Joseluis “Agua y Tierra” Ortiz y Muniz is an Indigenous, land-based native New Mexican living in the high desert of his maternal village of San Antonio Del Rio Embudo. Together with his family, they tend crops and livestock, and steward his ancestral lands within the Embudo River Basin. His roots in traditional agriculture were passed on inter-generationally and he maintains a traditional land and acequia based way of life on land his family has cared for since time immemorial. He has worked with volunteer, grassroots, community-based environmental and economic justice organizations. Working and learning in community were part of a journey of self-transformation and self-discovery. Today, he is the Community Liaison and The Project Director of the Sostenga Center for Sustainable Food, Agriculture, and Environment at Northern New Mexico College, where he works to provide land based agricultural wisdoms and demonstrates traditional farming methods. A proud father rooted in community, Agua Y Tierra is a training consultant for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and anti-racism, and is a very active community member. He is a board member of Seeds in Common an indigenous seed organization, the secretary for La Merced/Land Grant del Pueblo De Santa Cruz de La Canada, a member of La Cosecha del Norte, “a growing co-op,” and is the community elected Mayordomo for the Acequia Del Llano del Rio Embudo.
