Tribe fights to protect its federally-reserved water rights, attends hearings in San Francisco

by Erin Ford, originally posted on January 3, 2017

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution mandating safe water a fundamental human right. In the United States, the world’s richest country, less than one percent of non-indigenous households lack access to clean, safe water (0.6 percent), according to the report made by the UN’s independent expert.

That number skyrockets to 13 percent among Native American households.

It is in part this disparity that compelled the Havasupai Tribe to file two lawsuits in federal court aimed at protecting their water supply from the contamination resulting from uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.

The small tribe has made its home at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for around 800 years, and its livelihood depends on the seeps and springs that keep Havasu Creek flowing. Not only does the creek provide a water source for the tribe, it also creates the striking turquoise waterfalls that Havasu Canyon is known for. Tourism and camping at the site sustains the tribe’s economy.

“We are the Havsuw ‘Baaja, which means people of the blue-green water,” said Don Watahomigie, chairman of the Havasupai Tribe. “Our very being and continuance as Havasupai depends on the continued flow of our water and our ability to continue that reliance forever.”

Although the Havasupai generally do not disclose their religious beliefs and practices to those outside the tribe, tribal elders provided an explanation to underscore the importance of the area around Red Butte and the tribe’s right to continue to exercise its traditional religious beliefs and way of life.

According to the Havasupai people, the meadow where one of the mines in question is located, is known as Mit taav Tiivjuudva; it is a sacred place used by the tribe for pilgrimages, ceremonies, gathering of medicinal plants and prayer. Red Butte, towering above the forest, is known as Wiigdwiisa, home of the Grandmother, the First Woman; this is where her many children come to seek wisdom and renewal. In one of the initial court filings, Rex Tilousi, a religious and cultural leader of the tribe, explained the significance of the deeply-sacred area.

“The meadow is where the Grandmother and her Grandson meet every year to renew life for all Havasupai … we hold our babies up to face Mit taav Tiivjuudva and meet the Grandmother,” he said.