New film explores Indigenous surf culture

S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we're talking about the connection between indigenous spirituality and the ocean with the creator of the new film , Hawa. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Conserving the natural environment and uplifting indigenous culture. Things that go hand in hand. Imperial beach nonprofit Native Like Water does that by creating experiences for youth through an indigenous lens. They're also premiering a new film about coastal access , surfing and indigenous life. Marc Chavez , founder and director of Native Like Water , joins me now. Mark , welcome to Midday Edition.

S2: Hi there. Thank you for having me.

S1: So glad to have you here. You know , I'd love to start with the heart and soul of your organization , which is the indigenous sacred relationship to water. So tell me more about that relationship.

S2: Yes , the relationship to water. Well , we all have it , you know , from before we were born , we you know , we are we come from water. And so it's the most ancient of us. And so that water , luckily , is also a vessel of memory putting those things together or just being around the water or realizing , uh , that there is bigger bodies of water besides ourselves that we can connect to at a higher way , or listen to , um , in a higher way. And so it's very helpful. So that's , that's kind of the self-reflection of native like water. And the premise to us as indigenous people to see our reflection and work on it being clear.

S1:

S2: It's spiritual. It's almost can't even talk about it in words. It's something that's felt. And also , you know , a spiritual way is nice because it takes care of it's both , you know , mind and body. You can feel it. You might not be able to see it , but you could feel it and you know it to be true. And that for me , is what the ocean and what lots of bodies of water , but particularly the ocean , which we focus around the ocean environments and the coast , you know , there's all kinds of , as they say in Hawaii , mana. There's mana in the sea and sharing mana and sharing the waves , and which is water and groomed by breath or air wind. So it's definitely a higher knowing for sure , I would say.

S1: Well , and about that , your new film , Hawa is all about indigenous connection to the coastal ecosystem.

S2: And it will be. It's on tour. It just started kicked off its world tour. So it's doing the festivals and so it's going to go on a tour and it's a part of a larger curriculum. Understanding what that relationship to water is and allows , uh , native natives and non-Native folks to talk about their relationship to water and to see how there is a unity in that fact. The central story is that is great great Grandmother Ocean talking to her great great grandchildren that have yet to be born. What that means for us to be separated from the ocean , and how that our grand , great , great grandmothers are now happy seeing us returning to the sea , seeing us surfing , which is one of the greatest expressions along the sea or along the coast. So just that making them happy and proud to be surfing and active in a thriving way on a consistent basis in the water and at the coast. That is , I feel , the best thing we could do for our people , for mental health , and for both physical health and reconnecting to that ancient spiritual health. Right.

S1: Right. Well , because I'm curious , I mean , what is the consequence of not having that connection ? Right.

S2: Well , anybody who's separated from their natural habitat , there's going to be problems. We see that very obvious obvious in native plants and native animals. The human aspect of it has been largely ignored within the environmental circuit of of of care. And what I mean by that is that there is still time. There's great time for us to regenerate and to repopulate these areas. But with the loss of habitat for any species is headed in an a in danger to extinct situation. So turning that tide and understanding what that means , um , is super important.

S1: Your film works to do just that , and surfing as a cultural practice and original lifestyle is the focus. Tell me about the connection between indigenous culture and surfing. Right.

S2: Right. So there's these laws of nature , which means nature is the truth. And when you look at nature and you see the dolphins swimming and the whales swimming , the birds surfing , the dolphins surfing , all of us as we touch the sea , we understand that we want to be pushed by it. Getting to the core of indigeneity is getting to the core of your culture , your roots. And being next to the ocean is the quickest way for us to get what we call to the flow state , not just psychologically flow state , but within our cultural rebound , within this regeneration that we are flowing , there is a motion of flow. It's not a talk or a theory of flow , it's a real motion flow. And that takes quite a bit of currency or current of folks getting together , doing it on a regular basis. And so , you know , I keep going back to , to , to this. But that's , that's the beauty of it is , is , is how water functions as our tool and does all the heavy lifting when it comes to understanding who we are , where we are at the current moment. Mhm.

S3: Mhm.

S1: This is KPBS midday Edition. We're back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman in a big part of your work at native Like Water is environmental conservation.

S2: That is us maintaining who we are. So if we see our reflection in water and we are water , it helps us to think about , um , not just conserving the environment , but conserving our our health and our mind , my being. But when it comes to real conservation along the coasts here , there's a lot to be done. And the materials that are in the coast , that the organic material that local tribes use to , to make baskets , to make tule canoes , to make a whole sort of things , um , needs to be managed in a better way that can reflect a vibrant indigenous ecosystem. And with that , you need the original people to to lead in that , or to assist or to co-manage situations like that. Because the material that we use in these ecosystems , they benefit each other as we harvest them to create these baskets and such. So there is a relationship that cannot be severed or maintained severed. So how how can we think about conservation not just for us , but in to to project to conservationists and to environmentalists to understand like it's not like we have to own land , we don't own land , but we need to care for land together. And so co-management is a great thing that we could be adopting , uh , more here in San Diego. It's happening along the coast already. So there's tons of examples. And so this is this is a great time to to continue to push for that.

S1: Well , Mark , let me ask you this. I mean , um , you're based in Imperial Beach , which of course is dealing with ongoing water and air pollution from the Tijuana River.

S2: It's impacting our work , you know , of course , we cannot go into the ocean because of the pollution levels. People still are surfing there , but very few and the beaches are technically closed. That again puts a wall within our access to this natural environment. It's very similar to if we were moved away , but in this way our access is cut off because the stuff right under our nose or the or the beach right in front of our faces have been polluted so badly , or or experiencing pollution so badly that it's affecting the air and our lifestyle. Whether that becomes to sleeping at night with the the air is , I'm not going to say just as polluted. But for the most part , in all senses and purposes , it's extremely polluted. We are , you know , focused , of course , on the water because it's the most obvious source of what's the pollution. But it's , it's , it's , there's gases and there's there's stench and there's chemicals within the air , you know. And so just moving around in those situations , you're talking about having to understand what that means to you and your health. Um , so , you know , the impact of that hits you right at , at home. Um , of course , those closures stretch all the way to Coronado. So there's a lot of folks that are that are having an issue with this. Right.

S4: Right. Well , Mark.

S1: And because I want to be like clear about this , having access to the beach and that indigenous space is it's more than just , um , a cultural necessity. It's more than just about reconnecting with your roots , in a sense , but it is also necessary for the health and well-being of indigenous people.

S2: For sure. You know , you're absolutely right.

S1:

S2: We will start learning at a at a greater rate or even at a beginning rate , if we allow continue to allow these sacred refuges refuge , uh , these marine sanctuaries and having these co-management opportunities or situations , then we will learn. I don't know if we've learned anything because we could talk about it , but there has to be , you know , and there's real like I said , there is real action plans happening with co-management now , very few , but it's going down. And so these are great steps. And I and I would say this is what we , we need to learn is to , um , allow space to just be. It's not like some scientific stuff. It's just allow space to be indigenous along the coast. And that just that starts a cycle of , again , folks harvesting , surfing , having a space for your canoes in San Diego , That is our glass ceiling in San Diego. As a water person with working with the tribal folks that I serve. It's a glass ceiling that we don't have convenient , consistent access to our coastal spaces.

S1: I've been speaking with Mark Chavez , founder and director of Imperial Beach nonprofit Native Like Water. Their new documentary film , Hawa , is premiering next week at the La Skin's film festival. Mark , thanks for being here today.

S2: Thank you very much for having me.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.