Water Rights And Indigenous Communities

The article is a summary of the struggle of Native people’s rights to water starting from the arrival of the Spaniards to the current day. This article chronicles the actions of the U.S government mostly in regards to their misuse of power and outright predation of the water and land of Native People’s, along with pointing out some of the court cases that happened over the centuries. As the author goes through events chronologically she examines what had caused those events as well as what the direct consequences were.

Righting A Wrong: The Return Of Blue Lake To Taos

The article compiled the history of the struggle by the pueblo of Taos to reclaim blue lake and its surrounding areas. The lake was first taken in 1903 when the U.S was giving away land in the West, and in 1906 the lands surrounding blue lake were permanently taken from the tribe. And for the next 55 years the tribe would fight for the land, and in the late 60’s/early 70’s with the support of Nixon and various congress members a bill was passed that returned the lands to the Pueblo of Taos.

'Long overdue': Lawmakers propose $6.7 billion to bring clean drinking water to Indian Country

The article was coverage of a proposed plan to increase funding for various tribes located through Arizona and New Mexico to build/maintain infrastructure necessary to secure clean water for those tribes. Tribes located in the southwest have a checkered past in regards to the access of clean water, with almost 40% of the Navajo nation having to haul water to their homes it is a dire situation for many people living on reservations and the introduction of this water bill is the beginning to a process of rectifying the injustice many are currently experiencing.

Venkatasubramanian, Varsha. “Water rights and Indigenous Communities.” NCHE, University of California, Berkley. National Council for History Education, June 1, 2021. https://ncheteach.org/post/Water-Rights-and-Indigenous-Communities, accessed October 14, 2021

Ddancis. White, Cody. “Righting a Wrong: The Return of Blue Lake to the Taos Pueblo”. National Archive and Records Administration. November 10, 2020. https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2020/11/10/righting-a-wrong-the-return-of-blue-lake-to-the-taos-pueblo/, accessed November 22, 2021.

Krol, Debra U. James, Ian. “'Long overdue': Lawmakers propose $6.7 billion to bring clean drinking water to Indian Country”. Azcentral. July 25, 2021. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2021/07/25/congress-considers-funding-bring-clean-water-native-american-tribes/8028709002/ , accessed November 22, 2021.

Why The American West is Running out of Water

The video Documentary by the YouTube account Cheddar was a short look into the history and current issues surrounding the use and disappearance of water in the southwest. The narrator focused on the Colorado River basin and all surrounding communities living within the area, they talked about the ambitious water projects done in the past by the U.S Government and what their effects are today. The narrator also delved into the current issues that are happening in the southwest such as severe droughts, lack of access to water, and the lowering water levels across the basin.

Water Wars At The Supreme Court

The article was addressing the bettering conditions in regards to droughts in the state of New Mexico and its various counties. The article first talked about the Southeast corner of New Mexico who’s seven counties were locked in the top three of the worst categories of drought: Exceptional, Extreme, and Severe. But looking at the map now will show that much of the region is back at normal water levels and this effect is also true for the rest of the state that has experienced drought for the better part of a year, all over the state water levels have increased and even in areas where water levels are far from normal their status have improved as well. So the main point of this article was to highlight the improving conditions of the droughts in New Mexico.

New Mexico drought picture has improved considerably over summer, thanks to monsoon

The article by Bloomberg Law is covering the causes and effects of the Supreme Court case Texas v New Mexico. It is explained that the case was caused by a grievance issued by the state of taxes which stated that New Mexico did not deliver an adequate amount of water after heavy rainfall in 2014, the issue that Texas is pursuing is whether or not the water master in charge of the Pecos river was wrong when declaring the amount of water given to Texas was enough. Cases like Texas v New Mexico happen all the time and the effects that will happen by whoever wins are that Texas wins and the terms of the contract between the two states will be updated, or that New Mexico wins and the contract shall remain as is.

“Why the American West is running out of water”. Cheddar Explains. Cheddar. July 14, 2020.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJ3x-ur0cY

Glimer, M. Ellen. “Water Wars at the Supreme Court: ‘It’s Only Going to Get Worse’”. Kay,

Jennifer- Correspondent. Bloomberg Law. September 17, 2020.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/water-wars-at-the-supreme-cou

rt-its-only-going-to-get-worse

Easterling, Mike. “New Mexico drought picture has improved considerably over summer, thanks

to monsoon”. Farmington Daily Times. September 12, 2021.

https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/2021/09/12/farmington-new-mexico-droug

ht-monitor-monsoon-helped-counties/8283016002/

Water Supply Issues in Rural Kazakhstan

The article was the summary of a study done to find what challenges were present in providing a clean and reliable supply of water to rural communities in the country of Kazakhstan. The study found that even when water through a pipe system such as tap was present many residents did not use it with many different reasons as to why such as the questionable quality of the water, or awkward times of the water being available, or even just being used to other sources of water such as wells or rivers. Overall the most difficult part of providing clean water to these remote villages was regulation and finding ways to make sure people knew how to take care of the systems themselves to make sure they remained reliable, many of the people agreed that if the water system was safe and reliable they would prefer it over other sources thus guaranteeing a healthy community.

As Water Runs Low, Can Life in the Outback Go On

The article was detailing the problems Australia was facing towards the end of 2019 about their water supply and what had led to them. Across the outback which is the most arid region on the continent are remote towns and homes that rely on the wells, rivers, and dams for the water to grow crops and basic needs, but as climate change has ramped up along with mismanagement the growing water crisis in the region has skyrocketed in its severity. Over the years the Australian Government has approved intensive water projects from mining to agriculture, this has put immense strain on the ecosystem and left the local people worried about what their future will look like if the water dries up.

How a Lack of Water Fueled Covid-19 in the Navajo Nation

The article examines the issues facing the Navajo Nation in regards to its lack of clean and reliable water amidst the pandemic and how the lack of access exacerbated the effects of the health issues presented by Covid and other health issues. Most of the Navajo Nation gets its water from outdated wells, tanked water, or bottled water. Due to the difficulty of getting water to their homes many use far less water than the average American household, and what water they do have is spread thin for use in cleaning, cooking, and hygiene. This article focused on the problems caused by inadequate water systems and technology and how there is an urgent need to update these systems so that the issues listed in the article can become a thing of the past.

Omarova, Alua, et al. “Water Supply Challenges in Rural Areas: A Case Study from Central Kazakhstan.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, National Institute of Health, 26 Feb. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6427320/.

Albeck-Ripka, Livia. “As Water Runs Low, Can Life in the ... - The New York Times.” The New York Times, 8 Dec. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/world/australia/water-drought-climate.html.

Hansman, Heather, et al. “A Lack of Water Fueled the Spread of Covid-19 in Navajo Nation.” Outside Online, Outside, 27 June 2021, https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/navajo-nation-coronavirus-spread-water-rights/.