2021 Land & Water News Stories
$2.5B headed to tribes for water settlements (Indian Country Today) 12/28/21
A shellfish company gets into the weeds (High Country News) 12/28/21
Mashpee Wampanoag reservation regains legal status; Taunton casino project's future unclear (The Boston Globe) 12/24/21
Catawba Nation thanks U.S. Congress for passage of the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act (Indian Country Today) 12/16/21
Returning farmland to Yakama Nation is a step toward self-sufficiency tribes once had (KCLU) 12/13/21
Gila River Indian Community signs $92 million agreement to use new infrastructure funding to help complete its water settlement (Indian Country Today) 12/13/21
Inside Idaho's campaign to include Indigenous history in its highway markers (Smithsonian Magazine) 12/10/21
Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians place 283 acres of land into federal trust (Indian Country Today) 12/9/21
As Xcel maps its “power pathway,” how close is too close to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site? (The Colorado Sun) 12/8/21
Native biodata is a natural resource. U.S. tribes must act quickly to protect it (Native News Online) 12/6/21
Honor Chief Seattle by building fish passage through Skagit River dams (The Seattle Times) 12/6/21
Bill would allow Colorado River Indian tribes to lease water to other cities (Arizona Public Media) 12/6/21
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging (High Country News) 12/1/21
"Nobody can live without water" (Harper's Bazaar) 11/25/21
Return most federal land to Native Americans, op-ed argues (WTTW) 11/25/21
How do we stop tire debris from killing coho salmon? (Indianz) 11/24/21
Tribes ask for more support for salmon reintroduction to the Upper Columbia (Oregon Public Broadcasting) 11/21/21
Yakama Nation wins appeal in its 42-year water rights fight (The Wenatchee World) 11/19/21
Interior secretary seeks to rid U.S. of derogatory place names, including those to Native Americans (Santa Fe New Mexican) 11/18/21
Infrastructure bill to aid water projects on Navajo Nation (The Durango Herald) 11/17/21
‘Indigenous identity and the land are inseparable’: Menominee Forest researcher to start podcast (Green Bay Press Gazette) 11/16/21
Tribes hope infrastructure law means they'll finally get clean drinking water (NPR) 11/15/21
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation seeks to reclaim land (Indian Country Today) 11/13/21
Bridging cultural and political gaps through Indigenous first foods (Indian Country Today) 11/12/21
Indigenous nations in Wisconsin suing to prevent wolf hunts (Grist) 11/8/21
Judge rejects a Trump-era water contract in a win for tribes in California (High Country News) 11/5/21
This new tool could help Native American tribes disproportionately impacted by climate change reclaim their lands (KQED) 11/2/21
The Lewis and Clark expedition from an Indigenous perspective (Indian Country Today) 11/1/21
For Polis, a Cheyenne name for a mountain is too hard to pronounce. Indigenous groups disagree. (Brush News-Tribune) 10/31/21
Pueblos in New Mexico turn to goats for fire management (High Country News) 10/29/21
Native tribes have lost 99% of their land in the United States (Science) 10/28/21
Decolonizing Idaho’s road signs (High Country News) 10/26/21
Rocky Boy Reservation celebrates the return of the buffalo (Native News Online) 10/25/21
EPA finally has an action plan to improve water infrastructure and sanitation for US tribes (Grist) 10/25/21
Quapaw Nation land affirmed as Indian Country (Indian Country Today) 10/22/21
Wisconsin Ojibwe tribes applaud state court's decision prohibiting Department of Natural Resources from issuing licenses to hunt wolves (Earth Justice) 10/22/21
Blackfeet Nation receives $200,000 federal grant to track elk movement (Montana Public Radio) 10/22/21
Presidio County moves to transfer ownership of cemetery to Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas (The Big Bend Sentinel) 10/20/21
Nevada’s Thacker Pass highlights how federal courts routinely dismiss Indigenous concerns (High Country News) 10/20/21
Interior Department leaders focus on administration’s tribal water infrastructure investments in Oregon visit (Indian Country Today) 10/18/21
Do Indigenous land acknowledgements do more harm than good? (Yes! Magazine) 10/11/21
Bears Ears/Grand Staircase-Escalante/Northeast Canyons and Seamounts proclamations signed (Turtle Talk) 10/8/21
