Avi Kwa Ame | Conservation Lands Foundation

The proposed Avi Kwa Ame (Ah-VEE kwa-meh) National Monument sits in the southern region of the State of Nevada. This region is home to some of the most culturally significant and biologically diverse wilderness in the Mojave desert. Avi Kwa Ame as named by the Pipa Aha Macav Mojave Tribe is tied to their creation, cosmology, and well being. It’s sacred to 10 Yuman speaking tribes as well.

We collaborated with Conservation Lands Foundation to create a series of photos and short video clips to build a Story Map website to promote the protection of these sacred lands. Interviews from Fort Mojave tribal members as well as local organizers and politicians were documented to help contextualize the importance of Avi Kwa Ame and the surrounding ancestral lands.

From an attempted 1990s program to use the area as a nuclear dump site, to a more recent proposal of energy companies proposing a 30,000 acre wind farm in the middle of a Joshua Tree Forest, the wellbeing of the area’s ecology, bio diversity and cultural sites run the risk of being traumatically disrupted and degraded.

View Story Map

SHORT CLIPS

NORA MCDOWELL

PAUL JACKSON

TAYLOR PATTERSON

RYAN BOONE

KIM GARRISON-MEANS

JAMES ADAMS

A mountain range in the desert with yellow flowers in the foreground. A group of rocks with writing on them. A man in a blue shirt standing in the desert. Joshua tree national park, california. Joshua trees in joshua tree national park. A mountain range with a cactus in the background. Joshua trees in the desert with mountains in the background. Joshua tree in joshua tree national park. A body of water with mountains in the background. An aerial view of a river in the desert. A building with a sign that says phra macao cultural center. The logo of a brewery on the side of a building. An indian woman standing in a dry field. A woman in a wheelchair sitting in front of a house. A woman in glasses standing in front of a tree. A woman in a black shirt standing in front of a tree. A woman wearing a t - shirt standing in a field. Joshua tree national park, california. Joshua cactus in the desert with mountains in the background. Joshua tree photography joshua tree photography joshua tree photography joshua tree photography joshua tree photography. A woman walking down a dirt road in the desert. A person walking down a dirt path in a canyon. A man is riding a horse in the desert. A rock formation in the desert with mountains in the background. A man wearing a black hat in the desert. A mountain range with trees and bushes in the background. A man in a blue shirt standing in the desert. Joshua tree national park in california. Joshua cactus in the joshua cactus national park, california. A man walking down a trail in the desert. An aerial view of a mountain in the desert. A desert landscape with power lines and mountains in the background. A man and woman standing in the desert with a dog. A woman in a polka dot shirt standing in the desert. Joshua tree in joshua tree national park. A woman in a red t - shirt standing in the desert. Joshua trees in joshua tree national park. Joshua cactus at sunset in joshua cactus national park, california. Joshua tree national park, california.