Arizona tribes sign landmark settlement to bring water and land to communities

The refrain "water is life" was on the lips and minds of people gathered at the Heard Museum Wednesday as the Navajo Nation, Hopi tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe , Flagstaff and Arizona's two major water agencies formally signed the landmark Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement .

Hopi Vice-chairman Craig Andrews said the historic coalition of 39 parties, including the three tribes, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Salt River Project, municipal, state and federal agencies represented about one-third of Arizona's lands.

"This is a testament to the power of unity and collaboration in the face of water uncertainty," he said.

Navajo President Buu Nygren said he thought the Navajo Nation would never see this day.

"This has been in the works for decades," Nygren said. "It provides a secure future for all."

Crystalyne Curley, Navajo Nation speaker, said the settlement was a long time coming, with previous nation leaders and medicine men and women praying for a reliable source of water.

"This has hit home because many of my families in my communities within the central part of the Navajo Nation still continue to live without water, not having the convenience of turning on a water faucet or drawing a warm bath," she said.

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Deal is a 'generational accomplishment'

In May, after the Navajo Nation, Hopi tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and other parties reached an agreement on the settlement, the Navajo Nation Council unanimously approved the settlement, followed by the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes, CAWCD, SRP and other parties, including Flagstaff, SRP principal attorney Patrick Sigl said.

Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett said her city will also get a more secure water source. The settlement recognizes the city's regional water supply project and existing wells, and will provide for access to a 35-mile project alignment from Red Gap Ranch to Flagstaff along the Interstate 40 right of way.

Terry Goddard, president of the CAWCD, which manages the Central Arizona Project, said his agency was the first non-tribal entity to approve the settlement. He said unanimous consent was very important to him in light of political divisions and the "mind-numbingly" complexities of water policy issues.

"It shows how important we all consider this agreement to be," Goddard said.

The settlement's "generational accomplishment" will move forward through the years, and will provide benefits for the whole Colorado Plateau, he said.

The settlement resulted from a 60-year struggle by the Navajo Nation, a four-decade negotiation over rights to the Little Colorado River and calls for water rights by the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes over the 20th century.

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San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe gets land and water

Included in the settlement is a land base for the San Juan Southern Paiutes, who have been landless since the 300-member tribe was federally recognized in 1989.

Robbin Preston, president of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, said the settlement is about far more than just water for the tribe.

"The settlement finally establishes an exclusive homeland for my people," he said. People take for granted having a place where they feel connections to the land, where they feel safe and feel like they belong, Preston said. "We have lived like strangers in our own homelands for generations."

A confirmed land base would enable the tribe to build permanent housing and other infrastructure, obtain water, sanitation facilities and reliable electric services, build an economy and even finally have its own tribal administration building, Preston said.

Merle Blackdeer, who's enrolled in the San Juan tribe and also has Navajo and Hopi ties, came to Phoenix to celebrate the signing.

"It's taken more than 30 years to get our own land," said Blackdeer, who was the seventh Paiute tribal member enrolled in the tribe. He lives in Tuba City along with most of the tribe, but is excited to finally be able to get his own home and grow food using his Hopi mother's water-saving techniques.

Last week, a bipartisan group of Arizona's congressional delegation introduced legislation that would ratify the settlement and authorize $5 billion in federal funding to build water infrastructure on the three tribes' lands. The funding package would be the largest water project for an Indian water settlement. Nygren thanked the legislators who he said are rapidly pushing the bill to full Congressional approval.

"It's about time our three tribes had access to water and to secure the future," Nygren said. The bill will include funding for nine projects in the nation's largest tribal reservation, including a key project in Gallup, New Mexico.

"This is not a legal document," Andrews said, "but a path forward."

Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation .

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture, and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @debkrol.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona tribes sign landmark settlement to bring water and land to communities