Bulletin July 28, 2021
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PRSRT STD News From Ute Country US Postage PAID Fort Duchesne, UT Permit No. 1 Bulletin P.O. BOX 190 FORT DUCHESNE, UTAH 84026 UINTAH & OURAY INDIAN RESERVATION VOL. 55 #22 JULY 28, 2021 Tribes Struggle for Water in Colorado River Basin as Drought Sears the West BY PALOMA GREEN ON 7/12/21 AT 1:33 PM EDT With the west in extreme drought, Lake Mead, fed by the Colorado River and formed by the Hoover Dam, reached historic lows in June. The water level continues to fall, continuing a trend that began more than 20 years ago. The Federal government is expected to declare a water shortage in the lower basin of the Colorado River by 2022 at the latest, which will trigger mandatory water cuts in Arizona and Nevada. These cuts will particularly impact farmers. But they are likely to hit indigenous communities particularly hard, as they have struggled to get their legal share of Colorado River water for years—even when those waters have been abundant. "Water issues in the west are already difficult to deal with, even when the Lake Powell water is there," Jason John, director of water resources for the Navajo Nation, told Newsweek. "And when the water is not there, it just makes everything that much harder to deal with." American Indians are 19 times more likely to not have access to running water, according to the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit US Water Alliance. The Navajo Nation, located in the Colorado River Basin, is the largest reservation in the United States. It is comprised of more than 17 million acres in northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico, and is roughly the size of West Virginia. In 2020 about a third of the more than 330,000 people in the Navajo Nation didn't have running water. That made the impact of COVID-19 particularly intense, as the Nation had the highest per-capita rate of COVID-19 in the U.S. in May 2020. "The past year has just been really difficult for many families on the Navajo Nation," John said. "Just because of the combination of the pandemic [and] the drought, [It has] really stretched families to depend on one another and depend on assistance and things like that to get through." In Chinle Valley, Arizona, which lies within the Navajo Nation, an irrigation system fed by waters from the Colorado River normally supplies farms on the reservation. But not now. "This year, there's no water for them," John told Newsweek. Drought is not the only barrier to access for the Navajo Nation or other tribes in the Colorado River Basin. All tribes have legal reserved rights to water, however these rights are not quantified. In order to gain a quantified right, tribes need to get the state they are in to adjudicate the right. The Navajo Nation crosses three state lines: Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, so they need settlements in all three. Currently, the Navajo Nation has a reached a settlement with New Mexico, and gained one in Utah at the end of 2020. John said they have been trying unsuccessfully for more than a decade to adjudicate their water rights in Arizona. "By attaching state law water requirements to settlements and those kinds of things, that absolutely undermines and usurps the whole nature of sovereignty and acknowledgement," Daryl Vigil, water administrator of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, which is also located in the Colorado River Basin, told Newsweek. Even when tribes have gained a settlement they often still can't access their water. There are 30 federally recognized tribes in the Colorado River Basin that collectively have rights to 3.2 million acre-feet (MAF), or about 25 percent of the River's water. Yet much of this water gets left behind. "Tribes in the Colorado River Basin don't fully utilize their right, because they don't have the resources to maximize that benefit," Aaron Payment, vice Lake Powell president of the National Congress of American Indians, told Newsweek, "and Ute Bulletin Page 2 News From Ute Country July 28, 2021 *UTE INDIAN TRIBE JOB VACANCIES: Ute Home Mortgage LLC - Mortgage Officer GIS - GIS Coordinator Ute Hemp LLC - Chief Executive Officer Adult Court - Public Defender - Process Server Greetings Environmental GAP Office EPA - Brownfield Coordinator Tribal Response Program We, the staff at Red Pine are compiling a history of Red Pine and the New Day Uintah River High School - Math Interventionist / Special Education Teacher center before Red Pine. We are asking for photos, stories, time lines for when the - Special Education Aide New Day Center was established, when it became Red Pine, the different build- - Secondary Art Teacher ings occupied by the departments, etc. We would be grateful if individuals would Tribal Transportation Program - Transportation Coordinator be willing to share any and all information you may have with us. We plan to put