valley Commission; Wendy Schneider, Executive Director, Friends of the Inyo; and Michael Prather, Audubon wildlife advocate for Patsiata (Owens Lake).

Alabama Gates 2024 drew nearly 100 people to Statham Hall in Lone Pine for our three panel discussions on November 16 - 17, 2024.

Hay Blackbird, a local Bluegrass trio with Ray Finch, Howie Schwartz and Anna Montgomery, performs at the centennial picnic at Lone Pine’s Spainhower Park on Saturday, November 16, 2024. The Rolling Chef served lunch during a windy, chilly afternoon.

LADWP’s massive dust mitigation project has revitalized migratory bird habitat on Patsiata (Owens Lake).

Michael Prather, former Inyo County Water Commission Chair and past president of other regional environmental organizations, leads an interpretive walking tour of Patsiata’s (Owens Lake) revitalized bird habitat resulting from LADWP’s massive dust mitigation project at the lake last Sunday, November 17, 2024.

Michael Prather leading an interpretive walking tour of Patsiata’s (Owens Lake) on Sunday, November 17, 2024.

The Los Angeles Aqueduct and Mt. Whitney photographed in Lone Pine, CA, Friday, November 15th, 2024.

Mt. Whitney photographed in Lone Pine, CA, Friday, November 15th, 2024.