Tribes could turn the tables on water control
Posted by: Maven on December 30, 2011 at 7:21 amFrom The Range blog at High Country News:
“It seems like every week there’s another article about the future of western water—how much we’ll have, where it will come from, and who will get it. Since it’s key to our sustainability and growth, it’s something we ought to be talking about. But there’s a key element that is largely ignored in the mainstream media: the role of American Indians.
One exception is a recent article in the Denver Post, about the completion of a huge new reservoir outside Durango. While the Nighthorse reservoir holds enough water to serve over 300,000 households per year, it was not built exclusively to serve our bulging ‘burbs.
Lake Nighthorse is part of the Animas-La Plata Project, which was born of a settlement between the federal government and the two tribes that live in Colorado—the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Utes. The water will be shared by the Utes and by five other entities, including the State of Colorado, the Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy, the Navajo Nation, the San Juan Water Commission and the La Plata Conservancy District. Fully two-thirds of the water will be set aside for the tribes.
The agreement settles some complex and protracted water conflicts, and its enactment also offers an opportunity to take a look at the history of tribal water rights and what they mean for the future fights over the so-called “new gold” of the West. … “
Continue reading from the High Country News by clicking here.
Salazar announces finalization of Soboba tribal water rights settlement
Posted by: Maven on November 30, 2011 at 5:59 amFrom Indian Country Today:
“After three years, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians has received its water settlement agreement from the United States government. On November 29, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the Soboba of Luiseño Indians Settlement Act, worth $21 million in federal funding.
The historic settlement was the final step in fulfilling promises made in 2008, when Congress approved the Act, to the Band and southern California communities.
“Today we bring to a close more than 150 years of conflict and decades of litigation between the Soboba Band and neighboring communities over the San Jacinto River Basin’s limited water resources,” said Secretary Salazar. “Thanks to collaboration among the Band, the water districts and the U.S. government, the funds we are releasing today will have a real, lasting impact when it comes to a secure water supply and spurring economic development for the Soboba nation and the neighboring communities.” … “
Continue reading from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
MORE: Salazar Announces Finalization of Soboba Tribal Water Rights Settlement, Triggering Release of $21 million Benefiting Reservation and California’s San Jacinto River Basin Communities, press release from the Department of Interior
San Diego County: Local tribes say they are owed millions for water rights; Century-old dispute over water continues
Posted by: Maven on March 14, 2011 at 6:27 amFrom the North County Times:
“Five North County tribes say they are owed millions of dollars by the agency that supplies water to much of Southern California and they are seeking arbitration to resolve the matter. It is the latest salvo in a century-old dispute over water rights.
Officials with the Indian Water Authority, which represents the La Jolla, Pala, Pauma, Rincon and San Pasqual bands, filed a request for arbitration last month because they believe the Metropolitan Water District, the agency that distributes the water, underpaid the tribes by about $17.6 million.
The Metropolitan Water District says it’s paying the right amount under an agreement both sides signed in 2003. Moreover, Metropolitan says in a response to the tribes’ claim that it believes the tribes should not be getting any money from their water rights just yet. … “
Continue reading from the North County Times by clicking here.
Interior secretary signs Navajo water settlement; negotiations with Mexico continue
Posted by: Maven on December 19, 2010 at 7:33 amFrom Bloomberg News:
“Ten of thousands of Navajos will finally enjoy running water in their homes under a national settlement that quantifies the tribe’s water rights in the lower Colorado River basin, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday.
Salazar and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. signed the San Juan Navajo Water Rights Settlement during the Colorado River Water Users Association annual conference in Las Vegas.
The agreement attempts to resolve a 142-year-old dispute. The completed legislation recognizes about 600,000 acre-feet per year that would go to the Navajos for agriculture, industrial, municipal, domestic and stock watering purposes. … “
Continue reading from Bloomberg News by clicking here.
John Fleck column: Water deal a milestone for Navajos
Posted by: Maven on December 15, 2010 at 7:13 amFrom John Fleck at the Albuquerque Journal, this column:
“President Barack Obama, speaking last week at a White House signing ceremony for Indian water rights settlement legislation, said the bill would provide “permanent access to secure water supplies year-round” for seven Native American communities around the West.
One of those is the Navajo Nation. John Leeper, with the Navajos’ Department of Water Resources, sounded almost giddy when I asked him to elaborate on what it means: “Real water to real people in real time.”
That’s because the legislation, a clever package engineered by a group of legislators that included Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has something that has been hard to nail down in recent Indian water rights settlements: real money. … “
Continue reading from the Albuquerque Journal by clicking here.
Congresswoman Napolitano helps secure Native American water rights
Posted by: Maven on December 2, 2010 at 8:14 amFrom the website from Congresswoman Grace Napolitano:
‘Yesterday, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano voted in favor of H.R. 4783, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which passed the House of Representatives with provisions establishing the federal government’s obligation to make drinking water available to Native American tribes and pueblos.
Napolitano is chair of the Water and Power Subcommittee and lead efforts to strengthen the Native American water rights provisions in the bill. The legislation fulfills a commitment the United States made to these tribes when they established the reservations.
Napolitano made the following statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Video is available at www.napolitano.house.gov/news/video/v120110.wmv.
“Titles III through VI settle the water rights claims for seven tribes and pueblos in the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Montana. In the case of the five New Mexico pueblos, this legislation would end a combined total of 84 years of protracted, divisive and expensive litigation. … “
Continue reading at Congresswoman Grace Napolitano’s website by clicking here.
Navajo president signs off on water settlement
Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2010 at 7:23 amFrom the L. A. Daily News:
“WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.—Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. has approved an agreement that quantifies the tribe’s water rights in the lower Colorado River basin.
Tribal lawmakers voted in favor of the settlement earlier this month.
It gives the tribe 31,000 acre-feet of water a year from the basin, any unclaimed flows from the Little Colorado River, and nearly unlimited access to two aquifers beneath the reservation. … “
Continue reading from the L. A. Daily News by clicking here.
Navajos OK water-rights deal, but delivery could take years
Posted by: Maven on November 5, 2010 at 7:21 amFrom the Arizona Daily Star:
“FLAGSTAFF – Navajo lawmakers have approved an agreement that quantifies the tribe’s water rights in the lower Colorado River Basin, but it could be years before any of that water reaches tribal communities.
