This blog is a space for reflection, storytelling, and connection.
Here, I share thoughts from the field, ideas in progress, behind-the-scenes glimpses of research and teaching, and moments of joy, challenge, and learning. Expect a blend of personal narrative, community knowledge, climate justice, Indigenous studies, and decolonial dreaming. This is where scholarship meets lived experience—where maps are hand-drawn, waters remembered, and futures imagined.
A book is taking shape—threaded with stories of water, memory, Puerto Rican roots, and Indigenous reawakening.
It’s a journey across coastlines and histories, a gathering of words shaped by land, loss, love, and return. This blog will carry fragments of that becoming—field glimmers, quiet thoughts, and offerings along the way. Stay close.
Feeling Salty about the Salt River: A Call for Justice, Healing, and Bold Action
The Salt River flows through Phoenix carrying centuries of history, memory, and harm. Once a vital source of life for the O’odham and Piipaash peoples, the river supported agriculture, ceremony, and community. It was cared for, not controlled. But that relationship was disrupted by land theft, water diversion, and relentless development. What remains is a river that has been neglected and abused, and a community that has been cut off from something sacred.
Still Here: On Loss, Continuance, and the Work Ahead
It’s been hard to find the words for this. A few weeks ago, our $1.4 million NSF Racial Equity in STEM grant, Weaving Relations, was unexpectedly terminated. We had already accomplished so much. Five full cohorts of Indigenous and Latine graduate students were supported through this work. They were doing powerful, community-based, solutions-oriented research founded in identity. And they were doing it together, in relationship, with guidance, care, and optimism. Losing our grant is heartbreaking.
Honoring the Journey
What a beautiful day of gratitude and celebration! I am once again reminded that I truly have the most amazing job and work with the most incredible students in the world. Today, I had the honor of bestowing beautiful pendleton stoles on three master’s degree graduates and three bachelor’s degree graduates, up on the stage at Gammage. It is an honor to have worked closely with each of these students, as well as several others graduating this year.
Agua es Vida: A Beginning, Not an End
As I sit with the memories of our Agua es Vida event, I keep returning to one feeling above all: gratitude. The day was beautiful. It was sunny and filled with movement, music, laughter, reflection, and meaningful connection between people and place. From early morning setup to late afternoon clean-up our community came together to celebrate water, honor mothers, and imagine futures rooted in care.
Walk with me
Whether you’re a student, community partner, researcher, or organizer, there are many ways to connect. I collaborate on research, support curriculum and program development, and help build meaningful partnerships rooted in good relations and care. I also offer consulting, facilitation, evaluation, and mentoring for individuals and organizations ready to do transformative work.
© 2025 Liliana Caughman, PhD. All views and opinions expressed on this website are my own and do not represent those of Arizona State University or any other affiliated institutions or organizations.