Themed One Water, Many Currents, this year’s Gila River Festival includes an on-campus lecture and panel discussion plus an evening event in Regents Square with the Fort Sill Apache Fire Dancers. The keynote speaker, Nuevomexicana writer and biologist Leeanna Torres, will talk tonight at 6 p.m. in the WNMU Global Resource Center auditorium about the Gila as a place of her querencia. Querencia is a word derived from two Spanish words. The first “querer” meaning to desire, or deeply love. The second word “herencia” meaning inheritance or heritage. Then, panelists will examine the indigenous connections to the Gila River. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the Fort Sill Apache Fire Dancers with the Gooday Family will present the Dance of the Mountain Spirits "to drive away sickness and evil and bring good health and good fortune.”...
.