The settlement gives the tribe 31,000 acre-feet of water a year from the basin, an amount critics contend isn’t enough; any unclaimed flows from the Little Colorado River; and nearly unlimited access to two aquifers beneath the reservation.
Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. likely will sign off on the settlement, which hinges on approval of Congress and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for pipelines that would deliver the water to the Navajo and Hopi reservations. … “
Continue reading from the Arizona Daily Star by clicking here.
More improvements coming for Kern Valley allotment
Posted by: Maven on October 13, 2010 at 8:22 amFrom Indian Country Today:
“LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. – The land allotment policies of the 1800s – designed to break up American Indian land and push the First People out of the way of settlement – steamrolled through Indian country faster than rail and wagon trains could bring new settlers.
More than a century later, the impacts on daily quality of life are still felt.
At the WhiteBlanket allotment, one of 10 Tubatulabal allotments in the Kern River Valley, there is no electricity. The BIA doesn’t allow construction of permanent homes. Residents get water from a well that produces five or six gallons a minute; for irrigation, they pump water from the river about 200 yards away to a 1,000-gallon holding tank. In summer, the temperature can reach triple digits; in winter, it can dip below freezing. … “
But things are about to get better. Continue reading from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
Tribal water rights supported before Congress
Posted by: Maven on August 18, 2010 at 9:00 amFrom Indian Country Today:
“A pair of tribal water rights settlements received renewed attention from Congress just before its break for summer recess.
“They are not the most exciting issues around. … but they are very important in the life of tribal governments,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, at a July 22 hearing on two bills, S.2956, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement Act; and S.3290, the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010.
Testifying in support of the legislation that impacts his tribe, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro said the bill would settle longstanding tribal claims to waters of the Santa Margarita River Watershed. … “
Continue reading from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
Navajo water project promises to deliver in two years
Posted by: Maven on April 13, 2010 at 6:15 pmFrom the Farmington, New Mexico Daily Times:
“More than 10,000 Navajo citizens are expected to get access to running water within two years following dedication Monday of the Eastern Navajo Waterline Project. The dedication ceremony, held in the Counselor Chapter, kicked off a $29 million project that will cross four counties and eight chapters.
For some residents, the wait for running water has lasted more than four decades, Counselor Chapter President Samuel Sage said. “This has been talked about since the ’60′s and ’70′s,” he said. “We grew up listening to the elderlies talking about it, and finally, finally, an agreement came.”
The four-phase project is part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in April 2009. The act authorizes the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to construct the $870 million Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, of which the Eastern Navajo Waterline Project is a segment.
“This project represents the federal government’s commitment to meeting our obligations to ensure the health and welfare of the people of the Navajo Nation,” Terry Brunner, state director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, said during the dedication Monday.
Continue reading this article from the Farmington New Mexico Daily Times by clicking here.
Baca sponsors legislation requesting water resources feasibility study for Soboba Band
Posted by: Maven on March 20, 2010 at 4:53 amFrom the website of Congressman Joe Baca:
“Today, Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) introduced legislation to direct the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of carrying out a project to address the water resource development and management needs of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Reservation. The legislation authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to appropriate $1.7 million to complete the feasibility study.
“Proper use and management of our water resources is becoming increasingly critical to the quality of life in the Inland Empire,” said Rep. Baca. “I am pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation, which directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to carry out a long overdue feasibility study on the Soboba Reservation. Especially in these times of continued drought, protecting the water resources of our tribal communities is essential to their future growth and economic well-being.”
In 2008, Congress enacted the Soboba Settlement Act, which included funding for the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, to settle water-related claims against the United States. But before the Soboba community can begin construction on new water related structures and systems, they need a feasibility study to ensure the construction can be carried out safely and in a cost-effective manner. … “
Continue reading this press release from Congressman Joe Baca by clicking here.
Progress cited in Pechanga tribe water rights case
Posted by: Maven on December 18, 2009 at 7:15 amFrom Valley News:
“A tentative water rights agreement that was reached between the Pechanga Indian tribe and the Rancho California Water District a year ago would be cemented under legislation recently introduced by Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack.
The legislation was praised by the two groups, but formalizing the tentative settlement would not end one of California’s longest-running water-rights lawsuits. It would merely remove two key players and possibly shift a legal fight in the vast basin that is drained by the Santa Margarita River.
“Rancho California Water District appreciates the efforts of Representative Bono Mack in sponsoring this legislation,” Matt Stone, agency general manager, said in a news release. “We look forward to working with all the settlement parties for passage of the bill.”
Pechanga officials were equally upbeat.
“This settlement provides a large measure of certainty to Pechanga’s future in terms of water supply,” Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro said in a written statement. “Clearly, the hard work and time invested by representatives of these water agencies and the tribe has resulted in a mutually advantageous agreement.” … “
Read more from the Valley News by clicking here.
Congresswoman Bono Mack introduces water settlement legislation
Posted by: Maven on December 14, 2009 at 6:15 amFrom the website of Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack:
“Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today introduced legislation to resolve an ongoing lawsuit over water resources in Riverside County and ratify a comprehensive agreement between the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians and the United States and California water districts, including Rancho California Water District (RCWD) and Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD). The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement Act (H.R. 4285) is broadly supported by local leaders and residents.
“This bill is the direct result of many years of hard work and time invested by the Tribe, our local water districts, and local leaders to reach an agreement on critical water resources,” said Bono Mack. “I praise their collaborative efforts and am proud to offer this legislation that will bring needed relief to the Tribe and local residents.
“Given the water shortage challenges in the California’s Central Valley and recent drought designations in Riverside County, we cannot ignore how important water is to a community. This legislation will bring an end to decades of litigation and uncertainty on water rights issues in the community. I am pleased that this bill will help compliment the planning already underway to improve our water supply and recycling efforts to meet our region’s current and future water needs,” said Bono Mack. … “
Continue reading at Congressman Bono Mack’s website by clicking here.