Natural Resource - Assistant Director this information in a newsletter that we will distribute to Tribe Members. If you Tribal Courts - Health & Wellness Court Judge are unable to email or bring information to us, we will be willing to pick it up. Social Service - Child Protection Specialist Send us a message or give us a call and we will make arrangements to pick up - Guardian Ad Litem the information. It would also be helpful if you can give us the names and phone - Social Worker numbers of individuals that may have information and be willing to talk with us. - Director Thanks for all your help. (Submitted by Jason Law, Clinical Director, Ute Indian Head Start - Maintenance Supervisor Tribe Red Pine Residential Treatment Center) - Teacher - Cook PAINTED HORSE DIABETES PREVENTION - Health & Safety Specialist - Assistant Teacher PROGRAM: - Bus Driver Only those that have been fully vaccinated will be allowed in the gym. You will Senior Citizens - Outreach Driver need to fill out a form and a Painted Horse staff member has to sign off that they - Home Health Aide have seen your vaccine card. Please do not send us a copy of your card but you Red Pine - Cook can show us a copy from your phone. Everyone will need to go through equip- - Male House Manager ment orientation with Jenny or Vodne so you know how to use the equipment - Female House Manager properly. Once you have gone through orientation and have filled out the form, - you are welcome to use the gym. For more information contact painted horse at Juvenile Court - Court Clerk 435-725-4911 - Truancy Officer Planning & Development - Building Inspector UINTAH RIVER HIGH SCHOOL: Department 2021-2022 URHS Orientation Dates. Monday August 16, 2021. Located in the URHS Commons Area. Motor Pool - Secretary • 10:00 am – Freshman Orientation Human Resource - Emergency Employment Coordinator • 11:00 am – Sophomore Orientation Victims of Crime - Advocate (2) • 12:00 pm – Junior Orientation Fish & Wildlife Big Game - Range Tech / Bison • 1:00 pm – Senior Orientation Enhancement If you have any questions regarding registration feel free to contact Charles Transit - Driver (CDL) Denny URHS Counselor at 435-725-4098 or Alex Vasquez URHS Administra- Food Distribution - Warehouse Help / Custodian tive Assistant at 435-725-4088 CHR - Community Health Representatives UTE TRIBE BUSINESS COMMITTEE: *UTE TRIBAL ENTERPRISE, LLC JOB VACANCIES: Would like to encourage the follow due to the increase cases of COVID-19. • Continue wearing the face mask and continue to wash and sanitize your Ute Enterprise, LLC - Chief Financial Officer hands. - Director • Stay at home as much as possible. Ute Plaza - Produce Worker • If you are not vaccinated, please wear the face mask and continue sanitizing - Dairy / Frozen Lead your hands. Consider getting vaccinated. - Deli Worker • This virus isn’t going anywhere, please be safe. Ute Oilfield Water Service - Truck Driver • Also with this heat, please keep yourself hydrated, check on our elders, your - Wash Hand family regularly. Ute Petroleum - Cashier The Ute Tribe Business Committee would like to see our membership CO- - Krispy Crunchy Chicken Worker VID-19 free. Thank you for your cooperation! Stay Safe, Stay Ute Proud…Ute Ute Crossing Grill - Assistant Restaurant Manager Indian Tribe Business Committee. Ute Bison Project - Yard Hand Kahpeeh Kah-ahn Coffee House - Baristas (2) UIT RECREATION DEPARTMENT: Accounting - Data Entry Specialist - KDC Athletics Wrestling Camp July 29, 30, 31, 2021. Ages 3 – High School. Free Camp T-shirt, Mindset Training, Visualization, Nutrition/Cutting Weight Advice, Drills, Technique. Contact Kaden for questions, to pre-register and give shirt sizes 435-724-4826 *WATER SETTLEMENT: Agriculture / Cattle - Laborer Please be advised that all gym doors are locked to the public, with the exception of the front door. If you are needing to use the facility please come through the - Seasonal Laborer front door and sign in. As a precaution due to COVID-19, we greatly appreciate your cooperation at this time, please help us keep our community safe. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Recreation @ 435-722-2249 *UTE ENERGY JOB VACANCIES: Ute Energy - Water Transfer Tech - Water Transfer Team Lead For more information contact: the Human Resource Office @ (435-725-4017) Ute Bulletin Disclaimer Ute Bulletin/Public Relations PO Box 100 Fort Duchesne, UT 84026 The Ute Bulletin is published bi-monthly by the Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Bulletin staff. Our paper is printed by Utah Media Group, West Valley City, Utah and mailed Monday from Fort Duchesne Post Office. Editorials and articles appearing in the Ute Bulletin are the sole responsibility of the author and do not reflect the opinions, attitude or philosophy of the Ute Bulletin or the Ute author and do not reflect the opinions, attitude or philosophy of the Ute Bulletin or the Ute Indian Tribe.