Encountering Hostile Turf

Abstract

I began my mediation career with Western Network, a non-profit founded by my colleague and friend John Folk-Williams in the late 1980s. John and I were committed to working in our own backyard, albeit a backyard neither of us had known for more than a few years. We saw that northern New Mexico, a region rich in tradition and culture, was under great stress and hoped we could help. There were conflicts over land and water resources, against a backdrop of cross-cultural tension and a high rate of poverty. What was needed, we concluded, was a way to bring communities, interest groups, and government agencies together to resolve some of these disputes. The communities were primarily Hispanic or Indian, the interest groups environmental or business, and the agencies state or federal. Most of our funding came from private foundations, in the East and Midwest, that shared our vision of a more cooperative and equitable way of making decisions in poor rural areas. Writing proposals was a chore, but the payoff—quite literally—was worth it, and we were happy not to have to charge our “clients” for our services.