Indingenous erasure in NYC, colonization, water commons, spirituality
~ Julie Souza
Water in WASQ is an auditory tour of Washington Square Park that communicates the importance of water as sacred Life by telling the story of the history of the land and brings attention to how colonization is linked to the injustices suffered by Native Americans today, as well as, the loss of spiritual connection among Westerners. Due to the pandemic it may be difficult to visit the park, so this tour will exist as a street view video to represent the experience of participating in this tour in person. The audio was recorded and spoken by Julie Souza and the soundscape corresponds to the locations seen in the video and the soundscape was recorded on Tuesday December 8, 2020 at 10:15 a.m. I do not claim any authority over this information and this tour was informed by indigenous knowledge, specifically inspired by Nemonte Nequimo. This tour is meant to be taken at your own pace with as little or as much time as you need at each spot to meditate on the aspects of the tour.
Begin the tour at the entrance of the park to heighten your awareness of the environment around you. Make your way towards the Washington Square Park Fountain to meditate on the water and learn some history about the erasure of indigenous people. Find your way to the first drinking fountain to drink the water if you so please and to learn about the geography of the land you stand on, as well as, some of the native species present. Take a stroll to the far side of the park and sit under Hangman’s Elm, one of the oldest trees in Manhattan, and learn about the history of the square. Finally, return to the Washington Square Arch to remind yourself of the history of colonization that is present, but as well as, the ability to embrace the sacredness of water.
“Water in WASQ” was inspired by Nemonte Nenquimo’s letter titled, “This is My Message To The Western World Your Civilization is Killing Life on Earth” in which she sends out a call to action for Westerners to recognize their loss of spiritual connection to the Earth. Julie was inspired to use water as a way to form and encourage this spiritual connection with a Western audience. She found it was important to focus on an area of New York City that was significant to her, so she chose Washington Square Park to learn about its history. She mapped all of the water features inside the park using Carto, but decided to create an auditory tour of the park using VoiceMap to integrate a storytelling approach. Ultimately the project evolved into a street view video version of the tour with a soundscape taken in the park to create a more immersive storytelling experience.
Bio – Julie Souza
Julie Souza is a senior in NYU’s Gallatin program concentrating in “The Unequal Impacts of Environmental Degradation”. Julie has recently graduated as a United Nations Millennium Fellow and hopes to continue her social impact work with a focus on environmental justice.