Sovereignty Expanded: Indigenous Geographies of the Contemporary American West

In conjunction with Hans Baumann’s exhibition Hans Baumannn: 5 Distillations (Salton Sea), Pitzer College Art Galleries is hosting a symposium “Sovereignty Expanded: Indigenous Geographies of the Contemporary American West,” on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, February 29 in Benson Auditorium at Pitzer College.

In 2017, Hans Baumann initiated a long-term artistic collaboration with the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians to measure the disappearance of the Salton Sea from their sovereign tribal lands in the Coachella Valley. Although it is the largest body of water in California, the Salton Sea scarcely registers in the public consciousness and, when it does, it is as a miasmatic blight. By 2030, one-third of the Sea will have disappeared, leaving behind vast expanses of dusty playa contaminated by agricultural runoff and industrial effluents. These low-lying desert lands have been the homeland of the Cahuilla since time immemorial, and the future of the tribal community is inextricably linked to the future of this landscape. This collaboration is an attempt to reflect upon the complex socio-ecological dynamics responsible for the Sea’s existence and to engage with—but not intervene upon—the entropic processes of the Sea’s decline.