Tulare Lake focus of lecture in Visalia

The Pa’ashi Speaker Series focusing on water in the San Joaquin Valley wraps up on Wednesday, April 22, with a free lecture by North Fork Mono Tribe Chairman Ron Goode.

Goode’s talk is titled “Tulare Lake: a natural design and water storage which has climate change effects.” He will speak at 5:30 p.m. in the Ponderosa Hall at College of the Sequoias in Visalia. An outdoor reception will follow. 

Goode is a retired community college professor in ethnic studies and the author of the 1992 book “Cultural Traditions Endangered.” He is the co-founder of the California State Tribal Water Summit, a periodic event held since 2009 by the Department of Water Resources that aims to create a roadmap of strategies for preserving Native water rights and the sustainable management of the state’s waters.  

In 2017-18, Goode was a lead author for the Tribal Indigenous Communities Climate Change Assessment. 

“Hearing from him will be an honor because he’s a pillar of teaching and sharing on Tribal sovereignty and cultural traditions,” event organizer Vivian Underhill said. 

The speaker series, dubbed “Water Influencers Across California,” also featured Tachi Yokut Tribe cultural liaison Kenny Barrios and attorney Adam Keats of the “Bring Back the Kern” campaign. Each speaker focused on contemporary water justice work across California. 
The series is built off of last year’s lectures, which explored the past, present and potential future of Tulare Lake, called Pa’ashi by indigenous tribes.