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By Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror
A new proposal in Congress would let Arizona’s Colorado River Indian Tribes lease portions of their federal Colorado River allocations for the first time, a move the tribes said would benefit both the river and tribal economies.
“This legislation protects the life of the river, protects Arizona’s fragile groundwater resources, and, for the first time in more than 156 years, allows our people to receive the full benefit from our water rights,” CRIT Chairwoman Amelia Flores said in a press release. “The time has come for CRIT to have authority over its resources.”
Flores said the tribal council has been working on this legislation for over 20 years, and it’s finally going through, but she understands they still have a long way to go.
She sees this legislation as a stepping stone to get the tribe where they want to be, which is giving them the ability to have authority over their own water.
“It’s the recognition of our sovereignty,” Flores told the Arizona Mirror. “It’s the recognition of exercising out water rights for the benefit of our tribal members.”
The Colorado River Indian Tribes Water Resiliency Act of 2021 (S. 3308) was introduced this month by Arizona U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema.
