Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Genízaro Land Based Culture Liaison
expertise:
state: NM
city: Dixon
LGBTQ: I PREFER NOT TO SAY
Tribal Affiliation: YES
languages: Spanish, English, Other
race + ethnicity: Indigenous (e.g. Native, Native American, First Nations, Comunidades Indígenas, Indigenous descendant)
Joseluis Ortiz y Muniz is an indigenous, land-based, native New Mexican from the Genizaro land grant (La Merced de Santo Tomas el Apostol de Rio de Las Trampas) village of Llano De La Yegua. He was raised farming the High Llanos of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains and the low valleys of the Embudo River Valley and currently lives in his maternal village of San Antonio Del Rio Embudo (modern day "Dixon") in the high desert of Northern New Mexico. With roots in traditional agriculture that was passed on inter-generationally, he maintains a traditional land- and acequia-based way of life on land his family have stewarded since time immemorial.
He is a grassroots advocate for sustainable agriculture with roots in land and water stewardship. He is an active community member, serving as Community Liaison and Research Scientist for Greenroots Institute, coordinator of the NM Land Based Justice Collective, a board member of the Biodynamic Association, and the Mayordomo and Deputy for the Acequia Del Llano del Rio Embudo. He is rooted and versed in Environmental and Economic Justice, Restorative Justice, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Anti-Racism, De-colonizing systems, Land Based Justice and Indigenous Genizaro History.
Talk to him about: climate impacts on water and vulnerable communities, drought impacts on surface water, groundwater, ecosystems, and health impacts, land based socially sustainable systems, and decolonization.