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Environment

Waiting for Water

Tribes’ Fight for a Promised Resource

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1908 that tribes with reservations have a right to water. But ProPublica and High Country News found that in the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin they face unique obstacles: a state that aggressively opposes them, a process that sometimes doesn’t provide infrastructure to access water and growing competition from other users.

5 stories published since 2023

Western States Opposed Tribes’ Access to the Colorado River 70 Years Ago. History Is Repeating Itself.

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Anna V. Smith, High Country News,

In Arizona Water Ruling, the Hopi Tribe Sees Limits on Its Future

by Umar Farooq,

The Colorado River Flooded Chemehuevi Land. Decades Later, the Tribe Still Struggles to Take Its Share of Water.

by Mark Olalde and Umar Farooq, ProPublica, and Anna V. Smith, High Country News,

Supreme Court Keeps Navajo Nation Waiting for Water

by Anna V. Smith, High Country News, and Umar Farooq and Mark Olalde, ProPublica,

How Arizona Stands Between Tribes and Their Water

by Mark Olalde and Umar Farooq, ProPublica, and Anna V. Smith, High Country News,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

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Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

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Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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