This performance took place at Utah Lake, called Paa-Kateten*, or “Water Sitting,” by the Timpanogos people, who lived in the valley and surrounding mountains for thousands of years before being violently displaced by pioneer settlers. Drawing from the Latter-Day Saint practice of proxy baptism, Garcia uses ritual as a lens to reflect on the legacies of her ancestors and the environmental and cultural harm inflicted on the lake and native peoples. By immersing herself directly in the water, outside the bounds of traditional priesthood authority, she enacts a personal, subversive ritual. It connects her to the land, explores intergenerational responsibility, and gestures toward restoration and care.

*See Native Places Atlas by the University of Utah's American West Center.