The author talks about their culture, the Okanagan culture. How their unique life is compared to white society. How they are deeply connected to everything. To people, nature, and themselves. And believe one is made up of four selves. Physical, emotional, thinking intellectual, and spiritual self. Together this makes a person whole. And managing them will lead to a good life.

I felt that this passage was relatable coming from an indigenous point of view. How as people we are deeply connected to everything. How we live double lives. And how slowly people are assimilating to this new lifestyle. But we need to try and keep ourselves connected. To try and keep ourselves, our land, and culture safe and alive.

This article talks about the importance of sacred places' names. In white society mountains and other places are named after colonial white men. Keeping their names alive and giving them more power. Native Americans use names which are significant or have meaning. But they also try to protect these places. 

I thought this story brought up some good points. Why are we giving these places names of white colonial men? Most of these men were terrible people to Native communities. And the Native perspective reminded me of my community. These names of our mountains have meaning/significance. Being connected to the land means it is kind of our responsibility to try and protect these lands. 

In this article it states that this law will invest over $1.7 billion to tribal communities across the country. And tribes could be eligible for more. There will also be $2.5 billion to make an Indian Water Rights Settlement completion fund. But these water rights were already promised and are now just being implemented. This law will allow tribes dependent on water resources a foundation for economic development. There are four pueblos receiving this funding San Ildefonso, Nambe, Pojoaque, and Tesuque. Also ten other indigenous nations..According to the U.S department of interior,“The reclamation water settlement fund was created in 2009 by congress, and $120 million is received annually from 2020 through 2029. A committee has been created for the Indian water rights settlement completion fund; and recommend what project should be funded to the Senate”. 

From an indigenous point of view I relate to this article. In this article it only listed four out of nineteen pueblos that will receive funding. I know that this is a small number but it is a start towards gaining water rights. Water rights have been promised in previous years. But why is it that these indigenous nations are just seeing progress? It is not only pueblos that are facing this problem and they are not the only ones seeing progress. 10 other nations are also receiving funding. 

Indigenous nations, frontline communities, and environmentalists from California have come together to demand water rights and civil rights. State scientists say that too much water is being taken from the river. Pollution has also caused species to dwindle; salmon is one of these species. Salmon is an important resource and is a big part of Winnemem Wintu tribes culture. Chief Caleen Sisk from the tribes says that their tribe is dying out like the salmon and states, “ We only have 126 members of the tribe left and so if the salmon are going extinct we can only guess that so will we.” It is believed that having stricter regulations for curbing water use would slow down the destruction of these tribes and the environment. This article also states that the water rights system has a history of systemic racism, and that the system has a history of closing access to people of color and indigenous nations. In the article it states that the delta is of top priority but nothing has been done since 1995; and the board agrees but believes that it will at its own speed. 

While reading this article it makes me think about our home communities and the government. There have been many days of actions but yet there is nothing being done. And if this is the case then action is not being taken till later. To me as an indigenous person it makes me think of why this is the case. Why is it that our people are being treated this way and what will cause changes to happen. Changes that will benefit not only our home communities but the communities of other indigenous peoples. Even at my pueblo we are still facing and fighting over water rights. That we as people should be entitled to because everyone should have the right to water because everything needs water. 

This video explains the importance of water to Native Americans. The Tule river tribe has water running through it, but aren't allowed to use it. In 1922 there was a water agreement about the water but the tribe wasn't invited. This ended with everybody getting the water except the tribe. There was another agreement that would give the tribe water to sustain them for years to come;but senator Feinstein said the tribe couldn't use the water for their casino. This restricts economic development which the U.S is supposed to do. 

This video makes me wonder how many of our indigenous communities are facing water rights. And how long is it going to take for us to see positive change? As a Native American you look at how these communities are facing the same as our communities. It might not be the same problem but many indigenous communities are facing problems with water. Not allowing us to sustain our people. And water is very important because it allows for the people to have water, but it also allows for our communities to have economic development. 

There are four Pueblos: Acoma, Laguna, Jemez, and Zia. These pueblos have struggled with water accesses from the federal government. There are two upcoming bills that should change this. According to Senator Martin Heinrich “The settlement will provide critically needed funding for water infrastructure to develop and distribute new water to pueblo homes and businesses”.Trust funds totalling 850 million dollars will be created for pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, and another fund will be made for Jemez and Zia totalling 490 million dollars. Pueblo water codes will be created . Lastly both the governors of Acoma and Jemez gave testimony during the hearing. 

