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.
A new agreement between six tribes and the Upper Basin states might give their Colorado River proposal more weight as the federal government considers it alongside a proposal from the Lower Basin states, which includes Arizona.
Apr. 30, 2024
Nearly half of tribal homes across the country don’t have steady access to clean water. Many in the Southwest rely on aging wells with polluted water, or truck in bottles from far away. In To'hajiilee, New Mexico, a Navajo community hopes a new pipeline from Albuquerque will remedy decades of struggle to get clean water.
Dec. 21, 2021
The Colorado River Water Users’ Association ended last week with an agreement to find more ways to conserve water, and this year’s conference included tribal perspectives.
Dec. 20, 2021
The Cocopah Indian Tribe has lived along the Colorado River delta for centuries. But drought, climate change and damming has transformed the once verdant stretch.
→ More Fronteras Desk news
→ More Fronteras Desk news
Dec. 16, 2021
About 7,500 hardship assistance checks are unclaimed in the Navajo Nation. The deadline to use all funding that comes from the CARES Act is Dec. 31.
Dec. 13, 2021
Work crews from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are partnering with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority to extend power lines to homes in several tribal communities.
→ More tribal natural resources stories
→ More tribal natural resources stories
Dec. 10, 2021
Lake Mead is at historically low levels, and Arizona will take mandatory cuts to its Colorado River water supply starting in January. But one tribe that lives along the river’s banks along the Arizona-California border says it has enough supply to lease to other cities.
Dec. 7, 2021
What do a poetry library director from Tucson, a Lipan Apache Earth scientist/YA novelist and a Tempe poet have in common? They are returning friends on this episode of "Word."
Dec. 7, 2021
The bill comes amid historic low levels in Lake Mead and as Arizona faces a harsh water future. The state is set to take mandatory cuts to its share of Colorado River water starting in January.
Dec. 6, 2021
It’s been almost a year since President Joe Biden officially ended his predecessor’s wall project along the U.S.-Mexico border. But a trial continues for one Indigenous protester facing federal charges for blocking construction machinery at a wall site in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Dec. 3, 2021
Indigenous land acknowledgments are becoming more popular today. The statements recognize the Indigenous people who lived on this land long before the rest of us — and their knowledge systems and connection to it. And Arizona State University is just one of many organizations that's adopting them.
Nov. 16, 2021
Hia C-ed O'odham activist Amber Ortega was one of two Indigenous protesters arrested in September 2020 for physically blocking machinery at a border wall construction site near Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. She testified her religious and cultural beliefs compelled her actions.
Nov. 5, 2021
Mexican gray wolves recovery efforts are becoming a success despite the Interstate 40 boundary cutting through northern Arizona.
Oct. 18, 2021
According to the National Congress of American Indians, more than 8,500 people have left the Navajo Nation reservation since the 2010 census due to the lack of jobs and economic opportunities.
Oct. 8, 2021
The Corporation Commission may have made a big move to cut Arizona Public Service's profitability Oct. 6, but it delayed another big decision to provide more than $100 million in financial help to tribal communities hurt by the recent closures of coal-fired power plants.
Oct. 7, 2021
Coal plant closures have resulted in lost jobs, depleted revenue for the tribes, and lasting environmental concerns on tribal lands. Under its proposed rate increase plan, APS would agree to pay the Navajo Nation more than $100 million over 10 years to compensate for losses.
Oct. 5, 2021
Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation Tuesday night unveiled the results of its community survey at a fundraising event tying into the fall equinox. The final draft provides insights into the next stage of growth for the area.
Sept. 22, 2021
A federal judge has thrown out a Trump-era rule that ended federal protections for hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways and left them vulnerable to pollution from nearby development.
Sept. 1, 2021
Most religions hold certain places sacred. For Christians, it's churches and basilicas. For Jews, synagogues. For Muslims, mosques.
For Native American people, those sacred places look a little different.
Aug. 23, 2021
Zachary Justin drew from his outdoor environs in the Gila River Indian Community for the Roosevelt Row mural that features saguaros, birds, mountains and Indigenous symbols with a color palette that is heavy on blues, purples and magentas.
Aug. 16, 2021
For half a century, Navajo and Hopi tribal lands were the site of one of the largest coal mining operations in the Western U.S. Years after the mines closed, some Navajo and Hopi citizens have concerns about what’s been left behind.
Aug. 12, 2021
