Brooke Larsen

I inherited a legacy of disconnect, neglect, and disdain for Great Salt Lake. My ancestors colonized the Great Salt Lake Basin and started diverting water away from the lake. They believed any water that reached the lake was wasted. For those of us descended from settlers, I think the first step to stay with Great Salt Lake is to tell the truth about the violence our ancestors enacted on the land, the water, and the Goshute, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute people. Until we face that, take reparative action, and follow the narratives and leadership of those Indigenous to this place, I don’t believe we’ll ever truly restore Great Salt Lake.

Brooke Larsen is a co-producer of the Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories project. She is a queer storyteller, journalist, and writer based in Salt Lake City. She currently writes for High Country News, and she is the co-editor of the book New World Coming: Frontline Voices on Pandemics, Uprisings, and Climate Crisis.