Water Is Life: An Analysis of the Water Crisis of the Navajo Nation
By Anushri Seshadri, Global High School Fellow (Raleigh Charter High School ‘25)
Tó éí ííńá át’é is a phrase that, in the Navajo language diné bizaad, translates to “water is life.” Today, only 1 in 3 Diné people have access to running water, due to a plethora of causes ultimately stemming from political inequality on the part of the U.S. government.
The form of Navajo government found today was shaped by European colonialism and a refusal to adapt to and learn about Navajo culture. The Nation’s form of government was originally traditionally matrilineal. It was highly effective in resolving inter-community conflicts and issues and was able to maintain peace for years in this way, even after being disrupted a number of times by settlers. However, when the oil and gas industry began to attract attention to their land due to rich oil deposits, the US government struggled to make formal contracts and agreements with Navajo Councils and demanded they erect a system of governance more akin to theirs. Bacon Fall, a government official who would later be discovered to have accepted bribes from oil and gas companies, set up an unelected council that spoke on behalf of the Navajo, all three of which were on his cabinet. This council was the beginning of the most recent form of Navajo government, composed of a Judiciary, Legislative, and Executive branch very similar to that of the United States’.
Though the Nation’s relationship with the United States government is complicated, being a sovereign, it is still heavily influenced and put at a disadvantage by federal policy. The General Allotment Act of 1887 portioned plots of land off as parcels, what we now call reservations. The land of reservations is held in trust by the government, or in other words, they hold the title for the land and reserve it for the occupants. Because the land is in this situation of limbo where no one really holds claim to it, banks cannot foreclose properties on this land, and therefore the communities living there tend to stay away from properties with mortgages, instead resorting to mobile homes.
The largest radioactive spill in North American history took place within the Navajo Nation, but it is often overlooked and ignored due to an intentional diversion of attention from the event. The US’s hidden mission to create nuclear weapons led to a rapid need for uranium, and it was soon discovered that the Southwest region of the country, encompassing Navajoland, was rich in these natural resources. Mining companies soon entered the Nation’s borders, but the tribe did not protest strongly as this booming industry would increase unemployment and bolster its economy. However, mining companies did not fairly compensate Navajo workers, if at all, and neglected to spend money on safety precautions and health warnings. Employees were not told to wear masks or protective clothing, and soon previously nonexistent cases of lung cancer began to arise, not just in workers, but in families throughout the territory.
The uranium mining industry was infamous for its ability to cut corners and costs, and one such method of doing so was depositing radioactive sludge in man-made ponds, instead of disposing of it in the proper way. This sludge was the radioactive byproduct of uranium ore extraction and was lethal. The tailings were dammed up in a pond and left there, with little inspection done. Then, on July 16 of the same year, the dam cracked. Over 1000 tons of toxic waste and 95 million gallons of wastewater flooded into Red Water Pond and the Rio Puerco, two bodies of water that many communities and families relied on for sustaining themselves and local livestock. The effects were devastating, but the locals were unaware. The government failed to tell them of the spill until 3 days after the catastrophe, so for 3 days the community was still drinking water contaminated with carcinogenic and radioactive byproducts of mining. Only 5 months after the spill, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowed the mining corporations to continue their operations, worsening the conditions of the groundwater in the area.
The pandemic amplified existing damage to water quality and infrastructure. Unemployment rates, which increased drastically nationwide as a result of COVID-19, are placed now at 48.5% in the Nation, with an average household income of $8,240. An existing lack of proper infrastructure stemming from the aforementioned inadequate federal government grants and policies meant that many people living in the Nation resorted to unregulated wells and pumps, containing undocumented high concentrations of uranium and arsenic. Creating a positive feedback loop, these chemical toxins lowered immune responses in people consuming the water, making them more susceptible to COVID-19. The likelihood of a Native American person not having access to running water is 19x the likelihood of the same scenario occurring to a white person.
However, strides are being taken to bridge this gap of disparity. The Navajo Nation currently is arguing in the Supreme Court for water rights to a portion of the Lower Colorado River which flows along the border of the Nation. This case was first introduced in 2003, but it has been repeatedly blocked by the U.S. government, pressured to upend the case as a result of the conditions brought out by the drought in the Southwest. Efforts to improve Indigenous representation in the federal government have also been made, with Kimberly Teehee being the first Cherokee delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. More community-focused approaches include initiatives to expand water quality testing and implementation on a regular basis. However, it is evident that unless policy reform is made in the federal government, substantial improvements in water quality infrastructure will be difficult to achieve.