Kiowa Tribe acquires nearly 200 acres of land into trust (Tribal Business News) 10/4/21
‘No one is illegal on stolen Indigenous land’: Native activist speaks out on viral encounter (Indianz) 10/4/21
In Arizona, drought ignites tensions and threatens traditions among the Hopi (The New York Times) 10/2/21
Pushed to the edge, tribe members in coastal Louisiana wonder where to go after Ida (Wisconsin Public Radio) 10/2/21
Peacemaking could resolve Eastern land disputes (Navajo Times) 10/1/21
Collecting seeds to restore prairie grasslands (High Country News) 10/1/21
Osage Nation sees donation of 20 acres in Missouri after Picture Cave auction (St. Louis Public Radio) 9/30/21
Tribe wins major step toward resuming whaling off Washington (ABC News) 9/24/21
Federal judge rejects much of Ute Tribe’s water-rights lawsuit (The Salt Lake Tribune) 9/22/21
Indian Law Resource Center secures initial $1 million grant to focus on Indigenous land ownership (Tribal Business News) 9/22/21
$1.3 million Getty grant will protect and preserve Wupataki National Monument (Native News Online) 9/22/21
Ojibwe tribes sue Wisconsin for treaty violations over wolf hunt (Native News Online) 9/22/21
Deb Haaland signs Montana tribes water rights compact (Indian Country Today) 9/20/21
Nature conservancy in Montana returns traditional land to Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Montana Public Radio) 9/14/21
Yurok Tribe requests the California State Parks and Recreation Commission to formally change Patrick’s Point State Park to Sue-meg State Park (Indian Country Today) 9/13/21
‘It’s very emotional’: Chignik residents fear for their communities’ future if abysmal salmon runs persist (Alaska Public Media) 9/13/21
Paiute tribe wins water rights victory; Truckee’s water overstretched (Tahoe Weekly) 9/13/21
UCLA law students support Yurok Tribe in navigating food sovereignty (Daily Bruin) 9/11/21
Water legacy scholarship announced (Indian Country Today) 9/9/21
State wolf hunt faces lawsuit from animal protection groups and opposition from tribes over quota (Wisconsin Public Radio) 9/9/21
Manoomin will have its day in court (Indian Country Today) 9/7/21
Indigenous, local communities key to successful nature conservation: study (The Westside Gazette) 9/3/21
Hurricane Ida affecting tribes (Indian Country Today) 8/31/21
Hopi Tribe says livestock reduction necessary to manage prolonged drought impacts (Navajo-Hopi Observer) 8/31/21
Art installations remind LA residents they’re on ‘TONGVALAND’ (Indian Country Today) 8/30/21
‘We lived, we survived’: Boise’s Indigenous population celebrates annual return (Idaho Statesman) 8/27/21
Confused about what’s happening on the Klamath? Here’s a rundown. (High Country News) 8/27/21
'Rights of nature' cases could bolster treaty guarantees (Indian Country Today) 8/26/21
Restoring access to culturally significant species with the Yurok Tribe (University of California News) 8/26/21
The effort to save Upper Klamath Lake’s endangered fish before they disappear (High Country News) 8/19/21
‘Coming full circle’: Native tapped to lead national parks (Indian Country Today) 8/18/21
Wisconsin tribes blast natural resources board over fall wolf hunt quota (WPR) 8/16/21
Sailing Gichigami with Inland Seas and the Anishinaabeg: An educational program with KBIC in Keweenaw Bay (MSU Extension) 8/12/21
After decades of bureaucratic inertia, Confederated Salish and Kootenai win the day (Indian Country Today) 8/11/21
Yurok Tribe in Northern California grows solutions in soil of crises (Indianz) 8/6/21
Greenville Rancheria health and tribal offices destroyed by Dixie Fire (Reno Gazette Journal) 8/6/21
Raising salmon offers students connection to environment, Yakama tribal culture (Yakima Herald) 8/6/21
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe acquires more land (Indian Country Today) 8/5/21
Colville Tribes sue U.S. government, seeking damages for failure to manage forests that burned in massive 2015 wildfires (The Spokesman-Review) 8/4/21
Battle over Skagit River dam heads to court (Indian Country Today) 8/3/21
Reviving traditional Apsáalooke water sources (High Country News) 8/1/21
Navajo leaders discuss Chaco Canyon, public safety, and land issues with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland (Indian Country Today) 7/29/21
Montana water court decided tribal water rights in first-of-its-kind decision (Native News Online) 7/28/21
