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Terria Smith's blog posts

Thirsty for drinkable water in Torres Martinez
posted 09/30/2013

Mary Belardo drives down the half-mile dirt road to her home. Her house – built by All Mission Indian Housing Authority – sits on a nearly 40 acre allotment on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation in Thermal, Calif.

'Don't drink the water': How a desert tribal community is dealing with a contaminated aquifer
posted 02/22/2013

Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation residents were instructed by the EPA 10 years ago not to drink the tap water. Any resident who is not an elder must provide his own drinking water. Everyone still uses the contaminated ground water to bathe and wash their dishes and clothes.

Awards and Updates

Best College Radio Story - awarded by Native American Journalists Association

Awarded 1st place in the 2012 Native American Journalists Association Media Awards for the radio piece "One hundred years with Ishi: The 'last wild Indian' of North America." The story, which aired on KALW-FM, focused on the 100-year anniversary of Ishi's arrival at the University of California, Berkeley. Ishi was a Native American of the Yana people who was said by anthropologists at the time to be the last suriviving member of his tribe as well as the final uncultivated 'Indian' in the United States. The story explored the historical accounts and misconceptions surrounding Ishi.

Terria Smith's Blog
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Thirsty for drinkable water in Torres Martinez
Mary Belardo drives down the half-mile dirt road to her home. Her house – built by All Mission... more »
posted 09/30/13
'Don't drink the water': How a desert tribal community is dealing with a contaminated aquifer
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation residents were instructed by the EPA 10 years... more »
posted 02/22/13

Terria Smith's Work
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Project: Contaminated Water on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation

For the past ten years, the 180 tribal members who live on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation in Southern California have been without safe drinking water.