Join us at the Tin Shed Theater in Patagonia, AZ to hear Dr. Michael M. Brescia give his talk "Whiskey is for Drinking; Water is for Fighting Over: The Living Legacies of Old Spanish Law and Natural Resources in the American West.” Dr. Brescia is the Curator of Ethnohistory at the AZ State Museum and Professor of History & Law at the University of Arizona. 

Water is one of the most valuable and contested natural resources in the American West. Communities have been fighting for access to scarce water sources for quite some time. How are water rights determined in areas that were once part of Spain and Mexico? Why are these old laws, customs, and usages still in effect and still practiced throughout the American West? Disputes over natural resources require navigating thorny historical and legal issues. Spanish colonialism and U.S. expansionism have played defining roles in shaping debates over access and control of natural resources, from water to grazing to minerals. Join us as University of Arizona historian Michael Brescia unpacks the complex historical and contemporary issues regarding water rights and natural resource usages across the American West.

Free event. $20 suggested donation. 

Sponsored in part by grants from the AZ Community Foundation and the Santa Cruz Community Foundation.

Click here to register