Congressman McClintock’s opening statement to the House Committee on Natural Resources regarding Indian water rights settlements
Posted by: Maven on October 1, 2009 at 8:02 amApparently, there was more than one hearing yesterday in Washington DC on water issues. Here is Congressman Tom McClintock’s opening statement to the House Committee on Natural Resources yesterday:
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the three Water and Power Subcommittee bills before us today.
These are all bills to settle water rights claims made against the federal government by various Indian tribes. These come with a hefty price tag: $577 million, with assignment of rights to over 110,000 acre feet of water. There are hundreds of such claims that are likely to follow.
It is important that these claims be settled. They involve some of the oldest standing litigation in the federal court system. They establish something that the people of their regions – both on and off reservation – have lacked, and that is a certainty about future water rights and apportionments.
But here is what has troubled me in my brief tenure as Ranking Member of your Water and Power subcommittee.
These are settlements of outstanding litigation involving the United States Government. It seems to me that the only relevant question is whether these settlements are advantageous to the government compared to its likely liability under current law.
Department of Interior stalls Tule River Tribe’s water development
Posted by: Maven on September 20, 2009 at 8:29 amFrom Indian Country Today:
“Members of the Tule River Tribe of California are growing increasingly frustrated with the Department of the Interior as it continues to stall the tribe’s ability to secure clean and reliable water resources.
Leaders of the tribe recently appeared before the Water and Power Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to explain the situation and to give credence to legislation that would help make the tribe’s water dreams a reality.
The tribe’s chairman, Ryan Garfield, testified July 23 in support of a Senate bill called the Tule River Tribe Water Development Act, noting that his reservation has long gone without reliable water due to suspect actions by Interior.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would require Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility and suitability of constructing a storage reservoir, outlet works and a delivery system to the tribe.
The project is intended to provide a water supply for domestic, municipal, industrial, agricultural and other purposes.
A similar bill in the House of Representatives already passed overwhelmingly, by a vote of 417-3, July 7. …”
However, despite the support from Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation does not support the legislation, and wants more time to review cost estimates. Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
Tule River tribe pushes reservoir; Tribal leader goes to House to back a site near Porterville
Posted by: Maven on July 24, 2009 at 6:19 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
Tule River Tribe Chairman Ryan Garfield urged senators Thursday to help resolve a long-running water dispute that still has some life in it. Garfield found a sympathetic Capitol Hill audience but some Obama administration resistance as he championed legislation providing $3 million to study a potential new reservoir near Porterville. If built, the small reservoir would funnel water to a tribe that has long needed it.
“The tribe cannot and will not meet its water needs without constructing a reservoir,” Garfield told the Senate Water and Power Subcommittee.
The legislation introduced by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California would authorize study of a 5,000-acre-foot reservoir at the confluence of Cedar Creek and the south fork of the Tule River.
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Tule River Tribe prepares for testimony before U.S. Senate
Posted by: Maven on July 11, 2009 at 9:57 amFrom the Porterville Recorder:
Officials with the Tule River Indian Tribe are drafting testimony they hope to present to the U.S. Senate next month. It’s another step in a long effort to get a 5,000-acre-foot-a-year water source to the tribe. “We are excited,” said Alec Garfield, chairman of the Tule River Water Rights Negotiation Team.
The House on Tuesday approved the Tule River Tribe Water Development Act which gives the OK to begin a $3 million study for a potential Porterville-area reservoir. Now the bill must pass through the Senate.
The study is similar to feasibility studies done for dams that determine, among other criteria, what sites can hold the water’s weight, where endangered species live and how much building the reservoir will cost.
Once, and if, it is constructed, the reservoir would give the 1,500-member tribe a long-term water supply on its 58,000-acre reservation. They currently draw water from wells and from the south fork of the Tule River — where the reservoir could be built.
Read more from the Porterville Recorder by clicking here.
EPA: $90 million in Recovery Act funds to bolster water services in Indian Country and create jobs
Posted by: Maven on July 9, 2009 at 7:40 amFrom the EPA, this press release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Indian Health Service (IHS) today announced $90 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for improved access to vital drinking water and wastewater services in the American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The funds will be invested in ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects designed to better protect human and environmental health in Indian Country and to create jobs.
“This investment is win-win. Addressing long-standing water issues in tribal communities is also going to bring in new jobs and new opportunities – helping them get through the economic downturn and build a lasting foundation for prosperity,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “EPA is committed to working with our tribal partners on solutions that benefit our environment, our health, and our economy.”
“This generous recovery act funding will make communities in Indian Country safer, healthier and stronger,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. “Everyone should have safe drinking water and sanitation facilities and we’re committed to improving the quality of life in Indian Country.”
Continuing a tradition spanning 20 years, EPA and IHS’s combined effort to improve water services in Indian Country contributed to their identification of 95 wastewater and 64 drinking water priority projects to be completed by IHS’s Sanitation Facilities Construction Program through EPA recovery act funds. The projects exceed the recovery act requirement that 20 percent of the funds be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally innovative projects.
According to 2007 data from the IHS, approximately 10 percent of tribal homes do not have safe drinking water and/or wastewater disposal facilities compared with 0.6 percent of non-native homes in the United States that lack such infrastructure as measured in 2005 by the U.S. Census. The water and wastewater infrastructure programs are a significant effort to improve tribal access to safe and adequate drinking and wastewater facilities. For example, a project to benefit the Tule River Tribe in Porterville, Calif., will replace failing septic systems, which threaten public health and the environment, with a community wastewater system. The White Mountain Apache Tribe in Whiteriver, Ariz., will benefit from an efficient surface water treatment facility, which will provide the quality of drinking water needed to protect the health of residents in over 2,000 homes.
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Feb. 17, 2009, and has directed that the recovery act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at recovery.gov.
More information about all the EPA recovery act water efforts: http://www.epa.gov/water/eparecovery/
Winnemem Wintu Tribe sues federal agencies, officials
Posted by: Maven on April 21, 2009 at 8:57 amFrom Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:
The Winnemem Wintu, a traditional California Tribe, filed a Complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California today against six federal agencies and two current federal agency heads alleging their actions have resulted in the destruction or damage to the Tribe’s cultural sites in Shasta County, California. The Winnemem are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as monetary damages.
