For Immediate Release: July 18, 2024
Contacts:
Cheryl Begay
Keenan Barlow
Signing Ceremony
Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement
The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Hopi Tribe, and Navajo Nation met at the Heard Museum to sign the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement
Phoenix, AZ- A Signing Ceremony took place this morning at the Heard Museum to approve the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement (NAIWRS), which involves all major water users and stakeholders in the Little Colorado River Basin and marks the end to tribes’ decades long litigation in the Little Colorado River Adjudication.
The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation met with leaders from Salt River Project, CAWCD, and the City of Flagstaff to formally sign the NAIWRS. This is a historic moment for all three Tribes, who have worked together for years to come to a negotiated settlement.
As the only federally recognized Tribe in Arizona without a reservation, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe are eager for Congress to approve the NAIWRS which will finally ratify a Treaty with the Navajo Nation creating an exclusive reservation for the Tribe and guarantee enough water to create a sustainable homeland. When Congress approves the NAIWRS, Tribal Members will have access to services long denied to them like permanent housing, reliable water and electricity. The NAIWRS will also give the Tribe autonomy over resource management, enabling it to own businesses and foster economic growth and self-sufficiency.
The Tribe’s President, Robbin Preston Jr., explained during the Signing Ceremony how difficult life has been for Tribal Members living without an exclusive reservation: “We live within the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation but are unable to get homesite leases, unable to get running water and electricity, unable to provide safe sanitation or assistance for our homeless population, and unable to get government services – all because we have no exclusive homeland. This Settlement will change everything.”
Tribal Members who, for generations, have been treated like unwanted visitors in their aboriginal territory are anxious for the Settlement to be approved by Congress. The approval of this legislation will give hope to many Tribal Members, especially elders, who have waited so long to see the Tribe recognize its exclusive homeland and to receive the basic assistance and services that all human beings deserve.
