The Three Creeks Collective Advisory Committee
A 12-person Advisory Committee has been formed to help us as we move forward with bringing the land into Indigenous care. The Advisory Committee, with their unique knowledge and skills, will work with us to guide and help advise as we plan and implement land use and priorities, help with communication and outreach, continue fundraising for operating costs & stewardship, strengthen the Indigenous community’s connection to the land, and more.
Three Creeks Collective Advisors:
Noah Williams Manahuu (Hello) my name is Noah Williams; I am a proud member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe and grew up in the Owens Valley. In 2019, I earned a B.A. in Environmental Communication at California State University Channel Islands. I now serve as the Water Program Coordinator for the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley where I carry out Clean Water Act §106 and §319 program activities and manage water program funding. As Water Program Coordinator, I collect surface and groundwater water quality data, uphold the Tribe’s Water Quality Standards, develop outreach and educational material, and oversee the Tribe’s native plant nursery activities.
Kathy Bancroft is an enrolled member of the Lone Pine Paiute Tribe and serves as both the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Representative. She is a tribal monitor for the Olancha Highway Project and Dust Mitigation Project as well as an advocate for the Patsiata Historical District.
Jeremiah Joseph is an enrolled member of the Lone Pine Tribe, a Cultural Resource Protector, and a Land Restoration Specialist.
Tara Frank is an enrolled member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe & Director of the Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center.
Sage Romero is the son of Andrew Romero of Taos Pueblo and the late Margaret Romero of the Big Pine Paiute. He is the Founder and Director of the AkaMya Culture Group based in Big Pine which is a Native American-owned and operated 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization that focuses on culture through wellness, song Dance, Oral History, Multimedia and living action. Sage is also an accomplished International Cultural consultant/Presenter, having traveled extensively educating people about Native America/Indigenous American Heritage and Culture dispelling typical stereotypes through song, and Dance.
Jolie Varela(she/her) is a citizen of the Tule River Yokuts and Nüümü(Paiute)Nations. She currently resides in her maternal homelands of Payahuunadü also known as the Owens Valley. She grew up on the Bishop Indian reservation fishing and swimming the creeks with her cousins. In 2017 she founded Indigenous Women Hike. Indigenous Women Hike aims to regenerate the relationship between the land and its original people, while consequently decolonizing the history of Indigenous territories. Jolie is a community organizer, body-positive advocate, land defender, water protector, and a proud queer Indigenous woman.
Gigi Coyle – community activist, carrier of council, rite of passage guide, mentor and guardian for individuals, communities and organizations, currently serving Youth Passageways, ShadeTree Multicultural Foundation and Weaving Earth. Co-steward of a small oasis Three Creeks, visionary for an alliance, Beyond Boundaries, devoted to the emergence of local and global sanctuaries – “watering holes”, she is focused on healing ways through the ceremony, inter-generational projects of prayer, action and service. Co- author of The Way of Council and The Box, Remembering the Gift, author of audiobook kaleidoscope, Co-founder of Walking Water (Walking-Water.org), A Practice of Council, http://waysofcouncil.net.
Steve Costa Community organizer and builder for 52 years. Co-owner of Point Reyes Books for 15 years, when in 2019 Steve invited the forces behind Walking Water to present at the bookstore’s ninth Geography of Hope Conference on the theme of Pilgrimage Redefined. Over the past four years Steve and his wife Kate have come each fall to Payahuunadu and Three Creeks to steward the land. Currently working with Coast Miwok Tribal Council on land back and volunteer land tax activities
Darcy Ottey (she/her) is a facilitator, popular educator, researcher, and writer affiliated with Youth Passageways, Re-Calling our Ancestors, and the Rite of Passage Research Collaborative. The descendant of Quaker settlers, British coalminers, and Ukrainian peasants, Darcy’s work focuses on regenerating cultural practices for healing, justice, and co-liberation. She lives much of the year in the Methow River watershed in North-Central Washington, while also nurturing her growing care for Payahuunadu and Three Creeks. Darcy’s book, Rites and Responsibilities: A Guide to Growing Up, was recently published by Lost Borders Press.
Will Scott is a co-founder of Weaving Earth, His passion resides at the intersections of ecological health, human development, social justice, and community resilience. Since studying ecopsychology, social change, and wilderness experiences in college, Will has committed himself to a focus of healing the division between humans and the more-than-human world.
Sophia Borgias is a social scientist and an Assistant Professor at Boise State University whose research and teaching focuses on water and environmental governance. Since 2017, she has worked closely with the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission on research about tribal land and water rights in Payahuunadü. Living in Bishop for nearly three years, she conducted extensive archival research and interviews with a range of stakeholders involved in the ongoing water conflicts with Los Angeles. Though now based in Boise, ID, she continues to collaborate with the OVIWC on initiatives like the Great Basin Water Justice Summit and on ongoing research about coalition-building and water justice in the region.
Kate Bunney (she/her) was born and raised in the UK. Surrounded by water on all sides, she learned to swim and sail as soon as she could. For 15 years, Kate lived in one of the most progressive communities in the world and held a focus on educational programs and consultancy for communities in conflict areas, fundraising, global networking, organizing, and public relations. One of her main roles was organizing and walking Pilgrimage, through Israel and Palestine, Colombia, and Europe, as a way of empowering social action and re-discovering our potential as agents of change. In 2012 Kate co-founded Walking Water as a way to inspire us to be in community, be in relation with the waters and the places we live and ultimately to experience the huge potential we all have to create change. Sourced with the waters of Payahuunadü, Walking Water’s initial journey walked from Mono Lake, through Payahuunadü, and down to Long Beach.