The Tribe will hold a Rally at the State Capitol at noon today to call attention to the filing of its longstanding grievances against the federal government that began with the construction of Shasta Dam and continues to this day. This event follows three-days of intensive tribal preparation that included ceremonial prayers and fires, including a ceremonial war dance last night and this morning. It is the culmination of the ceremony begun in 2004 at Shasta Dam.
“We are a traditional people and have continued our traditional ways throughout the written history of the state of California,” said Caleen Sisk-Franco, the Tribe’s spiritual leader. “We hope this lawsuit and War Dance will protect our basic quality of life and ensure our freedom to maintain our traditions and culture.”
California Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-Marin) will address the Rally at noon. Immediately following, Jayne Fleming, Pro Bono Counsel and Human Rights Team Leader at Reed Smith LLP, one of the 15 largest law firms in the world, will also address the Tribe and its supporters at the noon event. Finally, Caleen Sisk-Franco will address the rally.
The Winnemem and its members are represented pro bono in the court case by a team of attorneys from Reed Smith led by partner James C. Martin. Other members of the team include Heather B. Hoesterey, Cheryl B. Kahn, Eugenia S. Chern and Kevin L. Jayne.
According to Ms. Fleming, “numerous federal laws and policies require federal agencies to consider environmental and cultural values when they assess proposed government projects. These laws also require federal agencies to consult with and fully disclose all the relevant information about their proposed actions to potentially affected individuals, as well as to use all possible means to preserve important historic, cultural and natural aspects of our national heritage. In dealing with the Winnemem, the defendants have blatantly ignored and violated these requirements, and they continue to do so, to the detriment of the Winnemem’s history and culture.”
Read more from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org by clicking here.
Omnibus Public Land Act benefits several tribes
Posted by: Maven on April 6, 2009 at 6:35 am
From Native American Times:
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 was signed into law last week and includes several beneficial provisions for American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes. The bill aids tribes by addressing several key water rights issues, placing land into trust and funding key infrastructure projects.
Specifically, the bill carries an expenditure of $870 million for the Navajo and the Tribe’s water rights to the San Juan River in New Mexico. Federal funds will assess and repair irrigation infrastructures that will impact the entire regions’ efforts at water conservation and includes a pipeline that will serve communities on and off the reservation.
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., and Navajo Code Talker Frank Chee Willeto of Crownpoint, N.M., were present at the White House for the bill signing. President Obama explained that this new law addresses the future challenges in regard to water issues.
“It’s hard to overstate the real and measurable impact this will have on people’s lives. People like Frank Chee Willetto, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II, who’s joined us today. And because of this legislation, Frank, along with 80,000 others in the Navajo Nation, will have access to clean running water for the very first time,” President Obama stated.
Mr. Willetto attended the bill’s signing as a representative of nearly 80,000 Navajo residents standing to benefit from the water agreements and construction of the Navajo-Gallup pipeline.
There are other benefits to Indian tribes as well. Read more from Native American Times by clicking here.
California considers Indian reservations in developing water plan
Posted by: Maven on March 10, 2009 at 5:40 amFrom Indian Country Today:
California’s water agency is for the first time including tribal input in the development of its water policy plan, a vital set of guiding principles and course of actions for the thirsty state.
The state’s Department of Water Resources is organizing at least six scoping meetings with tribes across the state to let them have their say in local water issues and to report their usage rate, supply and environmental impacts. The meetings will lead up to one tribal water summit later this year with the information to be included in the California Water Plan, which has been updated every five years since 1957.
“It’s a really big deal that we are talking to tribes,” said Barbara Cross, the tribal liaison for the department’s Tribal Communication Committee, a body in place for just 16 months.
The outreach has been well received.
“We are pleased that, at long last, the state finally recognizes the priority water rights of Indian Tribal Governments,” said Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Chairman Richard M. Milanovich in an e-mail.
Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
Pechanga, Rancho Water reach agreement on framework for water settlement; Agreement could bring access to water for Tribe, dry year supply of water for Rancho, and millions for regional water supply and quality project
Posted by: Maven on December 17, 2008 at 8:55 pmFrom Market Watch:
The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the Rancho California Water District today announced an agreement on a framework, developed with the assistance of the Metropolitan Water District and a team appointed by the United States Department of Interior, that will resolve Pechanga’s longstanding claims to water rights in the Santa Margarita River Basin.
The framework agreement will provide Pechanga with rights to water that are equal to those that were set forth in the original federal court Fallbrook Decree. Pechanga will receive water from the Wolf Valley Basin and other sources as outlined in a new supply agreement expected to be entered into among Pechanga, Metropolitan Water District and the United States on behalf of the Tribe. No other water user in the Santa Margarita Basin will be affected by this agreement.
Pechanga has also agreed to provide a portion of the settlement contribution that they expect to receive from the federal government to the Rancho California Integrated Resource Plan Project, an initiative that will enhance water supply and quality for Southwest Riverside County through 2050. This could result in anywhere from $10 to $20 million in federal funds for the project.
“This framework agreement, while still subject to additional federal review and approvals, marks a historic milestone in our long battle to preserve our water rights,” said Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro. “Generations of Pechanga leaders have struggled to secure our access to this important resource. This agreement will allow all parties involved to avoid costly and protracted lawsuits and finally bring about a resolution to this struggle.”
Read more from Market Watch by clicking here.
Colorado River eviction dispute in hands of tribal court
Posted by: Maven on December 8, 2008 at 6:45 amFrom Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:
A long-running dispute between some Colorado River residents and their tribal landlord is intensifying as both sides await a tribal appellate court decision on an eviction dispute.
The battle between Bob Johnson and the Colorado River Indian Tribes, a single tribe known as CRIT, centers on a mobile home resort he runs called the Water Wheel Resort. The 26-acre resort is about 25 miles north of Interstate 10 near the Arizona border.
The tribe took Johnson to its own tribal court to recoup back rent and evict him after the two were unable to renegotiate his lease last year. The tribe said his $2,600 in annual rent was under market value and reset it at $101,500 a year, while Johnson said an appraiser he hired set the value at $14,504 a year.
