Tribal Natural Resources News
Native American tribes around the West are making critical decisions regarding the management of their resources — land, water, fossil fuels and renewable resources. The Tribal Natural Resources Desk aims to produce objective reporting to tell stories of tribes empowering themselves through stewardship and decision-making around their resources.
Ganado is home to Sage Memorial Hospital, a Native-managed comprehensive health care system serving thousands of people in surrounding Navajo communities. It had been operating out of the same facilities since 1930 — until now.
May. 14, 2024
Nearly a third of the Navajo Nation still lives without running water, but that doesn’t stop travelers from veering off the grid to find a place without a faucet, flushing toilet or shower to spend the night.
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→ More tribal natural resources stories
Sept. 20, 2023
The Interior Department announced on Monday new federal grants that may give Indigenous youth public service opportunities on federal and tribal lands in Arizona.
Sept. 11, 2023
Last month, the Arizona Game and Fish Department adopted a series of amendments to guide the agency’s relationship with tribal communities. Jon Cooley took it upon himself to update his state agency's tribal cooperative agreement, ensuring that policy accurately reflected today’s relationship between Arizona and its Indigenous communities.
Sept. 6, 2023
The life and legacy of one famous Hopi Olympic athlete is being honored on Sunday. Up to 300 runners will dash in his memory, competing in 5k and 10k races through Hopi homelands, including the village of Shungopavi where he grew up.
Sept. 1, 2023
New federal funding from the Indian Housing Block Grant will help develop 48 new affordable housing units at three locations in Arizona.
Aug. 30, 2023
Amelia Flores, chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, brought attention to critical issues that her tribal farmers face back at home on her community's reservation.
Aug. 30, 2023
Lois Ellen Frank's latest cookbook, “Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky: Modern Plant-Based Recipes using Native American Ingredients,” is a love letter to the foods and flavors from the Southwest — but most of all, the Indigenous producers who cultivate and cherish them.
Aug. 29, 2023
The $2 million capital investment by Saddleback Communications to modernize its power and environmental infrastructure arises a year removed from a total outage during last August.
Aug. 21, 2023
The Interior Department announced the new climate-driven initiative on the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act's passage.
Aug. 15, 2023
Monday was Navajo Code Talkers Day, and celebrations were scattered across the state of Arizona to commemorate the state and federal holiday.
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→ More coverage of tribal natural resources
Aug. 15, 2023
President Joe Biden last week established a new national monument on nearly 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon. Many environmentalists and tribal communities worry about the impacts on water supplies, as well as mining on land considered sacred, while some GOP state lawmakers called Biden's move a "land grab."
Aug. 14, 2023
Ramona Farms, a trusted household name among tribal families across Indian Country, is advocating for greater recognition in the looming federal farm bill on Capitol Hill.
Aug. 14, 2023
All five commissioners unanimously approved a series of amendments that modernize the long-standing cooperative agreement that centers on the role of law enforcement in relation to the state’s 22 federally recognized tribes.
Aug. 11, 2023
With the 2024 presidential election on the near horizon, state Republicans are looking ahead and suggesting a Trump victory may help reverse the Biden administration's latest executive order.
Aug. 9, 2023
Declaring it good “not only for Arizona but for the planet,” President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a national monument designation for the greater Grand Canyon, turning the decades-long visions of Native American tribes and environmentalists into reality.
→ Cattle ranchers in uproar over Biden's monument announcement
→ Cattle ranchers in uproar over Biden's monument announcement
Aug. 8, 2023
Cattle ranchers raised opposition to the Biden administration's designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.
Aug. 8, 2023
Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly recently introduced legislation to create a national monument around Grand Canyon National Park, and the proposal appears to have overwhelming public support.
Aug. 2, 2023
Construction began this week on a new 10.5-mile water pipeline in Mesa. It’s part of an agreement between the city and the Gila River Indian Community that allows reclaimed water to be exchanged for Colorado River rights.
July 26, 2023
A few miles west of Flagstaff, about a mile and a half off Interstate 40, on a dirt road in the Coconino National Forest, past campsites and joggers running through the trees, several crews are cutting up downed trees that will become firewood for tribal members.
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→ More tribal natural resources stories
July 25, 2023
A Phoenix firm has proposed building a dam on a tributary of the Little Colorado River for hydroelectric power, but the project has drawn criticism from Navajo Nation residents.
July 17, 2023
