Just before midnight on 12 March 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed in the San Francisquito Canyon in Santa Clarita, thirty miles north of Los Angeles. Twelve billion gallons of water rushed down to the Pacific Ocean, killing more than 400 people. Though it was the largest man-made disaster in California history, the failure of the St. Francis Dam is not widely remembered by Angelenos today. For the few who study it, the disaster represents a plot point in the story of Los Angeles' \"water wars\" with the Owens Valley, with William Mulholland as the main character. But this historiography excludes, neglects, and exploits the experiences of the Indigenous victims and survivors of the disaster. This thesis explores the Indigenous origins of water in Los Angeles, the ways in which Indigenous peoples have been erased from the story of the St. Francis Dam, and how their perspectives can be inserted into the collective memory of the disaster.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Indigenous","St. Francis Dam","Los Angeles"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 23978