Johnson lost at the tribe’s lower-level court, and now they’re awaiting a ruling from the tribe’s appellate court. Once the tribal appellate court rules, Johnson’s attorney plans to file a challenge in federal court, which they believe is the proper venue for their dispute anyway.
Johnson and his supporters say the case is about much more than the future of his business. They say other tenants are at risk of losing their homes, their assets and what they call their “river lifestyle” without any recourse to a tribe they believe has no legal claim in California. They say the reservation’s western boundary extends only as far as the Arizona side of the Colorado River instead of straddling the river with land in both states.
The tribe rejects those claims and maintains that its reservation straddles the river. And the tribe has said it has good relationships with other business owners, has the right to set rental rates and has judicial jurisdiction over Water Wheel and other leaseholders.
Read more from the Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Outsiders target Indian land for risky business
Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2008 at 3:30 pmFrom the Center for Public Integrity:
Deep in the foothills, miles above California’s Sacramento Valley, the 640-acre home of the Cortina Band of Wintun Indians lies empty except for six houses, a graveyard, and the spot where the band’s ceremonial roundhouse once stood.
A sign at the gate warns off outsiders, but on a recent afternoon there is no one inside to drive visitors away. All but 20 or so of the band’s 160 members live elsewhere. Most are scattered throughout California and the West. Some moved as far away as Tennessee and Canada.
The land is beautiful, but it’s hard to live on and harder yet to make a living from. Electric lights replaced lanterns only a few years back. Phone service cuts in and out. In summer, the communal well dries up.
Hilly, parched, and carpeted with prickly star thistle, the Cortina land isn’t much good for farming or running cattle. It isn’t good for much, but two outside developers have found a way to make the Cortina land pay.
In 2007, the band began leasing nearly 70 percent of its land to be used for a landfill by a joint project between a Canadian venture capital company and a California waste hauler. The company plans to truck in 1,500 tons of municipal waste a day and bury it deep in Cortina’s canyons.
The Cortina landfill is one among dozens of projects across the country for which developers and Native Americans are using Indian sovereignty to bypass state and local regulations and build projects that other communities shun – projects ranging from landfills, big box stores and a massive power plant to casinos, motorcycle tracks and billboards. Neighbors are paying the price.
In California, the Cortina tribal leadership calls its landfill deal a financial savior, but like the people who live near other controversial Indian land projects, the farmers and ranchers who live below the Cortina land, and some tribal members, fear the landfill will leak and ruin the local environment.
“It has the potential to be a major disaster,” said Tom Griffith, a rancher who pastures his cattle 1.5 miles below the Indian land. “If you or I wanted to do this, it wouldn’t get past first base.”
Read the rest of this article from the Center for Public Integrity by clicking here.
Kempthorne carries through on water rights promise
Posted by: Maven on November 1, 2008 at 6:17 amFrom Indian Country Today:
The Arizona Water Rights Settlement Acts of 2004 reached the Gila River Indian Community and Tohono O’odham Nation in 2007, with Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s December signoff. The tribes received access to assured water allocations, along with the financial wherewithal to develop their land and water resources and expand their economies.
The legislation that bears President Bush’s signature was the product of an effort that spanned three decades by tribes, cities, farmers and the federal government, according to a BIA release that singled out Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., as “the constant guardian who shepherded the agreement through the Congress.”
In August, Kempthorne praised the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Settlement Act, signed into law July 31 by President Bush after arduous negotiations, principally backed in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.
Chairman Robert Salgado Sr. said the president’s signature honored the Soboba people. “It’s been a very long negotiation, and we thank our former tribal chairmen and council members who fought so hard for this, leaving us to merely dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” He added, “This settlement not only corrects a historic wrong that drastically depleted the tribe’s surface and groundwater supplies, but also provides a future roadmap for sustainable water management in the over-drafted San Jacinto River basin.”
Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
Above all: San Diego’s Kumeyaay water rights threatened
Posted by: Maven on August 29, 2008 at 6:37 amFrom Indian Country Today, an article written by Steven Newcomb of the Indigenous Law Institute, which discusses the history of the Kumeyaay Nation:
Recently, the San Diego Union Tribune published a story about water and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. (”Seeking stable source of water, Sycuan looks to Otay District” [July 3, 2008]) The article explained that Sycuan may decide to ”annex its reservation to the nearby Otay Water District” in order to provide the Sycuan Band with enough water for its future business and community needs. But the story failed to mention the many thousands of years that the Kumeyaay utilized the waters in their homeland for their villages and traditional way of life.
The news story also did not address how difficult it is to get non-Native people to learn about and recognize the full scope of Kumeyaay water rights. This is the result of an assumption that the non-Native society is more entitled than the Kumeyaay to the water within the Kumeyaay territory.
In the book ”Hispanic Law,” (1968) author E. N. Kleffens explains that because of the history of Spanish colonization, Castilian crown law is, in ”varying degrees,” ”still effective with respect to … the law of land and water …” in states such as California (and other places such as New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah).
When the U.S. assumed possession of that portion of Mexico described in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the laws of the Spanish crown and of the Mexican Republic that were in effect remained in force. A specific legal provision had to be subsequently revised within and by the U.S. system of government.
Steven Newcomb notes that when the U.S. signed the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the laws of the Spanish crown & Mexican Republic were to remain in force, (and Aquafornia notes that in fact, Los Angeles successfully made claims to water rights in the area under the ‘pueblo water rights’), and writes:
… this aspect of Castilian crown law has obviously not been upheld by the United States, by the state of California, or by the City and County of San Diego. Nonetheless, given a Kumeyaay existence that predates the European invasion of Kumeyaay lands by thousands of years, and given that Section 49 of the Laws of the Indies has not been superseded by Congress, the people of California and the City and County of San Diego have a moral obligation and legal responsibility to respect the water rights of the Kumeyaay Nation and of all the indigenous nations of the geographical area known as California (as well as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah).
Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
Soboba Band’s water rights conflict resolved under settlement act
Posted by: Maven on August 25, 2008 at 5:35 amFrom Indian County Today:
With President George W. Bush’s signing of an act that brings a water rights conflict of more than 150 years to a close for a southern California Indian tribe, Secretary of the Interior Department Dirk Kempthorne and a congresswoman joined the tribe Aug. 15 for a ceremony celebrating its passage.
