Water is basic to life wherever you live. But in urban and suburban areas, clean and (sometimes) plentiful water is taken for granted. On far-rural reservations and other tribal lands, tribes rely on rivers, not only for drinking and crop water, but also for the fish and wildlife that rivers support.
Problems with access to water – and clean water – are so widespread in Indian country that Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee released a detailed report in October on the lack of clean water to serve tribal communities, and on the importance of reaching agreement with tribes on water settlements.
Although Native Americans often hold the most “senior” rights to waterways, their claims are the least likely to be protected and respected. The report sets out some startling fact: “According to data from the Indian Health Service (IHS), nearly half (48%) of all homes on tribal land lack access to adequate drinking water, sewage, or solid waste disposal facilities. Many of these 190,697 homes lack basic services like clean, running water; flush toilets; showers or baths; and kitchen sinks. Others need some form of new or improved water or sewage facility. By comparison, less than 1% of homes lack some or all sanitation facilities in the U.S. as a whole.”
The report, titled “Water Delayed is Water Denied” is also on the Democratic page of the committee’s web site.
