School buses carry children across the vast Navajo Nation south of Rock Point in 2002 on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Photo by David McNew | Getty Images
Five tribal nations in Arizona received funding from the U.S. Department of Interior to help their communities prepare for the most severe climate-related environmental threats to their homelands.
“Indigenous communities face unique and intensifying climate-related challenges that pose an existential threat to Tribal economies, infrastructure, lives and livelihoods,” Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland said in a written statement.
The funding is part of Interor’s Tribal Community Resilience Annual Awards Program, which funds federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations to build community resilience capacity.
In Arizona, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Zuni Tribe and Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe all received money to help their communities plan and implement climate-related projects.
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The funding comes from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations. The Department of Interior stated that the investment helps tribal nations plan for and adapt to climate threats and safely relocate critical infrastructure as needed.
“Through President (Joe) Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we have made transformational commitments to assist Tribes and Tribal organizations as they plan for and implement climate resilience measures, upholding our trust and treaty responsibilities and safeguarding these places for generations to come,” Haaland added.
As part of the Tribal Community Resilience Annual Awards Program, 96 tribes and 10 tribal organizations across the nation were awarded more than $121 million in funding for 124 projects focused on building their community resilience capacity against climate-related threats.
“Today, we are not just investing in projects; we are investing in the future of our Tribal communities,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in a statement.
The money will support both planning and implementation of projects, including climate adaptation planning, community-led relocation, managed and partial relocation, protect-in-place efforts, ocean and coastal management, and habitat restoration and adaptation.
“The Biden-Harris administration recognizes the vital role that Indigenous knowledge and leadership play,” Newland said. “These awards are a downpayment on a more sustainable and resilient future for Native communities across the country.”
The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, San Carlos Apache Tribe, and Zuni Tribe were awarded funding in the program’s planning category, giving tribes more flexibility in addressing their climate concerns.
In northern Arizona, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians’ tribal land runs along the Utah border near Fredonia; they received $249,789 to support the development of a climate change adaptation plan to address the drought, temperature extremes and wildfire risks facing the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians.
“The plan will enhance the Tribe’s climate resilience by protecting water resources, cultural sites, and community health while supporting long-term economic sustainability,” according to the program summary.
The Navajo Nation received $249,820 to support the Teesto Chapter House, located 45 minutes north of Winslow, with climate resilience planning.
The project will create a climate resilience plan for the Teesto Chapter House through community engagement, climate vulnerability assessment and prioritization of adaptation actions.
“The plan will strengthen the community’s ability to address climate impacts, enhance long-term sustainability, and support the development of resilient infrastructure and ecosystems in the southwestern Navajo Nation,” according to the program summary.
For the San Carlos Apache Tribe in southeastern Arizona, the $249,600 it will receive will help with climate resilience planning. As part of their project, the tribe will work with diverse departmental and subject matter experts, including Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge holders, to create a natural, cultural and infrastructure-based climate threat and prioritization action plan.
The tribe will work on reviewing existing plans, gathering member concerns around climate threats within their community, and identifying values at risk and ways to respond. Information collected from these steps will guide the tribes’ response.
In northeastern Arizona, the Zuni Tribe will work on a project focusing on the climate-resilient restoration of riparian wetlands along the Little Colorado River on the tribe’s sacred lands west of St. Johns.
The tribe was awarded $250,000 through the program to develop a comprehensive plan to revitalize native plant and animal species, improve water availability and continue cultural practices.
The project description stated that it would enhance the area’s climate resiliency by creating a sustainable ecosystem that supports biodiversity and the Zuni Tribe’s climate heritage.
The final project awarded is part of the implementation category of the project, and the Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe was awarded over $3.1 million to support the tribe’s water sovereignty and quality improvement efforts. Their tribal land is located east of Prescott.
The project description states that the tribe aims to improve water quality and restore habitats along Granite Creek by mitigating harmful runoff from overwhelmed drainage systems upstream of the Frontier Village Shopping Center and Slaughterhouse Gulch.
“Improvements will advance the Tribe’s ongoing efforts to increase water sovereignty on reservation lands,” the program summary states.
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