Under the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Settlement Act (Public Law 110-297), signed by the president July 31, the Sobobas, their neighbors in Riverside County and three water districts are guaranteed adequate future water supplies, an exchange of land and millions of dollars from the federal government. The Sobobas will also get $18 million from some of the water districts for economic development and a potential economic stimulus.
”It’s been a very long negotiation, and we thank our former tribal chairmen and council members who fought so hard for this, leaving us to merely dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” Soboba Chairman Robert Salgado Sr. said in a joint press release with Interior.
Calling the Soboba’s decision to hold back using some of its water rights a ”tipping point” in the settlement, Kempthorne praised the tribe’s cooperation.
”By agreeing to gradually phase in increased water use over the next half-century, the Soboba have provided the Eastern Municipal Water District and the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District the time to develop and implement a groundwater management plan to cure the current overdraft in the San Jacinto Basin,” he said in the release.
Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.
President is the last dam in Soboba water rights issue
Posted by: Maven on August 6, 2008 at 6:47 amFrom Indian Country Today:
The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians now awaits President George W. Bush’s signature on a bill that will enable the tribe to sustain enough water for its reservation and end nearly 75 years of litigation.
With the U.S. Senate’s unanimous July 23 vote approving the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Settlement Act, which the House had already passed, the act will resolve the tribe’s water claims and authorize the secretary of the Interior Department to execute an agreement between the tribe and three water districts in southern California.
Introduced by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., the act was needed by the federal settlement team to authorize the settlement agreement of Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which is pending in federal district court.
”Water is essential to building and sustaining a community. I am pleased that after over 75 years of struggle, litigation and negotiation, this bill clearly shows how reaching a consensus will help the tribe and San Jacinto Valley achieve a reliable water source for years to come,” Bono Mack said.
”We are at this point today because of the collaborative efforts and many years of hard work by the tribe, our local water districts, the federal government and local leaders. This is great news that will benefit the tribe and our entire region, and I am honored to have played a part in reaching such a positive resolution to this issue.”
The Soboba Band was affected by settlement which occurred in the 1800′s when settlers began building dams and diverting streams; this led to the tribe drilling wells in order to supply water to their reservation.
In the 1930′s, the Metropolitan Water District tunneled thirteen miles through the San Jacinto Mountains as part of the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct. The building of the San Jacinto tunnel was the most challenging part of the task. The numerous faults and fractures caused the groundwater to drain into the tunnel, drying up springs and creeks in the upland area of the reservation. The water flooded the contractor’s equipment twice and eventually led to MWD taking over the project and completing the tunnel in 1939.
”We’ve always seen the light at the end of the tunnel,” Soboba Tribal Chairman Robert J. Salgado said. ”As soon as the president signs the bill, we’ll be able to celebrate in a good way.”
The settlement of the tribe’s water rights adds another chapter to its history, he said. ”The water was made by the Creator. He made it for all of us. When you do it the Indian way, everybody is blessed; but the outside world doesn’t understand where we come from. When they learn to walk in our moccasins, then they’ll understand.”
Every tribal chairman since the 1930s, Salgado said, has worked on the water settlement. ”They did all the hard work. Now I get to sign the agreement. I’m very proud that I am chairman of the Soboba Band. We give all the glory to the Creator.”
Read the full text of this article from Indian Country today by clicking here.
Bono Mack’s historic water settlement bill signed into law
Posted by: Maven on August 1, 2008 at 5:55 amFrom the California Chronicle:
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack´s (CA-45) bill to resolve an ongoing water dispute and bring a long-awaited solution to this issue for the Soboba Tribe, local residents and water districts was signed into law today by the President. The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Settlement Act of 2007, H.R. 4841, will put an end to over 75 years of litigation and create new sources of water for residents in Riverside County.
“This is a historic moment for the Soboba Tribe and our entire community,” said Bono Mack. “After over 75 years of hardship, legal battles and negotiation, this law will bring much-deserved relief to those who have been so significantly impacted by water deprivation and ongoing litigation.
“Water is essential to building and sustaining a community. Now that this bill has been signed into law, the Tribe and the San Jacinto Valley will benefit from new sources of water and a consensus-based solution to a very difficult situation.
“Residents throughout the region will benefit for years to come because of the hard work and collaboration by the Tribe, our local water districts, the Federal government, and local leaders. I am honored to have played a role in reaching such a positive resolution to this issue.”
The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Settlement Act resolves a lawsuit that was pending in the United States District Court in California for years – Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Among its provisions, this law provides long-term sustainability of the San Jacinto River Valley´s water supply by bringing new sources of water to local residents. Additionally, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Settlement Act assists both the Tribe and local residents with critical water infrastructure needs, according to Bono Mack.
Read more from the California Chronicle by clicking here.
New reports available on economic efficiency of water use & allocation, tribal communication, and financing Delta improvements and environmental mitigation
Posted by: Maven on July 31, 2008 at 6:53 amFrom the California Water Plan E-news:
Economic efficiency of water development & allocation:
A paper recently submitted to the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force examines the economic efficiency of water use and allocation in California. It was written by economist Roger Mann. The paper identifies key issues related to the economic efficiency of water development, allocation and use in California and discusses general policy changes that might improve economic efficiency. Click here to read the report.Tribal Communication Plan:
A Tribal Communication Plan has been posted on the Water Plan Web site. It is intended to help everyone involved in the California Water Plan – including the Department of Water Resources and all
other state and federal agencies – to communicate appropriately and effectively with all California Native American Tribes about water issues that may affect them in their territories and ancestral
homelands. Click here to read the report.
And from my own wanderings, this report from the California Research Bureau, commissioned by the Delta Vision Task Force titled “Financing Delta Improvements and Environmental Mitigation”:
Resolution of the Delta’s water supply, water quality, and fish problems may involve
building various structures, possibly including gates, pumps, canals, levees, and dams, and undertaking landscaping rearrangements to improve habitat for several species of flora and fauna. Resolution also involves changing water flow regimes in ways that would make more or less water, but probably less, available for human uses. This work and these changes will cost serious money. Cost estimates for many of these actions have not yet been developed. This paper explores approaches to financing these “improvements” and “mitigations.” While a little abstract, this is abstraction that matters. It will determine from whose pockets a good deal of money will come.California has a long history of financing water projects. The first section of this paper reviews this history, in hopes of identifying water-financing principles that might be adapted to Delta improvements and mitigation. Some deep-seated controversies about how Delta improvements should be financed have roots in this history, and it may be helpful to point them out.
