Tribal Natural Resources News

Native American tribes around the West are making critical decisions regarding the management of their resources — land, water, fossil fuels and renewable resources. The Tribal Natural Resources Desk aims to produce objective reporting to tell stories of tribes empowering themselves through stewardship and decision-making around their resources.
Hear the voices of families, victims at a town hall on Arizona’s sober living home scandal
On Tuesday night, both rural and urban Natives traveled from near and far to the site of a former boarding school at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix to share the devastating impacts of a sober-living-home scandal that gained widespread notoriety after the shutdown of more than 300 facilities last year.
Mar. 28, 2024
Some Indigenous people not happy with proliferation of psychedelic drugs
Growing Western interest in psychedelic drugs has many Indigenous people sounding the alarm. These are plants they have been cultivating relationships with for millennia and, to do it right, they say, Western medicine should create bridges with traditional knowledge holders.
June 5, 2023
Navajo president criticizes ban on new mine leasing around Chaco Canyon
The Navajo Nation’s government criticized the U.S. Department of the Interior for protecting a swath of Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico from new oil and gas leasing for the next 20 years.
June 2, 2023
Hobbs urges Biden to designate proposed Grand Canyon monument
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has urged President Joe Biden to use the Antiquities Act to designate the proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.
June 1, 2023
Mohave official speaks against national monument
The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument has been proposed by Tribal leaders to protect native land and Colorado River water.
May 26, 2023
Gila River Indian Community played key role in water negotiations
Lower Basin states recently announced a short-term agreement that will keep water in the Colorado River’s reservoirs. Gov. Katie Hobbs, Arizona water managers and Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis recently talked about the accord at a press conference.
May 25, 2023
Energy secretary announces new grants for tribes
In a visit to Arizona this week, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced several grants to fund projects benefiting Indigenous communities.
May 23, 2023
Retired farrier is teaching the art — and science — of horseshoeing to fellow Native Americans
On a windy day in late April, with dust blowing across an arena on the San Carlos Reservation east of Globe, eight young men, all members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, are gathered around several horses and a trailer workshop.
May 19, 2023
Report finds issues in federally run jails in Indian County
A government watchdog advisory released at the end of April finds persistent safety issues with federally run detention centers on tribal land.
May 2, 2023
Tucson is giving a stretch of land back to the Tohono Oodham Nation
The city of Tucson is returning a portion of ancestral land to the Tohono O’odham Nation in a new resolution unanimously passed by the City Council this week.
April 20, 2023
Tribe, U.S. officials reach deal to save Colorado River water
A Native American tribe in Arizona reached a deal Thursday with the U.S. government not to use some of its Colorado River water rights in return for $150 million and funding for a pipeline project.
April 7, 2023
Raúl Grijalva makes the case for Oak Flat legislation
In a letter to Republican Congressman Bruce Westerman of Arkansas this week, Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva says he wants a committee hearing on a piece of legislation that would prohibit mining at Oak Flat.
April 6, 2023
San Juan Southern Paiute lands up for ratification again
Republican Representative Eli Crane of Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District has reintroduced a bill to ratify a treaty that establishes tribal lands in the state for the San Juan Southern Paiute tribe. Crane’s predecessor, Democrat Tom O’Halleran, introduced the same legislation during his term.
April 5, 2023
During Oak Flat hearing, U.S. says it may release new report
When President Joe Biden took office, his administration acted quickly to unpublish an environmental report that gave the green light to a proposed copper mine in the Oak Flat area of Tonto National Forest. But it may soon republish the report.
More news from the Fronteras Desk
March 23, 2023
Apache Stronghold returns to 9th Circuit to argue against Oak Flat copper mine
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in a case over a land transfer in the Tonto National Forest that would bring a massive copper mine to a sacred indigenous site about an hour east of Phoenix.
March 20, 2023
Tribal leaders are working to modernize their economies
Native American communities have long utilized traditional natural resources such as water, lumber, minerals and crops. As they are taking greater roles in the management and preservation of these precious and sometimes finite resources, many are seeking to diversify and modernize their economies and infrastructure.
March 15, 2023
Grijalva bill seeks to safeguard Oak Flat site
Oak Flat stretches across just over 2,400 acres of the Tonoto National Forest and is a sacred site to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Arizona tribes. A last-minute piece of legislation passed in 2014 put its future into the hands of a proposed mining operation called Resolution Copper.
March 6, 2023
$580M headed to 15 tribes for water rights settlements
Fifteen Native American tribes will get a total of $580 million in federal money this year for water rights settlements, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
Feb. 3, 2023
Havasu Falls set to reopen in February to visitors
The Havasupai Tribe announced that it is reopening Havasu Falls on Feb. 1. The famous waterfalls near the Grand Canyon were a major tourism draw before COVID-19 restrictions were put in place.
Jan. 27, 2023
An argument for the protection of geoglyphs in Arizona
Geoglyphs are massive etchings on the land found found all over the world, including in Arizona, where development can threaten their preservation.
Jan. 26, 2023
This Arizona seed bank keeps a Native agricultural past alive
Long before there were grocery stores and fast-food restaurants, ancient cultures found sustenance in the Southwest through innovative farming techniques. A nonprofit seed bank in southern Arizona is keeping that agricultural past alive, restoring traditional crops and foods that in some cases go back hundreds of years.
More news from the Fronteras Desk
Jan. 18, 2023

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