Tribes say their future is at stake as they push for Congress to consider Colorado River settlement
In the heart of the Navajo Nation and in the shadow of the sandstone arch that is the namesake of the tribal capitol, a simple greeting and big smiles were shared again and again Friday as tribal officials gathered: “Yá’át’ééh abíní! ”
It was indeed a good morning for Navajo President Buu Nygren when he signed legislation in Window Rock, Arizona, outlining a proposed settlement to ensure that three Native American tribes have water rights from the Colorado River and other sources – and it Drought-stricken Arizona has done so, too. more security of supply.
The signing came a day after the Navajo Nation Council voted unanimously in favor of the measure. The San Juan Southern Paiute and Hopi tribes also approved the settlement this week.
Now the three tribes in northeastern Arizona will work to win congressional approval for what could be the most expensive water rights settlement in U.S. history.
“We have a big, big job,” Nygren told the crowd. “But we’re going to get it done.”
The Navajos have one of the largest outstanding claims in the Colorado River Basin, and officials say needs across the region exceed the proposed $5 billion price tag.
Nearly a third of homes in the Navajo Nation — spread across 45,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — have no running water. Many homes on Hopi lands are similarly situated, and the San Juan Southern Paiute have been left without any reservations – or water rights – for generations.
Tribal leaders told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that the proposed settlement entails more than just a basic right to water. It marks a new path, they say, for collaboration among Native American tribes as they plan for the future amid the worsening effects of climate change.
While efforts to reach a deal have been generations in the making, leaders said the ongoing drought and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic were among the challenges driving the latest round of talks.
Navajo Chairman Crystalyne Curley said Friday that the importance of clean, reliable drinking water sources became even more apparent during the pandemic. She told of Navajo families who have to drive many miles to collect water and transport it home and have to make do with only a few gallons a day.
Other non-tribal parties to the settlement have yet to approve the measure, but tribal officials and their lawyers hope discussions in Congress are well underway before the November elections.
Congress has passed nearly three dozen tribal water rights regulations in the U.S. over the past four decades. Federal negotiating teams are working on another 22 agreements involving dozens of tribes, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.