KNAU: Tribes hold signing ceremony for landmark water rights settlement

Ryan Heinsius, KNAU

A signing ceremony was held Wednesday in Phoenix for a sweeping water rights settlement that has been decades in the making. Leaders of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and others called the agreement “historical.”

Hopi Vice Chairman Craig Andrews said the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement would increase prosperity and cultural preservation and allow the tribe to further protect ancestral lands. He also applauded the unity between his tribe, the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute amid region-wide drought and water uncertainty.

“Although our communities are the oldest in Arizona, they lack basic access to clean, reliable water,” said Andrews during the ceremony. “Our current infrastructure is a patchwork of aging and inadequate systems, which has long jeopardized the well-being of our people and forced many to leave their ancestral lands.”

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren also praised the cooperation between the tribes and Navajo Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said water access is a “fundamental right.”

“This settlement will secure a homeland for our children,” said Curley. “As tribal leaders, we must protect our water for the next 100, 200, and 300 years. For many years, the Navajo Nation contributed to the development of many cities. This is our time to have access to what has been ours since our emergence as Navajo People.”

Nearly a third of Navajo households lack running water and the settlement is expected to allow tens of thousands of residents to access a consistent supply.

The agreement also would create a homeland for the San Juan Southern Paiute, the only federally recognized tribe in Arizona with no official reservation. President Robbin Preston Jr. was emotional as he described the increased access to electricity, water and other basic services that the settlement would bring.

The agreement would also confirm water rights to the City of Flagstaff and its future supply projects like at Red Gap Ranch. At the ceremony Mayor Becky Daggett pledged continued support of the tribes and said funding for water infrastructure was long overdue.

Earlier this month the Flagstaff City Council unanimously approved the settlement. It also guarantees water rights for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Salt River Project and dozens of towns, communities and other entities.

Negotiations on the settlement have been ongoing for decades and the agreement would provide $5 billion in water infrastructure.

Congress is currently considering legislation that would finalize the deal.

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