Protecting Bahsahwahbee: A Living Refuge for the Ancestors – Josh Jackson

About this episode

Writer Josh Jackson follows Newe elders Delaine and Rick Spilsbury through the histories and possible futures of Bashahwahbee—a sacred grove of Rocky Mountain junipers in far eastern Nevada. Fed by rare springs in an otherwise arid high desert landscape, these trees carry both memories of Newe harvest ceremonies and the spirits of ancestors massacred there during colonial expansion. With its waters increasingly targeted for use in large farms and cities, Josh explores what could be lost if the springs that sustain this place run dry. Read the essay. Photo by Josh Jackson