Water And Affluence in Conchella Valley

Water And Affluence In Conchella Valley

Bruce Von Stiers

Robinson Devor is a director known for the films Zoo and Police Beat. A few years ago, Devor put together a film about things and people in California's Conchella Valley. This film is titled Pow Wow and was presented by Random Media.

The film shows the disparity between the Native Americans in the Conchella Valley and the other residents of the valley, primarily those of Palm Springs. The desert city, which is home to many celebrities including Shecky Green and Leonardo DiCaprio, has a lot of golf courses and other things that more affluent people flock to.

There are scenes of sprinklers going off on golf courses and scenes of arid desert. There is a scene showing giant water distribution pipes with a background narration about it. And there is a Native American man talking about how their reservation sits on top of a huge aquifer.

In an effort, I think, to emphasize the disparity between Native Americans and others, the director inserted the story of a Native American man named Willie Boy. It seems that Willie Boy had in love with a cousin, was forbidden to be with her, killed her father and ran off with her. A huge manhunt ensued, mainly with white men in the chase. The story was made into a 1969 film starring Robert Redford and Robert Blake titled Tell Them Willie Boy Was Here. A couple of clips from that film were interspersed in this segment of the documentary. Doing the narration for the story in this film was an older man who is an amateur history researcher, a modern-day cowboy and atheist. The atheism element comes forward in a dialog he presents near the end of the film.

Sprinkled throughout the film are scenes showing some leisure habits of the wealthier people. A younger man playing polo is interviewed. There are people on golf courses and at a party or two. In fact, one scene has a narration about a pow wow, which was originally a spiritual gathering for Native Americans, that in this incident has become more of a white man/cowboy costume party kind of event.

The film moves back and forth between what might be considered the haves and have nots. The affluent people live in nicer homes, play golf and polo, and have cool parties. While the other people in the region aren't quite as affluent.

There was an interesting scene with a sparkle laden helicopter and a scantily dressed female pilot listed in the credits as “Shivers.” The helicopter was from a company called Ride-em Copter, which just added to the bizarreness of that segment.

The underlying theme of the film seems to be about water. That is, there is an overabundance of available water for homes and golf courses in the city. But away from there, the land is harsh, practically void of any visible water. And yet, on the reservation, according to the one narration, there is a giant aquifer. Is water from the aquifer being siphoned off for the golf courses and other things in the city? I don't think that the film fully explored that aspect. Or if it did, I missed it.

Pow Wow was co-written by Michael McConville. It was produced by Victoria Nevinny. The Director of Photography was Sean Kirby. He had worked with Devor on Zoo and Police Beat.

People who appeared in the film included Robert Knoop, Ann Heavey, Cavin Shorter, Byron Grace, Ronald House, Antonio Hereida Jr, Isaeah Hereida, Aiden Hereida, Pastor Dave Stewart, Luis Bolanos and John Penn Lee. There was also celebrities Shecky Green and Ruta Lee.

Some of the locations used in the film were the Eldorado Polo Club, Desert Princess Country Club, The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation, a facilities area for the Conchella Valley Water District, The Smoke Tree Stables, The Smoke Tree Ranch and the Blue Skies Village.

Pow Wow was a film that tried to provide a glimpse at the people of California's Conchella Valley. From the residents of Palm Springs to the people who live on the reservation to the desert dwellers, the film explores the differences. While the film does show some of the disparity, it is more of a soft-around- the-edges documentary than a full throttle expose. But Devor was quoted as saying that the film would not be about a particular person, avoiding traditional narratives. And that the film would be a “photographic essay” of the land and the people of Conchella Valley. Although that was the general feel of the film, I would have liked to have seen more of an in-depth exploration of both the differences in the lifestyles and lives of the people of the valley. And I would have liked to have seen something about where the water comes from for the golf course etc. Is the water piped in from far away or is it be drained from the aquifer buried beneath the reservation?

Pow Wow will be released this Tuesday, April 18 th . It will be available on multiple platforms, including Amazon, iTunes, DirectTV, Vudu and Dish.

You can watch the trailer for Pow Wow on YouTube. Here is the link for the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yn5R4t3d_c

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