A core idea in California’s approach to financing water projects is that beneficiaries should pay for them. Decades ago, this was a straightforward proposition – people or water districts should pay for the necessary dams, canals, and pumps and the costs of operating them in proportion to the amount of water they received. In the current age of rising environmental sensitivity, it is a little muddier. An alternative formulation that applies, at least crudely, to housing developments and highway projects, is that project proponents should pay to mitigate at least some of the environmental harm that their project is likely to cause. The second section of this paper explores this controversial subject. It seems unlikely that any consensus can be reached about how to finance facilities in the Delta without reaching some agreement about how to deal with this matter.
Read the full text of this report by clicking here.
Navajo’s give their side of the story in response to recent High Country News article
Posted by: Maven on July 24, 2008 at 5:59 amThe March issue of High Country News ran an extensive story (click here) about the Navajo Nation & the current litigation ensuing for them to claim their water rights. Ron Milford, who was featured in the article, took issue with much of it and has written a lengthy response, which High Country News is running unedited. Says High Country News: Though Milford’s statement levels a number of false accusations towards Jenkins, High Country News is running the full response by Milford et. al. here on hcn.org. We stand by the original story; it was not only well-written and comprehensive, but also accurate and balanced, giving Milford and his colleagues plenty of words to air their issues.
Mr. Milford’s response to the High Country News article:
In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. — George Orwell.
Featured in the March 17, 2008, issue of High Country News (HCN) and in the April 16 issue of the Navajo Times (the Times) was a Navajo water rights-related article by HCN’s Matt Jenkins titled “Seeking the Water Jackpot.” Letters to the HCN editor by concerned readers, like “Felice,” who wrote on 3/23/08, said things such as “I agree that Matt Jenkins did seem to have a bias against the grassroots Dine folks … .” Felice and like-minded reviewers of HCN and the Times do not know the half of it, which is why we wrote this reply.
Navajos’ Massive Unemployment
Jenkins opens his article by describing the deplorable condition of our infrastructure, including our roads, and our unemployment. He correctly said that unemployment is routinely at about 50%, and it has surged to 67%. The unemployment rate for Arizona, as we begin writing, is 4%. For the U.S. it is around 4.8%. During America’s “Great Depression” of the 1930s, it averaged 17%. The routine Navajo unemployment rate is therefore 1,150% higher than Arizona’s, almost 1,000% higher than the U.S. at large and almost 200% higher than the U.S. average during the Great Depression.
Jenkins’ condescending article suggests that Navajos should accept the state of things and the “drinking water” or, more correctly, the faucet water, focus that Navajo Nation water lawyer Stanley Pollack and his Navajo Water Rights Commission are mostly limiting their Arizona/Utah efforts to. The New Mexico settlement has similar and other serious limitations.
Having faucet water, avowedly important, nonetheless remains a minimalist start, e.g., every urban U.S. ghetto has faucet water. Also, economist and Indian law expert, Erik Jensen, has recently observed that “Substantial economic development in Indian Country will not occur without significant infusions of outside capital … .” Navajo, the largest tribe in North America, requires not a “significant” but an epic infusion of capital—the Navajo Nation is the size of West Virginia. The single major source for this desperately needed, anti-poverty, and pro-employment capital rests in the Navajo Nation’s water rights; including sovereign authority over rights, longdenied agricultural rights, and full compensation for waived and lost rights.
Pollack and the Water Commission have failed to even pose the question, “What will the last 30% of Navajos on the Nation, who still lack running water, have when the faucet water arrives?” In the absence of an immense infusion of capital, they’ll have the same 50% unemployment rate that prevails on the Nation now. Plus, without full rights, and the full compensation due for the valuable rights and priority dates waived and lost by Pollack and his Commission, Navajo will still have no sustainable way to maintain its economy or infrastructure like, say, Arizona does. What the Navajo Nation needs is something like the water and related values we already supply to Arizona; which has the fastest growth of any state in the U.S.
Read the rest of this rebuttal by clicking here.
Navajo Water Settlement & San Joaquin River Settlement advance to full Senate
Posted by: Maven on May 7, 2008 at 12:30 pmBusy day for the Senate Energy & Natural Resources committee in Washington today, apparently. From John Fleck at Inkstain:
The bill, S.1171, would guarantee 600,000 acre feet per year of water rights to the Navajo Nation, and also fund a water pipeline that would run across the Navajo Nation from the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico down to Gallup. The trick has always been figuring out a way to pay for it.
Yeah, isn’t that always the case …. find out more by taking the link from John Fleck’s blog – click here.
And from Stockton’s Record:
The [San Joaquin River restoration] legislation, which still must pass the full House and Senate, would implement a legal settlement that would return water to a dry 60-mile stretch of the San Joaquin River by 2009 and bring back Chinook salmon three years later.
Read the full text of this article from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.
Federal government’s commitment to Indian water rights settlements questioned
Posted by: Maven on April 27, 2008 at 7:59 amThe next big thing to affect Colorado River usage. In 1908, a Supreme Court decision guaranteed adequate water to tribal lands; however, when the Colorado River Compact was drawn up in 1922, Native Americans were simply left out of the deal. At a recent Western Governor’s Association meeting, Indian water rights were listed as a major concern.
This morning, a story from the Gallup (New Mexico) Independent, questioning the feds commitment to settling Indian water rights:
Last year, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman introduced H.R. 1970 — the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act — which is currently pending in Congress and would authorize the settlement and the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project to provide safe drinking water to the Navajo Nation and Gallup. The Department of the Interior has testified against the bill, and the Office of Management and Budget has opposed funding despite the critical lack of drinking water infrastructure on the Navajo Nation. Gallup may run out of water in less than 10 years.
The federal government is expected to be an aggressive trustee of Indian water rights, according to Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., however, Navajo is concerned that the feds’ current application of Criteria and Procedures in settlement negotiations creates incentives for the United States to oppose the interests of Indian tribes.
