What’s your name, pronouns, and title?
Hey heyyyy. I’m Daela Taeoalii-Tipton (they/she), and I just joined the Water Hub as the Relationships Associate.
Where do you call home?
The traditional lands of the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone. The waters of the so-called Rocky Mountains. Samoa, Tonga, and the Vasa Pasefika. As of this year, I’m also learning to call the traditional lands of the Duwamish home.
What brought you to this work and why does water matter to you?
I love building relationships on the foundation of respect and reciprocity. Working to uplift experts of color through the Color of Water initiative is a dream because of our unique and critical perspectives. While formally working on water is a new direction for me, I’m excited to continue exploring the ways we’re all connected in the fight for human rights, community-based leadership, and ultimately, liberation. In solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux and all people fighting to secure clean, safe, secure water for their communities I say resoundingly, Water is Life.
What would the world be better with more of?
Love and respect for Indigenous knowledge, sovereignty, and lifeways.
What did you do before you came to the Water Hub?
Organized, built relationships, and strategically communicated to advance interconnected environmental and social movements. From arts and culture to democracy to LGBTQ+ rights to reproductive and environmental health, justice and equity have been the core underpinnings of my endeavors both personally and professionally.
Where’s your happy place?
What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?
“Everything we know is a product of how we know it.”
While not direct advice, a marine ecology professor shared this tidbit with me when discussing research methodology and I really appreciated their scientific encapsulation of the idea that “process” is ultimately more important than “product.” To me, this underscores why diverse backgrounds and perspectives are so critical to solving the many interconnected problems we face today – because the way we go about trying to answer questions is fundamental to the answers themselves.
We’d never guess that you…?
Successfully ran a statewide organizing campaign to end gerrymandering in Virginia!
What’s next?
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