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The Florence Community Library invites you to a presentation about the impact of Gila River diversions on the Pima community.
Dr. David DeJong, Project Director for the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project, will be at the library Friday, November 30 at 6:00 pm. He will deliver his presentation, Forced to Abandon Our Fields: The 1914 Charles Southworth Gila River Pima Interviews, discussing the late 19th century upstream diversions from the Gila River and the devastating impact they had on the Gila River Indian Reservation. In 1914, Charles Southworth interviewed Pima elders, who described how the changes caused by these diversions sent the tribe into poverty.
The presentation will include discussion of Southworth’s interviews, and will also include recent efforts to restore the agricultural economy of the Community. Dr. DeJong will be available to answer questions after the presentation.
This event is free and open to the public, and will be held at the Town of Florence Library and Community Center. This program is in partnership with the Smithsonian on Main Street Water Ways exhibition, open November 17 – December 30 at McFarland State Historic Park.
For more information, or to sign up, please contact the library at (520) 868 – 8311.