Manataba Messenger

Page 2 CONTINUED FROM COVER STORY: CRIT Tribal Mandate Stays In Place: Resolution 296-21 upheld by voters "Empathy is about being concerned about the human being and not just about government output." S imon Sinek To be employed by the tribe means to contact all commu- nity members, and the health and general welfare is the tribal council's number one concern. An oath they gave upon entering public leadership as stated in the Preamble of the Colorado River Indian Tribes Constitution: Throughout Indian Country, tribal leaders have had to rebuild their future vision and navigate a rapidly chang- ing social and economic landscape. Strong leadership is needed to move out of the economic shutdown towards surviving and thriving going forward. Leaders that expect their business to return to what was expected before COVID-19 will struggle to survive. Organizations that choose their top priorities carefully adapt quickly to innovate and evolve their operations will be positioned to succeed in the new normal. As the numbers slowly show another decline, the tribal leaders are clear about the greater meaning behind their work; they know it will take a focus on three critical com- ponents to move forward: Continuing to put their people first, both community members and employees, continu- ing to care about their entire community as a whole and to keep learning and growing as they, along with other tribes struggle to move out of survival mode and towards a successful future. The tribe has and continues working towards goals to remedy the challenges that COVID-19 has uncovered. Still, employee well-being will remain a top priority, and clear and compelling communication remains an on-going goal. Although providing value and service to the people may look a lot different now than it did pre-covid, the tribes remain focused on the safety and well-being of their people. CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS of the COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES of the COLORADO RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA PREAMBLE We, the members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, in order to make the government established by the original constitution and bylaws approved August 13, 1937, a more responsive legal tribal organization and to secure all privileges and powers offered to us by the Indian Reorganization Act, establish justice, promote the general welfare, safeguard our interests, encourage educational progress, conserve and develop our lands and resources, and to secure the blessings of freedom and liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution and bylaws for the Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation. Chairwoman Amelia Flores gives a powerful speech to AZ Lawmakers re: CRIT PHOENIX, ARIZONA— -CRIT Chairwoman Amelia Flores was a featured speaker during the Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day at the Arizona State Capitol. Here is her speech transcribed; it was initially released on CRIT’s social media accounts last month. Kuch Kamaduum 'inyep imuuly Amelia Flores hamakhav iduum Good morning, It is an honor and a privilege to be here with you today on behalf of the people of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Thank you to Governor Ducey for this invitation and Kristine Fire Thunder for helping with the arrangements. Thank you to Speaker Bowers and President Fann for wel- coming me to these Chambers. Almost, two years ago, the council members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes sat up in the gallery of this chamber watching the passage of the Drought Contingency Plan. I am pleased to report that as of this date, under both the Reclamation and the state DCP programs with the financial contributions from you, the NGO’s, and corporate partners, CRIT has created more than 200 thousand acre-feet of System Conservation water in Lake Mead and will create another 55 thousand acre-feet this year; raising the Lake lev- els by over 3 and a half feet. I want to thank all of you on behalf of the people at CRIT for the partnerships and the friendships that developed through the DCP stakeholder and legislative process. CRIT Water We now realize, just two years later, that the cuts under the 2007 shortage guidelines and the additional DCP contribu- tions may not be enough to protect our namesake river, the Colorado. We continue to partner with you and the stake- holders in Arizona to develop new protections for the River, such as in the recent 500 Plus Plan. Let me introduce myself and the Colorado River Indian Tribes. I am Mohave, hamakhav iduum. My ancestors and I have lived and farmed with the waters of the Colorado River since time imme,morial. Its waters run through our blood. Our traditions, our trails, our songs, our culture, and our very being are connected to this Great River. Our first and foremost priority for all of the policies and plans that are being developed, is to protect and save the life of the Colorado River as a River. The River is a living being and the protections must include the plants, the animals, the fish and all of the people along the River, not just those who use its water at distant locations. Future Water Availability As the future water availability for all of us in Arizona looks less and less