exTANt: sound history of the Santa Cruz tannery

This episode is an exploration of how colonialism shaped the history of the site on which the Santa Cruz Tannery (now the Tannery Arts Center) is situated. The Awaswas-speaking Uypi tribe and their ancestors lived on these lands for thousands of years and were the first tanners along the San Lorenzo River. While tanning was a prominent feature of local Indigenous life, Indigenous people did not domesticate the animals – it was the Spanish colonizers who introduced cattle to California and made tanning on the industrial scale possible. Yulia Gilich and Kathleen Aston talk about the parallel processes of colonization that European settlers unleashed on the Indigenous people and the environment. The episode highlights the ongoing nature of colonial violence against Indigenous people and introduces histories of Indigenous resistance to and rebellion again that violence.

Learn more about and donate to the Amah Mutsun Land Trust https://amahmutsun.org/land-trust

Follow updates about and join the actions to protect Juristac https://www.protectjuristac.org

The episode features quotes from a variety of individuals, scholarly works, and archival materials. Interviews featured include:

• Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

• Martin Rizzo-Martinez, historian

• Ann Hazels, Director of Radius Gallery

• Heejin Lee, Tannery Live/Work Artist

• Linda Cover, Tannery Live/Work Artist

• Tom Hogye, former Salz Tannery employee

• Matt Lezin, former Salz Tannery Vice President

• Jesse Autumn, former Tannery Live/Work Artist

• Martin Devecka, Professor of Classical Studies

• Mike Reedy, former Salz Tannery employee

You hear excerpts from Dr. Martin Rizzo-Martinez’s book “We Are Not Animals: Indigenous Politics of Survival, Rebellion, and Reconstitution in Nineteenth-Century California.”

Learn more on our website http://extanttannery.com

In this episode, Yulia Gilich and Kathleen Aston give an overview of exTANt and the prominent themes of the project: colonialism, labor, art, community, housing, environment, displacement, and repair.

exTANt is a sound installation launching at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz, CA, on February 3, 2023. But for those who can’t visit the site in person and for those who want to know more about the history of labor, colonialism, environment, and art at the Tannery, Yulia Gilich and Kathleen Aston are making this podcast.