Nonprofit helps Native tribes utilize their natural resources (Taos News) 7/26/21
An Indigenous firefighter explains how to better manage wildfires (Vox) 7/22/21
Western tribal leaders oppose new wolf hunting laws (Cache Valley Daily) 7/19/21
Wildfires threaten Indigenous lands in desiccated Northwest: ‘It’s hard to watch the devastation’ (The Oregonian) 7/14/21
Indigenous groups call for salmon protection and treaty ratification at Shoshone Falls (Idaho Mountain Express) 7/14/21
U.S. Representative Stanton continues to deliver water resources for Arizona (Indian Country Today) 7/13/21
Utah's Lake Powell pipeline yet another way to prevent tribal water development (Indian Country Today) 7/9/21
Ending food insecurity in Native communities means restoring land rights, handing back control (Native News Online) 7/8/21
Tribes appeal to Secretary Haaland to reverse Trump on stripping wolf protections in new film, 'Family' (Native News Online) 7/7/21
Navajo leaders discuss Navajo Indian Irrigation Project and Chaco Canyon issues with U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (Indian Country Today) 7/2/21
Wyoming tribes take ownership of Circle Ridge Field (The Billings Gazette) 6/27/21
NPS prohibits scattering of ashes in Grand Canyon out of respect to tribes (Navajo-Hopi Observer) 6/23/21
Ensuring safe drinking water for California's Native American communities (Public Policy Institute of California) 6/22/21
Virtual reunion highlights policy questions on Indigenous land claims (The Cornell Review) 6/18/21
Tribe sues over hunting rights (Indian Country Today) 6/18/21
Yakama Nation celebrates ‘resounding victory’ for treaty lands (Indianz) 6/16/21
Biden to reinstate road ban for Tongass National Forest (Indian Country Today) 6/15/21
Eight Navajo Tribal Parks slated to reopen contingent upon tribal president’s approval (Navajo-Hopi Observer) 6/15/21
Healing journey unites generations (Indian Country Today) 6/15/21
Interior secretary urges Biden to enlarge Bears Ears, Grand Staircase, report says (The Salt Lake Tribune) 6/14/21
Will history repeat in a dry Klamath Basin this summer?
(High Country News) 6/14/21
Umatilla tribes lead the way in reacquisition of treaty lands (East Oregonian) 6/3/21
Lakota victory: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe celebrates denial of Noem’s fireworks fiasco (Indian Country Today) 6/3/21
How returning lands to Native tribes is helping protect nature (Yale Environment) 6/3/21
12 Northwest tribes say they are united to save salmon (East Oregonian) 5/28/21
EPA restoring tribal power to protect waterways (Indian Country Today) 5/28/21
The Karuk used fire to manage the forest for centuries. Now they want to do that again (KQED) 5/28/21
UArizona, Diné College to train next generation of Navajo water scientists (UArizona News) 5/27/21
The Gila River Indian Community innovates for a drought-ridden future (Casa Grande Dispatch) 5/24/21
Gov. Noem's Mount Rushmore lawsuit sparks legal fight with tribe (Rapid City Journal) 5/19/21
Klamath Tribes want beavers back in the Beaver State (High Country News) 5/19/21
Mount Rushmore lawsuit sparks legal fight with tribe (Indian Country Today) 5/18/21
Enbridge's Line 3 is putting wild rice at risk--and Indigenous water protectors are taking a stand (Civil Eats) 5/18/21
Alaska village eyes return of ancestral lands (Indian Country Today) 5/17/21
The Gila River Indian Community innovates for a drought-ridden future (High Country News) 5/13/21
Osage Nation officially opens Wahzhazhe Heritage Trails (Pawhuska Journal-Capital) 5/12/21
Judge rules against Klamath Tribes (Indian Country Today) 5/11/21
Trespass activity on Indian allotments is spiraling out of control (Indian Country Today) 5/11/21
Tribes can hunt on ancestral lands north of U.S. border, Canada says (Crosscut) 5/11/21
In historic move, county removes barrier to tribal land expansion
(San Diego Union Tribune) 5/5/21
Maine Audubon supports sovereignty for tribes in Maine (Maine Audubon) 5/3/21
Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians receive EPA approval to administer Clean Water Act programs on reservation and trust lands (EPA) 5/3/21
New report looks into water insecurity in tribal lands across Colorado River Basin (Arizona Public Media) 4/30/21
UW grad combines research, tribal traditions in wolf relationship plan (University of Wisconsin) 4/30/21
