Resource Type: Research & Articles

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including unusual weather, climate change and Canadian wildfires, and Latino voters and the health effects of pollution.

In a significant ruling on the water crisis affecting the Navajo Nation located in the American Southwest, the Supreme Court rejected the Navajo Nation’s request for the federal government to determine their water needs and develop a plan to meet them. The Navajo Nation argued that the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo, which recognized a large portion of the Nation’s current tribal land, created an ongoing relationship between the tribe and the United States government, one in which the United States is responsible for ensuring the tribe has adequate water portioned from the Colorado River to meet the Navajo Nation’s water needs. The Supreme Court argued that although the Navajo Nation has water rights, no burden is placed on the United States government to assess their water needs or take any further action. 
Note: Navajo is the word Spanish settlers used to identify the Diné, and currently Navajo and Diné/Dineh are used both among Navajo people and by outside voices. I will use the terms Navajo and Diné interchangeably depending on the context, but I wanted to recognize that Diné is the correct term