Protect Indigenous water rights.
Happy Wednesday! Earlier this month, dozens of countries worldwide signed the 30x30, a pledge to protect at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and water (NYTimes). Indigenous communities already protect these resources and have so for generations. It's critical they have a seat at the table as these conversations unfold, especially because of a legacy of displacement and disenfranchisement. Today, Tiffany offers more context.
This newsletter is a free resource made possible by our supporters. We'd love you to consider making a monthly recurring donation on our website or Patreon. You can also give one-time on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Thank you for all your support!
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Donate to or volunteer with the Navajo Water Project, an Indigenous-led community organization dedicated to increasing water access for residents of the Navajo Nation.
Donate to the Native American Rights Fund, which has dedicated actions to improve water rights for Indigenous tribes across America.
Look at the Navajo Safe Water Maps, to find what areas in Navajo Nation provide safe water use for individuals without water during Covid-19.
GET EDUCATED
By Tiffany Onyejiaka (she/her)
March 22 commemorated World Water Day, and each year people use this day to reflect on and celebrate water, the world’s most vital natural resources. People also aim to use this time to raise awareness that 2.2 billion people across the globe lack access to clean water. For certain Americans, this day can conjure up images of people in low-and middle-income countries. However, more than two million Americans live without running water (US Water Alliance). One of the biggest culprits behind the water crisis stems from vulnerable communities’ unprotected water rights.
Water rights refer to legislation that gives an individual or an entity the right to use water from a specific source of water (US Legal); it does not exist in an infinite capacity. Individuals, communities, developments, and corporations in society all have to use a finite water supply to power their lives or processes. Water rights help to delineate who can and cannot use specific bodies of water. Sadly, water rights for communities of color get ignored and disregarded by the U.S. government and big corporations.
Historically, the United States government has stripped, ignored, infringed on the water rights of Indigenous Reservations to the water supplies that help their people believe. Informally, the government has granted corporations permission to abuse and pollute the water supply in Black and Latino neighborhoods. The lack of protecting the water rights of vulnerable communities of color directly impacts these communities’ ability to have access to clean water.
Legislation regarding water rights has existed since the emergence of European settlers in America. Starting in the 1800s, the federal government began confining Indigenous Americans to a fraction of their native lands in reservations (Congressional Research Services). The US government often carved out the driest lands for Indigenous people to live on (GAR). Despite the legal dedication of land to Indigenous tribes, the water was not limited to their use. European settlers would use water around the reservation, and they created an infrastructure that would block or minimize how much water reached the tribe. In 1908, the Winters v. The United States case gave Indigenous communities the first law that stated they had essentially had first rights to the water surrounding their reservation lands (Water Keeper). This was not properly followed. Through the 1940s, the United States government's infrastructure projects continued to decimate the water supply near reservation lands (High Country News). In the 1960s, the expansion of cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Tucson used generator technologies that diverted water away from Indigenous communities towards these booming new cities (High Country News).
Not many gains in the realm of water rights have occurred for disadvantaged communities in the twenty-first century. Many tribal communities still have legal fights with the United States government over water rights for their lands.
In High Country News, author Andrew Curley wrote, “water settlements between tribes and states are a source of much of this continued underdevelopment. For Indigenous people, these settlements also represent colonial dispossession because they often suspend allocation of water rights and funding for water infrastructure until tribal leaders give in to the state’s demands” (High Country News).
Some states have had more positive water rights interactions. In 2020, the Senate passed the Utah Navajo Water Rights Settlement Act (Salt Lake Tribune). This recognized and legitimized the Navajo Nation’s rights to 81,500 acres of water in the Colorado River Basin. It’s not only Indigenous communities in America suffering from water rights violations. The construction of dams by the Chinese government in the Upper Mekong River Basin has negatively impacted Indigenous Cambodian communities’ wellbeing that live downstream of the River Basin (International Rivers).
Water equals life and vitality. World Water Day means so much because it helps us to reflect and re-center how much water affects our ability to survive and thrive. Take the Navajo Nation, for example. The Navajo Nation had the highest-per-capita coronavirus infection rate across the United States (CNN). This disproportionately high coronavirus rate was likely impacted by low access to clean water in these communities. In the Navajo Nation, a third of all citizens lack access to regular running water or indoor plumbing (Urban Institute) while the average American uses almost nine gallons of water daily. The average Navajo Nation resident uses less than ten percent (Urban Institute).
Without clean water, communities suffer. The lack of water rights exuberates many other conditions that negatively hurt communities of color. Protecting water rights helps protect Indigenous communities from harmful disparities that deny them the right to a full life.
Anyone can find a way to help communities protect their water rights and increase access to clean water. If you live in a place with lots of access to water, begin to converse water. Turn off your sink while brushing your teeth. Opt for some baths instead of showers every day. Conserving water can help decrease the diversion of water from disadvantaged communities. People can opt to look into legislation involving water rights for vulnerable communities. We all need water to live, and negative ramifications in one society will eventually catch up to others. Helping Indigenous communities protect their water rights can lead to positive changes that ensure the security and safety of clean water for us all.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
More than two million Americans live without running water.
One of the biggest culprits behind the water crisis stems from vulnerable communities’ unprotected water rights.
Historically, the United States government has stripped, ignored, infringed on the water rights of Indigenous Reservations to the water supplies that help their people believe.
The lack of protecting the water rights of vulnerable communities of color directly impacts these communities’ ability to have access to clean water.
RELATED ISSUES
3/2/2021 | Advocate for clean water.
7/5/2020 | Support the Navajo Nation through COVID-19.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza