Faces of Chaco

Rob Zeigler gives a shot in New Mexico

By Peak Design

September 11^th, 2017

We met Rob Zeigler (@robzeigler) when he volunteered to shoot for the San Juan Citizens Alliance through Give a Shot. The project took him to the Chaco area of New Mexico and catalyzed a larger collaboration between Rob and the SJCA, resulting in a new campaign called The Faces of Chaco.

We asked Rob a few questions about what's currently going on in Chaco and how he's involved....

How did you become aware of the SJCA and why did you head to Chaco?

A few months ago I came across the announcement that the Give A Shot program and website was up, so I took a look. It was serendipitous timing because I was actively looking to focus my photography on a cause that mattered. There wasn't anything in my local area (Dallas, TX) on the Give A Shot site, so I branched out and found the San Juan Citizens Alliance in New Mexico. When I saw they had a need for photography in the Greater Chaco area I became immediately interested. The project wasn’t just about protecting an archaeologically important site from oil and gas drilling; it was also about the indigenous social and humanitarian issues surrounding the development. I instantly connected with the cause and felt it was worth reaching out.

What's happening in Chaco now?

That's such a loaded question, but I'll try to be concise! Greater Chaco lies on top of the San Juan Basin, which hosts over 40,000 oil and gas wells. Methane flaring, cancerous odors, new health problems, groundwater contamination, and the complete disruption of indigenous traditions are just a hint of the issues in the Chaco area. To make matters worse, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is charged with protecting communities from these impacts, is actively making it easier for companies to extract resources at the expense of local culture and the environment.

Until very recently, drilling in the heart of Greater Chaco wasn’t possible. As such, the BLM, which manages most of the drilling in the area, never planned for it. In the last decade, new drilling technologies made horizontal drilling feasible to access resources previously out of reach – but the BLM never revised their planning to reflect it. Over 400 wells have been drilled in Greater Chaco without proper BLM protections in place.

Right now in Chaco, local people are demanding protections for themselves and their children's futures as best they can, but they need help.

Who did you meet in Chaco and what did you learn?

The first person I met in Chaco was Emily Bowie, my contact at the San Juan Citizens Alliance and the most instrumental person in getting the whole shoot set up. Emily introduced me to Kendra Pinto and Daniel Tso, two of the most active local residents who are raising awareness of all the issues impacting local communities and the environment.

I quickly learned that Greater Chaco is comprised of an aptly named “checkerboard” of federal, private and tribal lands. To make it more confusing, surface land and underground minerals can have different owners. The government often owns minerals, and because mineral rights take precedence, they can basically drill anywhere they want without landowner permission.

Usually, the landowner receives money for this, but not always. The twist here is that there are two types of tribal land ownership: homesites and allotments. Homesites are properties leased from tribal governments (i.e. the Navajo Nation) and these owners have no say in, and are not paid for, any drilling on their property. Allotments were properties given to families in the 1800’s as an attempt to split up tribes. Allotment owners (which consist of all heirs of the property, sometimes hundreds of people) receive payments for wells drilled on their property, and do have to sign off, but unanimity amongst the family isn’t required.

If this all sounds confusing, it is, and it’s meant to be. It works in the favor of the oil and gas industry to be confusing.

The other thing that shocked me is how “land ownership” plays such a large role in how drilling occurs, but it has no bearing on what happens when drilling is done. Even though there are boxes on the map, there are no physical gates or boundaries around them. Whatever destruction an oil company wreaks in one place affects all of the land around it. There are thousands of abandoned sites in the San Juan Basin sitting alone, baking in the New Mexico sun and serving as a reminder that oil and gas companies have no intention of cleaning up what they strive so hard to destroy in the first place.

What is "Faces of Chaco"? What do you hope to achieve with your work there?

After a few phone calls, Emily and I agreed that a lot of photographs of Greater Chaco were of the landscape that ancient Pueblo nations called home from AD 900 - 1150. A lot of time and effort is spent protecting these amazing archaeological sites, as it should be, but we thought it was time to put a face to the living, local people in the area. We brought the idea to local activists in Greater Chaco and “Faces of Chaco” was born.

In a style similar to Humans of New York, "Faces of Chaco" is a mixture of documentary photography and portraits. On the Faces of Chaco website we’ve paired each photo with a caption from someone in the community. During a weekend of interviews, we heard from local people about what life was like before oil and gas, what their daily life is like now, how they feel about the new oil and gas development and what steps they're taking to create a better future for themselves and their neighbors.

In essence, "Faces of Chaco" sheds light on what matters most: stories from the people who are affected right now, every day, by this drilling.

Anything else you want to share?

"Faces of Chaco" is only just beginning. I’ve already made plans with the San Juan Citizens Alliance and local residents of Greater Chaco to return for more interviews.

This first step wouldn’t have happened without the Give A Shot program. I am incredibly grateful to Peak Design for being an environmentally conscious company and connecting non-profit groups with photographers. I encourage anyone interested to look into Give A Shot and donate your time and talent to a good cause.

I'm reminded of a quote that says something along the lines of, "Photographs alone may not change the world, but they can change people - and people can change the world." I know that "Faces of Chaco" won't stop oil and gas drilling in the Navajo Nation overnight, but if any of the work informs you or connects with you on an emotional level and you want to share it, act on it or research it more, then it's all worthwhile.