The Navajo Nation has considerable experience with water rights settlements. “We are currently involved in finalizing a settlement with the state of New Mexico, and we are in discussions with the states of Arizona and Utah to quantify our water rights through negotiated settlements, rather than through the litigation process,” Shirley said. The president explained how the United States has neglected the Navajo Nation’s water rights claims to the Colorado River, and has instead pursued a wide variety of activities concerning the management and allocation of the river without consideration of the needs of Navajo.
John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund of Boulder, Colo., has worked on Indian water issues for more than 38 years. In the last three decades, he said NARF has encountered one consistent challenge: the federal government’s inability to commit adequate financial and human resources to resolving tribal water rights claims.
“For centuries, the federal government has promoted and subsidized non-Indian water rights to the detriment of vested tribal water rights,” he said. “The lack of federal commitment to developing tribal water rights is especially troubling considering the conditions we see across Indian Country. It is not uncommon for tribal members to drive over 50 miles to haul water for their homes, many which still have no access to electricity. It is as if Native Americans fell through the web of the federal system that is charged with ensuring our well-being under the trust responsibility.”
The federal commitment to Indian water rights settlements remains inconsistent, and the lack of federal funding plagues the settlement process, Echohawk said.
Read the rest of this story from the Independent by clicking here. For more on Indian water rights, check out the Indian water rights category.
Landmark Indian water rights settlement fully implemented
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 1:27 pm
From the U. S. Department of the Interior:
Following approval by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, the largest Indian water rights settlement in U.S. history is now fully in effect, concluding more than three decades of extraordinary effort by federal, state and tribal leaders to resolve critical water use issues facing tribal communities and the State of Arizona.
“The Arizona Water Rights Settlements Act is a triumph of cooperation and consensus over conflict and litigation,” said Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman, who spoke on behalf of Secretary Kempthorne at an event celebrating the historic legislation. “This landmark agreement offers us a model of how states, Indian tribes, cities, farmers and the federal government – working together as neighbors and partners – can overcome deep-seated disputes with creative solutions that allow equitable benefits for all water users.”
The legislation, approved by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2004, was fully implemented after Secretary Kempthorne signed two Statements of Findings on Dec. 10, 2007, finishing all actions necessary to complete the Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement and amend the Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1982, involving the Tohono O’odham Nation.
“The Settlement Act provides the Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O’odham Nation access to assured water allocations and the financial resources necessary to develop their land and water resources, expand their economies and ensure a better quality of life for tribal members, their children and grandchildren,” Artman said. “Now that the legislation is fully and finally effective, all of the benefits promised can be delivered and these tribal water rights claims, among the largest in the West, can be put to rest.”
Continue reading “Landmark Indian water rights settlement fully implemented” »
More information on Indian water rights (edited)
Posted by: Maven on March 19, 2008 at 1:26 pmIndian water rights in the news lately (see above), and Aqua Blog Maven’s crystal ball says this is only the first of more to come.
If you’re looking for more information, here’s a link to a recent High Country News Article: click here, and click here for analysis from the astute Water Wired blog.
Also from Water Wired, a direct link to a film about the Navajo water situation called “The Water Haulers” – click here for the link and Michael’s analysis. Note: Michael has some second thoughts on the Water Hauler’s movie – click here.
The USA Today ran an article on the issue last month – click here.
For even more information, here is an article from the Universities Council on Water Resources on Indian water rights – click here.
Navajo Nation, left out of the Colorado River Compact, assert their water rights
Posted by: Maven on March 13, 2008 at 10:39 pmFrom High Country News:
Navajos often speak of the cosmic geography of the Four Sacred Mountains, which mark the boundaries of their ancestral homeland. But the lives of many people here are shaped by a more pragmatic geography, centered on a coin-op water dispenser in a muddy turnaround behind a city maintenance building in downtown Gallup, N.M. A water pipe with a piece of yellow fire hose hanging off the end sticks out the back of the building. Navajos load water tanks and blue plastic 55-gallon drums into the beds of their pickups and come here for drinking water. On weekends, the line can stretch around the block.
But on a bitter-cold Friday afternoon, the whole operation was seriously dorked. Ernest Leslie, who had driven 22 miles from Tohatchi, couldn’t get any water because a quarter was jammed in the coin slot. He tried to coax another coin into the machine with the tip of his pocketknife, but it popped back out like a bad joke and landed in the mud at his feet. “Huh,” Leslie said. He looked down at the quarter. “Sometimes we have problems like this.”
Even as the Southwest’s cities have flourished with water from the Colorado River, the Navajo Tribe has stood on the sidelines, holding an empty bucket – and waiting. For decades, it seems, the tribe has been just one good plan away from prosperity. Now, however, the Navajo Nation is beginning to assert its right to claim water from the river. Many Navajos feel that the tribe could soon transform water from something that eats up their quarters at 50 gallons a pop to a virtual jackpot. But as tantalizing as the prospect of river water is, it is also opening painful rifts on the reservation.
The capital of the Navajo Nation is a town called Window Rock, on the eastern edge of the reservation in Arizona. It is a slow-paced place with a couple of gas stations, a supermarket, and a clutch of mom-and-pop storefronts that serve up squash soup and roast mutton.
Lena Fowler lives on the other side of the reservation, but came to town in February for a tribal council meeting. A member of the tribe’s water rights commission, she has a cool intensity and a vaguely sexy set of crow’s-feet at the corners of her eyes. Fowler began by explaining how the language of white-dominated water law, saddled with abstruse notions like “qui prior est in tempore, potior est in jure” – Latin for “first in time, first in right” – often defies translation into Navajo. Then she conceded that water may, in fact, be a language unto itself.
“And when you speak water,” she said, “people get real emotional.
“For us, for most of our Navajo people, they wake up in the morning (and) they go out and they pray. And once they’re done,” she said, “they turn around and have to figure out how much water they have: Is it safe to drink the water at the windmill? Or do I have to go buy Clorox to treat it with? That’s where we are today.”
Read the rest of this article from the High Country News by clicking here. Related editorial here. See also this recent article from the USA Today.
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