like the historic norms, all options for flexible water use must be considered and implemented as soon as possible. At CRIT we are investing in water conservation in our farm operations. This year the acreage served by the innovative N- Drip systems will double thanks to our partnership with the CAP. We will continue investing our own government funds to improve the operation of the federal irrigation project that serves our reservation. We are able to double the impact of these investments because we can now access funds from the federal WaterSMART program. The WaterSMART pro- gram was not available for on reservation conservation until 2018 when we at CRIT worked with Congress to change its requirements. Since then, all tribes have access and we at CRIT have been able to invest millions of dollars in on-reser- vation conservation. CRIT Rights & Legislation The CRIT federal reserved water right is unique. Ours is the first-priority water right in the Lower Basin and as you know western water law is built on the principle that the first in time is the first in right. Our priority date for Colorado River water is 1865, 100 years earlier than the priority date for the water that is delivered through the CAP canal. This means our water is not being cut during the upcoming shortages on the River. Because of the complicated history of federal Indian policy, our water is a federal trust asset and we cannot lease it unless Congress authorizes us to do so through legislation. Fortunately, there is strong history here in Arizona for this type of legislation that has been included in the water settle- ments for most Tribes. Because our rights were decided by the Supreme Court in Arizona v California, we at CRIT, need a similar Congressional authorization to lease our water. For the past seven years we have worked with the Department of Water Resources, the CAP and other stake- holders to develop legislation that permits us to share our water, including its first-priority date, with other water users in Arizona. We partnered with the Department of Water Resources and held public meetings in December of 2019. Consistent with the feedback from those public meetings, I am very pleased to report that our Senators in Washington D.C., introduced Senate Bill 3308 a few weeks ago. We think S. 3308 is a model for federal water legislation that protects the interest of water users in the state, does not increase the amount of water taken from the River and it pro- tects our tribal sovereignty. Governor Ducey, in his speech this week, talked about invest- ing in desalination and there is a legislative proposal to increase the availability of groundwater from the Harquahala Basin near our reservation. I am honored to serve on the Governor’s Water Augmentation, Innovation and Conservation Council and these types of investments in a water future are on the horizon for all of Arizona. These and other possible water tools to build a water resilient toolbox will take time, political will and of course funding. WHEN S. 3308 is enacted CRIT will be able to add our first- priority water to that toolbox. Our water will be available immediately to provide a bridge supply for water users in Arizona until the innovative solutions, such as will be dis- cussed in this body during this next session, are available for use. The Colorado River has supported our people along its banks—since time immemorial and the River has supported others in the state of Arizona for 50 years, since the comple- tion of the CAP canal. It is time for all of us to partner together—tribes and the state—to develop solutions that benefit ALL of the people in Arizona. Lack of clean water & COVID Health Care As we work to protect our water and land and diversify our economy it is with one purpose in mind and that is the wel- fare of our people for generations to come. We at CRIT have water that we are willing to share, but not all tribal communities in Arizona have the minimum water available for household use. COVID highlighted the lack of drinking water and sanitation in rural households, particu- larly on reservations in Arizona. This situation must change. COVID also spotlighted the health and education disparities that continue to affect our tribal communities. All of us have been impacted by COVID and we must not forget the biggest impact has been the loss of life. Our children have lost parents and grandparents far too soon. They are left struggling with their pain and grief. Many of our members are facing long term medical impacts from COVID. Prior to COVID, we struggled because of a lack of quality healthcare services. It has only worsened as COVID rages on. The lack of medical professionals caused the temporary closure of hospital services at our Parker IHS facility that serves multiple tribes in western Arizona. On-reservation medical services are a federal responsibility, but I want you, as policy makers in the State, to understand these critical deficiencies. The policies and laws you pass can create unin- tended harms and impose obstacles to our ability to receive alternate quality healthcare. Education & COVID Our children’s education has also suffered. During this pan- demic it became abundantly clear that rural schools in Arizona do not have the resources to provide distance and remote education. CONTINUED PAGE 3