Kyle Paoletta

Well, I think Powell is such a fascinating figure because he's the one who first charged the Colorado for the United States and helps facilitate the Arab settlement by saying, here's where the canyons are, here's where Lee's Ferry is, the premier place to cross the river. But after that experience, he gives a very famous speech where he basically says that

there is not enough water to sustain an East Coast-style population here, that this is a very rugged environment with very limited resources. And I believe he gives that speech in the 1880s or the 1890s. It's before the Bureau of Reclamation is founded, and it is very quickly dismissed by the kind of interest of boosters who, you know,

there is not enough water to sustain an East Coast-style population here, that this is a very rugged environment with very limited resources. And I believe he gives that speech in the 1880s or the 1890s. It's before the Bureau of Reclamation is founded, and it is very quickly dismissed by the kind of interest of boosters who, you know,

there is not enough water to sustain an East Coast-style population here, that this is a very rugged environment with very limited resources. And I believe he gives that speech in the 1880s or the 1890s. It's before the Bureau of Reclamation is founded, and it is very quickly dismissed by the kind of interest of boosters who, you know,

Definitely part of this story is the land grab that was basically made possible all of the settlement of the West, which, you know, we can talk a little bit about the history of Albuquerque, where I'm from, which was very much a... a lot of Anglo entrepreneurs buying up land very cheaply.

Definitely part of this story is the land grab that was basically made possible all of the settlement of the West, which, you know, we can talk a little bit about the history of Albuquerque, where I'm from, which was very much a... a lot of Anglo entrepreneurs buying up land very cheaply.

Definitely part of this story is the land grab that was basically made possible all of the settlement of the West, which, you know, we can talk a little bit about the history of Albuquerque, where I'm from, which was very much a... a lot of Anglo entrepreneurs buying up land very cheaply.

And then having done that, they were able to get the railroad to come to Albuquerque and then see a huge profit because they owned all this land that suddenly was very valuable because it was next to a railroad depot.

And then having done that, they were able to get the railroad to come to Albuquerque and then see a huge profit because they owned all this land that suddenly was very valuable because it was next to a railroad depot.

And then having done that, they were able to get the railroad to come to Albuquerque and then see a huge profit because they owned all this land that suddenly was very valuable because it was next to a railroad depot.

Yeah. And just to make that point even more, the Homestead Act is rightly very famous for allowing the colonization of Kansas, Nebraska, the Midwest, the Great Plains. But in order to get people to even want the land in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, they have to pass another act that's called the Arid Lands Act, which doubles the amount of land that a homesteader is able to claim if it's arid.

Yeah. And just to make that point even more, the Homestead Act is rightly very famous for allowing the colonization of Kansas, Nebraska, the Midwest, the Great Plains. But in order to get people to even want the land in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, they have to pass another act that's called the Arid Lands Act, which doubles the amount of land that a homesteader is able to claim if it's arid.

Yeah. And just to make that point even more, the Homestead Act is rightly very famous for allowing the colonization of Kansas, Nebraska, the Midwest, the Great Plains. But in order to get people to even want the land in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, they have to pass another act that's called the Arid Lands Act, which doubles the amount of land that a homesteader is able to claim if it's arid.

Because it was this idea of like, this is how much the federal government wanted this colonization project to succeed, that they literally were giving away as much land as they possibly could.

Because it was this idea of like, this is how much the federal government wanted this colonization project to succeed, that they literally were giving away as much land as they possibly could.

Because it was this idea of like, this is how much the federal government wanted this colonization project to succeed, that they literally were giving away as much land as they possibly could.

And hence why you then have this big federal investment in things like a Hoover Dam, because suddenly you have all these people who sort of are expecting that the government is going to make good of, you know, you wanted us to live here. We need some water now.

And hence why you then have this big federal investment in things like a Hoover Dam, because suddenly you have all these people who sort of are expecting that the government is going to make good of, you know, you wanted us to live here. We need some water now.

And hence why you then have this big federal investment in things like a Hoover Dam, because suddenly you have all these people who sort of are expecting that the government is going to make good of, you know, you wanted us to live here. We need some water now.

Well, and speaking of New Mexico, part of the story there is Spanish colonialism where you have the Spanish first coming and coming in 1598 to create the permanent colony and then Santa Fe is established in 1610. This is 20 years before Boston is settled. This is before Jamestown. And you have this system where the Spanish crown is making vast land grants to Spanish settlers.