The Colorado River has long been considered a lifeline for the Southwest and an Arizona tribe is now acknowledging that waterway as having the same rights and legal protections as fellow members.
When asked, the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) would not tell KJZZ whether that decision was unanimous, but the nine councilmembers still voted on Nov. 6 to recognize personhood for the namesake river under tribal law.
The official designation comes at a pivotal time when sustained drought threatens this precious natural resource — which CRIT considers “a living entity” — running parallel to the nearly 300,000-acre reservation along the California border.
This measure also tasks tribal councils to take the Colorado River’s needs under consideration amid an uncertain future on two fronts: climate change and ongoing inter-state water negotiations.
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The application for preliminary permits is Nature and People First's latest proposal for energy development on tribal land. The federal government denied a similar proposal by the company in 2024. -
The University of Arizona has recently released a new report highlighting the huge impacts of tribal agriculture throughout the Grand Canyon State — including 2,300 jobs and $750 million in total economic output statewide. -
The Quitobaquito tryonia is a tiny freshwater springsnail — no bigger than the size of a poppy seed — that can only be found inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. -
Born in Chinle, Arizona, Kim Etsitty spends much of her year teaching science at Navajo Pine High School in New Mexico. That is, until summer recess — but she won’t be taking a break this year. -
![Interior Secretary Doug Burgum [right] and Southern Ute Indian Chairman Melvin Baker ink the first-ever Tribal Energy Resource Agreement on May 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e389544/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5120x2853+0+280/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff2%2Fc6%2Fa2c5a96f4513a12c674f76c63de9%2Fdoug-burgum-southern-ute-indian-tribe-tera-signing-20260511.jpg)
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in southwest Colorado sitting above the border of New Mexico has entered the first-ever TERA — or Tribal Energy Resource Agreement — more than two decades after Congress enacted the law.
![Interior Secretary Doug Burgum [right] and Southern Ute Indian Chairman Melvin Baker ink the first-ever Tribal Energy Resource Agreement on May 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b9a83a0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5120x2853+0+280/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff2%2Fc6%2Fa2c5a96f4513a12c674f76c63de9%2Fdoug-burgum-southern-ute-indian-tribe-tera-signing-20260511.jpg)