I felt that this article was discussing positive change for pueblos in New Mexico. The article states that these four pueblos have been struggling with water access for 40 years.  Two new bills will provide these pueblos with money to implement water facilities and repairs. My connection to this is that my pueblo is being affected. Hopefully in the future that more pueblos will be receiving water that they own. 

New Mexico has been experiencing a drought and will continue to. Invasive species like salt cedar have populated along the Rio Grande. Only 14 out of 27 native fish remain. The Middle Rio Grande water Conservancy district(MRGWCD) performs track and releases of water and if it is not performed 30 miles of the Rio Grande could disappear. Jason Casuga the MRGWCD CEO states,”New Mexico is pursuing the creation of new federal rules that will allow it to store more water and open its federal reservoirs again”.However New Mexico owes Texas 125,000 acres of water and can't store any till its paid back. In 20 years 35% of the river has dropped and from the years 2000-2018 it has been the driest since the 1500.

This article discusses the drought that New Mexico has been experiencing and how it is affecting the Rio Grande. Not only are Native Americans being affected but the environment and other people will be. In the article it states that New Mexico will be storing more water, but it also states that it can not store water until it has paid back Texas.The Middle Rio Grande water Conservancy district plays a huge role, 

The Acoma pueblo has been without water for more than 3 weeks. It has caused the health clinic, dialysis center, and the school to close. Reuben Luther, a member of the pueblo states,”lots of people are scared to express it. It's our culture to speak out against our elders,and it's starting to be a real inconvenience”. The governor advised that people boil their water when it is restored. The line was fixed and the water will be sent for testing. Acoma also asks its residents to conserve their water. The state has given the pueblo water for drinking.  

My connection to this video is that my pueblo is being affected by this water crisis. I feel like without our water everything just was off track. Like it was stated our school was shut down and so was our health clinic and dialysis center which are essential to have. Some of our water in the pueblo has turned on, but it is advised that it be boiled. This is due to contaminants in the water. The pueblo is trying to resolve the problems but some of its members are getting frustrated with the situation. 

In parts of Mexico there are areas that lack the availability of fresh usable water. It is believed that crime has increased due to this and people have been searching for safer areas. Lots of stress has been put on aquifers and reservoirs due to loss of rainfall and illegal pumping. It is believed that if the U.S uses funds for water distribution instead of the drug war it would reduce violence and displacement. Due to the scarcity of water people are unhappy National Guard was called on a protest which resulted in two people dying. Also caused residents to burn pipes that were diverting water to more influential areas of Mexico. The U.S has the ability to aid and knows how to do it.  

Reading the article “ The U.S. government must fund water-saving efforts in Mexico if it wants to quell Mexico’s drug violence”  it discussed the ongoing struggles that some Mexican communities are facing with water and the availability of it. This reminds me of what Native communities are also going through with the scarcity of water and how the U.S government wont aid through these circumstances. Native communities have struggled with the availability of water and continue to be similar to Mexico’s poor communities who also struggle with this. Not only this but we share similarities with the U.S government not wanting to aid these communities with water problems. It was only until recently that the government had aided some native communities with water related issues.

In the world there are 2 billion people that don’t have access to clean water. In many countries there are water problems. In Northern Mexico animals are dying due to drought, Hungary drought has dried up lakes, And one of China’s freshwater lakes has shrunk to a quarter of its size.  Water from the Tibetan plateau provides for around two billion people and is said to run dry. Also in Kenya there are many parts where drinking water is scarce. To combat this a startup business Magic Water has invented a machine that turns humid air into water that can produce 50 liters.This is a solution but is expensive because the machines cost four to twelve thousand dollars.

The struggles of these communities around the world remind me of what some of our Native communities are also going through. Some Native communities struggle with access to water like these countries and drought plays a huge factor that impacts all these communities. There are ways that these communities are adapting by trying to find solutions that would benefit their communities. I feel as if we could inspire or even help each other since we are going through similar situations. With the lack of fresh water resources and the rise of drought and scarcity of fresh water solutions could apply to all our communities since water is essential to life and our ways of life.  Looking at both of our communities we are similar based on our problems but also on our resources some of these communities are not rich and are also impacted through their farming practices. Some Native communities don't have enough resources financially to start these projects. Also we as Native people are connected with our farming practices which are and could be impacted by water scarcity and problems.

On November 13, students from the first floor boys participated in a  presentation regarding Native American Water rights. The information that was shared was gathered from two SFIS staff members (Kait-T BlueSky, Matt Pecos) and a member of the Acoma water board(Emilio Torivio). This action plan was inspired by Kai-T BlueSky stating," The best way to protect Native Water Rights is to be aware". My goal was to inspire native youths within the topic of water rights from the perspective of different native communities.