A bipartisan group of members from Arizona’s congressional delegation introduced legislation on Monday, before the House and Senate chambers to settle the outstanding water claims of three federally-recognized tribes.
The next day, Navajo officials hosted a virtual press conference, revealing they’re in a race against time on Capitol Hill. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch and Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley answered questions on Tuesday.
The Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe are seeking $5 billion from Congress for the Northeastern Arizona Water Rights Settlement.
This federal money would fund water infrastructure projects, including a pipeline to access Colorado River water. If passed, this legislation would be the largest Indian water rights settlement in U.S. history.
“Indian Country has stood beside us,” said Curley. “We’re really blessed to have a united front with all of our three tribes within northern Arizona and also with the delegation from the state of Arizona.”
But they only have less than six months before the current congressional ends.
“We are very much looking for a vote this Congress. The elections are around the corner,” said Branch, who insisted there’s still enough time. “And we want to make sure that everyone that is in place now has an opportunity to vote on this legislation.”
She shared they sought to initially introduce the legislation in March, but this historic intertribal agreement wasn’t signed by the tribes until May.
Scheduling hearings is the next step. The Navajo Nation may participate in a hearing with the House Committee on Natural Resources as early as this month.
“We will have to have hearings in the House and the Senate, so we are in que,” Branch added. “This is our moment, this has to move forward.”
Nygren feels pressure from the political climate in the nation’s capital to settle before a potential White House administration change in November.
“We look forward to making some rounds over the next several weeks, and we hope that hearings go well,” said Nygren. “From there, obviously, we got a couple of months before votes do happen. But we’re very ambitious. I know the current president is very supportive of Arizona, supportive of Navajo and the Native American tribes.”
Congress has authorized almost three dozen water rights agreements.
Arizona’s Ak-Chin Indian Community was the first federally-recognized tribe to do so in 1978. More recently, the Hualapai Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe and Colorado River Indian Tribes also gained congressional approval in 2022.
“We’re gonna really put our best foot forward and be as diplomatic as possible, because this is about life. This is about the future,” Nygren said. “ This is about our children, and we got to tell the story of the pain, the struggle, that people continue to go through and that they can be a part of history by bringing about solving some of these decades-long challenges.”
About 30 percent of families on the Navajo Nation are still living without running water.
“The big battle is really trying to make sure that we get this done this year,” added Nygren, “so that we can actually have a say in what belongs to Navajo, what belongs to Hopi, what belongs to Southern Paiute.”
