About 71% of the earth’s surface is made up of water. Up to 60% of the adult body is made up of water. A person can survive only 3 days without water. So despite it’s abundant supply on the earth it is a very vital and precious resource. In the US today the management of the water supply and the government’s attempts to control this powerful resource are still very relevant. Whether it is flood prevention for safety or diversion for economic reasons (e.g., farming, recreation, human need), it is a political hot topic to this day.
Today I am leaving with a group from my church to go on my third mission trip to a couple of Indian reservations south of Phoenix, Arizona. I want to talk a little bit about how the management of water has played a vital role in the life on the Gila River Indian Community. Since I am not a history buff or a scientist it is difficult for me to write and make everything come together in a way that feels natural. Last week I struggled to give some history while still writing about something I am passionate about. So for this installment, I am going to write more naturally. I am going to reference some general statements and give you a perspective based on what I have studied and learned over the last three years. I recommend you take a few minutes to look at this website and others to get a clearer picture. Also, here is an excerpt from that site.
http://www.gilariver.org/index.php/about/history
“In I854, the Gadsden Purchase officially made southern Arizona part of a United States Territory. In appreciation for the important role the Akimel O’otham played in America’s westward expansion, in 1859 Congress established the first reservation in Arizona, encompassing 372,000 acres along the Gila River. In 1862, putting our agricultural skills to work, our people grew more than one million pounds of wheat, most of which we sold. Our prospects looked good.
However, our lifeblood -Gila River water – was cut off in the 1870s and 1880s by construction of upstream diversion structures and dams by non-Native farmers, and our farming was largely wiped out. From 1880 to 1920 or so, we faced mass famine and starvation. The federal government stepped in and doled out canned and processed food by the ton. The change in diet proved disastrous, leading to extremely high rates of obesity and diabetes-a condition we still face today. With almost no jobs available on the reservation, and the loss of our cash crops, our people faced widespread poverty as well. Alcoholism raised its ugly head, and our people experienced the loss of certain cultural and artistic traditions and rituals. It was the darkest moment in our long history.”
So let’s start by pointing out some basic facts and make some basic assumptions. The world was created and the people on the earth were scattered. Natural resources and the ability to have access to food, water, and shelter were necessary for survival. Tribes of people settled in what is now known as North America (Natives). Explorers from the east came and began to relocate and settle on the same continent for a variety of reasons. Some of the Natives were hostile and some were willing to coexist with these new settlers. Soon the new settlers established a government known as the United States of America and as time passed more and more of North America was “purchased” by this government. The Natives were given a “choice” to either assimilate or settle on reservations that the new government established for them.
The Pima Indians were settled on the Gila River in Arizona and the reservation was established just south of Phoenix in 1859. The Gila River provided water and most importantly irrigation for farm land and the Natives began to contribute food to the new settlers and were able to trade their crops for supplies they needed. Just ten to twenty years later a decision was made by the new settlers to divert the water of the Gila River and the welfare of the Pima Indians was not considered. Soon the water that flowed to the reservation had all but dried up and the Natives became desperate for help from the new government. With nothing of value to barter with they were happy to receive government allotments of canned and processed foods from 1880-1920, and consequently this unnatural diet was very detrimental to the overall health of the Natives. As mentioned last week, many of them became obese and diabetic as a result of the food that they were consuming. Poverty was rampant and so was alcoholism and soon the Natives lost hope and began to abandon their traditions.
Today the management and control of the water supply is still a major topic. While the Gila River is still mostly dry, an irrigation system has been established to give them access to some of the water supply. The damage has been done. The culture has been forever changed. When you meet them, look in their faces, and sit and talk with them you still see a kind people. Yes, some are hesitant to talk to outsiders. Many are angry and their lives are a constant struggle. They are still trying to survive. Many are still thirsty.
There is a story in the Bible of when Jesus found himself tired and thirsty after traveling a long way to Samaria. He went and sat at the well and asked a Native woman to give him a drink. The Native woman was shocked that he would ask her because the relationship between the two groups of people was not a good one. For this reason, many of them were hesitant to talk to outsiders. Many were angry and just trying to survive. The story is recorded in John 4:4-42.
Jesus told her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.” The Native woman scoffed and challenged Jesus pointing out that he didn’t even have a bucket to draw water with. Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again-ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.” The Native woman found herself tired and thirsty after traveling a long way in life.
You see, she wasn’t perfect. Her life had been a constant struggle. She had been searching her whole life for hope and love. It was evident by her personal relationships. When she asked Jesus to give her this living water that He was speaking of Jesus turned the tables and challenged her. He knew where her heart was at. He knew that she had been searching for hope and love her whole life. He witnessed to her and told her about God’s plan and said, “The Father wants such people.” When she realized that she had been talking to the Messiah, she went back to town and told everyone, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?”
The Native woman was changed. Something was different. She wasn’t the same person as she was before she went to the well. The other Natives came to see who it was she was talking about. They also were tired and thirsty. In John 4:39 it says that many believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony. Jesus stayed with them for two days and many more believed because of what He said to them. And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
In about 3 weeks, a group from my church in Hardin, KY, are traveling a long way. We are traveling to a very dry land. A land filled with thirsty people. A land where life is hard. Where it is common to feel angry and hopeless. A place where there is a light in the darkness. A small church on one reservation and another that meets under a small pavilion or in a small home on another reservation is that light in the darkness. There, Eric and Brittany Gibbs, a missionary family with a heart for the Native people and for the gospel of Jesus, are serving. Please consider sending prayers or support for this mission. Thank you and God bless you.
http://www.liveloveaz.blogspot.com/
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