Where the Water Used to Be: Water Memory and the Human Psyche
A short experimental film and companion essay exploring ecological trauma and ancestral memory in the disappearing prairie streams of western Kansas. This project draws a parallel between the loss of flowing water and the erasure of Exoduster histories, centered through the voices of Black farmers carrying both legacies forward.

In the disappearing prairie streams of western Kansas, memory lingers—in soil, in seeds, and in the voices of Black farmers whose families have tended the land for generations. Where the Water Used to Be is a meditative short film currently in development, tracing the quiet disappearance of the Ogallala Aquifer alongside the near-erasure of the Exoduster legacy. Through layered visuals, reflective narration, and a companion visual essay, this project asks:

What if water remembers? And what does it mean to live ethically in a place that can no longer be restored?

Filming begins in 2026 and will center community collaboration, honoring both ecological systems and the emotional truths they hold. The film draws on Woolbank’s commitment to land-based storytelling—where restoration is not only physical, but cultural, spiritual, and psychological.