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision delivers significant victory for the Navajo Nation (Indian Country Today) 4/29/21
Supreme Court of Canada affirms trans-boundary Indigenous rights (High Country News) 4/23/21
So you want to acknowledge the land? (High Country News) 4/22/21
Return the national parks to the tribes (The Atlantic) May 2021
Discovery Podcast: Reservation Diminishment with Ethan Jones, Lead Attorney, Yakama Nation Office of Legal Council (University of Washington School of Law) 4/19/21
A century of federal indifference left generations of Navajo homes without running water (Native News Online) 4/14/21
The Warm Springs reservation water crisis is reminiscent of Flint, Michigan (Native News Online) 4/10/21
Fishing rights untouched in Alaska takeover of navigable waters (Indian Country Today) 4/8/21
Government, tribes reach regulatory agreement for Navajo-Gallup water project (Santa Fe New Mexican) 4/7/21
Wisconsin state, tribal agencies warn against harassing tribal spearfishers as spring harvest begins (Duluth News Tribune) 4/5/21
Indigenous food sovereignty movements are taking back ancestral land (Civil Eats) 3/31/21
Colorado River tribes aim to establish 'one unified voice' in policy talks (KAWC) 3/30/21
Historic Dakota land returns to tribe (Indian Country Today) 3/29/21
Traveling on stolen land: How to acknowledge and respect its Indigenous identity (TripSavvy) 3/25/21
Tribal leaders ask for more funding, less meddling for water projects (Cronkine News - Arizona PBS) 3/24/21
New app will show you what Indigenous land you're on right now (Changing America) 3/23/21
Tribes blast wolf hunt, say it was about killing (Indian Country Today) 3/23/21
Biden administration restores valuable riverbed ownership to North Dakota tribe (Inforum) 3/23/21
Growing number of cities weigh tribal ‘land acknowledgements’ (The Columbian) 3/21/21
Bill would fund tribal sewer, clean water projects (The Cordova Times) 3/19/21
'Nothing has changed.' How state agencies ignored tribal pleas to protect Oceano Dunes (San Luis Obispo Tribune) 3/17/21
Spokane City Council considers formal acknowledgment of Native American land (Union-Bulletin) 3/15/21
Montana bills threaten iconic species, inhibit tribal sovereignty and privatizes wildlife (National Wildlife Federation) 3/15/21
Lower Sioux community calls return of land a step toward healing (Marshall Independent) 3/13/21
Pause on leasing public land draws mixed reaction (Indian Country Today) 3/7/21
What about us? Ute Tribe asks as Utah moves to protect its share of the Colorado River. (The Salt Lake Tribune) 3/5/21
Plea issued to fund design of White Mountain Apache water system (White Mountain Independent) 3/5/21
Comanche Nation asks to join potentially historic case (Lawton Consitution) 3/4/21
Webinar: Restoring land: Fee-to-trust and Native sovereignty (Environmental Law Institute)
'Steps toward healing': Dakota tribe reclaims its land — and its story (Minnesota Public Radio) 3/3/21
Oregon court affirms Klamath Tribes' water rights (Turtle Talk) 2/28/21
Court upholds Klamath Tribes' water rights, irrigators plan to challenge (Herald and News) 2/27/21
Indigenous groups are slowly gaining more say in the management of a swiftly changing northern Bering Sea (Arctic Today) 2/26/21
Feds drop legal battle against Mashpee lands (Indian Country Today) 2/20/21
Apache appeal ruling following Sacred Oak Flat land giveaway (Indian Country Today) 2/19/21
The Bureau of Indian Affairs jeopardized land buy-back program accomplishments by delegating land title authority (Indianz) 2/19/21
Sinema, Kelly, O’Halleran call for funding to ensure clean, reliable water supply for White Mountain Apache Tribe (Indian Country Today) 2/17/21
A conversation with law expert about Oak Flat and treaties (Arizona Public Media) 2/11/21
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes reclaim legacy of bison conservation (Native News Online) 2/9/21
Mountaintop removal threatens traditional Blackfoot territory (High Country News) 2/1/21
Alaskan tribes applaud protection of the Northern Bering Sea (High North News) 1/28/21
Bears Ears is just the beginning (High Country News) 1/22/21
Nez Perce Tribe granted administrative power of its water rights (The Spokesman-Review) 1/22/21
Indigenous fishers on the Columbia River confront new challenges (High Country News) 1/15/21
Feds begin transfer of national bison range to Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Montana Public Radio) 1/15/21
