CREATING A NEW GOLD RUSH IN THE WEST. AND IT COMES IN THE FORM OF WATER. THE COLORADO RIVER PROVIDES WATER TO SOME 40 MILLION PEOPLE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR DETERMINING HOW MUCH INDIVIDUAL CITIES AND STATES GET. ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE WATER IS ALLOCATED TO THE 30 NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES LIVING IN THE AREA, DESPITE THEIR FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED CLAIM TO THAT WATER, NATIVE TRIBES HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE SAY IN HOW IT’S MANAGED. OUR CORRESPONDENT DINA DEMETRIUS VISITS THE COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES RESERVATION ON THE CALIFORNIA ARIZONA BORDER. THESE ARE THE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS OF A MIGHTY RIVER, THE COLORADO. THIS RIVER HAS ALLOWED LIFE TO FLOURISH HERE, NOT ONLY ECOLOGICALLY, BUT ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE CULTURES OF THE FOUR TRIBES THAT HAVE CALLED THIS PLACE HOME. JOSHUA MOORE MANAGES THE COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES, OR CRITS 34,000 ACRE FARMING OPERATIONS. CRICKET SHARE OF WATER FROM THE COLORADO 719,000 ACRE FEET IS DIRECTLY TIED TO HOW MUCH LAND THEY FARM. BEING STEWARDS OF BOTH IS TRIBAL HERITAGE, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF DROUGHT. WE’VE TAKEN COMMITMENTS TO TO TRY AND SAVE AND CONSERVE WATER FOR. THE GENERAL BENEFIT OF ALL. WITHIN THIS REGION, WHETHER IT BE CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA OR AS WELL AS THINKING ABOUT FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OVER LAKE MEAD. WHEN THE DROUGHT BROUGHT UN UNPRECEDENTED WATER CUTS IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS, CRIT WAS PAID TO FALLOW THOUSANDS OF ACRES, PROVIDING 150,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER TO ARIZONA OVER THREE YEARS. WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO LEASE OUR WATER FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW. THE 2023 FEDERAL LAW FINALLY GIVES CRIT THE RIGHT TO MARKET PART OF ITS WATER ALLOCATION OFF RESERVATION AS AN ONGOING LEASE. CRIT CHAIRWOMAN AMELIA FLORES SAYS THE REVENUE WOULD EVENTUALLY PROVIDE MANY LONG OVERDUE IMPROVEMENTS TO LIFE HERE. WE COULD OPEN OUR OWN HOSPITAL OR OUR CARE. WE COULD PROVIDE FOR OUR ELDERS AND THEY WANT TO USE SOME OF THAT MONEY TO HELP THE RESERVATION MORE EFFICIENTLY USE THE WATER IT DOES KEEP FOR FARMING. THERE’S ABOUT 3000 ACRES THAT CAN BE UNLOCKED TO FARMLAND BY FIXING THIS CANAL, A FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT NATIVE LANDS IS OFTEN IN DISREPAIR, ESPECIALLY CANALS LIKE THESE, WHERE SIGNIFICANT CRACKS AND LACK OF LINING LEAD TO WASTED IRRIGATION. I’VE HAD CREWS OF MEN OUT HERE ALL SUMMER LONG REPAIRING CANALS CONSTANTLY, AND I FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE A BUNCH OF LITTLE KIDS WITH BUBBLE GUM IN OUR MOUTHS, TAKING THE BUBBLEGUM OUT AND PUTTING IT IN CRACKS ALL OVER, BOTH FLORES AND MOORE SAY LEASING PROVIDES SOMETHING ELSE VITAL TO TRIBAL SURVIVAL GREATER SOVEREIGNTY OVER THEIR RESOURCES. AS THEY’VE ALWAYS SAID, WATER IS GOLD. SO TRIBES HAVE LEVERAGE WITH OUR WITH THEIR ALLOCATION, ESPECIALLY CRIT. A DROUGHT IS HERE. SO NOW WE ARE BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY. IS THE COLORADO RIVER A COMMODITY? I GUESS IN A SENSE IT CAN BE LOOKED AT AS A COMMODITY, BUT BUT FOR THE COLORADO RIVER, INDIAN TRIBES AND FOR MY PEOPLE, THE MOJAVE PEOPLE, IT IS NOT A COMMODITY. IT IS OUR LIFE. AND IF WE LEASE THE WATER, THEN THAT FALLS IN LINE WITH WHAT OUR CREATOR HAS TOLD US TO DO, TO LOOK AFTER THE LANDS, LOOK AFTER OUR WATER. WATER MARKETS ARE CONTROVERSIAL. RESEARCH ECONOMIST LESLIE SANCHEZ SAYS WHILE SOME MAY BALK AT DIVERTING RIVER WATER TO FAR OFF DESERT SPOTS. WATER MARKETING GIVES TRIBES A LONG OVERDUE SEAT AT THE TABLE OVER WATER MANAGEMENT AND SCARCITY ACROSS THE WEST, TRIBES ARE USING ABOUT LESS THAN HALF OF THEIR, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVE WATER ENTITLEMENTS. IT ENDS UP BEING, YOU KNOW, UP TO. $1.8 BILLION ANNUAL FEE. THAT IS FOREGONE REVENUE AS MORE TRIBES GAIN LEVERAGE WITH NEIGHBORING STATES AND WATER DISTRICTS, THE HOPE IS THAT IT HELPS THE HANDFUL OF TRIBES STILL SETTLING THEIR WATER RIGHTS. IT’S MORE THAN ECONOMIC COSTS. IT’S A HUMAN COSTS. YOU HAVE 70,000 PEOPLE IN NAVAJO NATION WHO DON’T HAVE RUNNING WATER IN THEIR HOUSEHOLDS. IT ERODES THEIR ABILITY TO DEVELOP AND, YOU KNOW, PROSPER ECONOMICALLY. DO YOU SEE IT AS A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR TRIBES? YES, IT IS. IT IT’S AND OTHER TRIBES ARE SEEING THAT ALSO OTHER TRIBES CAN USE OUR OUR LEGISLATION. YOU KNOW, FOR THEMSELVES. SO, YEAH, IT’S A BLUEPRINT. AND ALSO HAVE THAT ABILITY TO TO LEASE THEIR WATER ARE LOOKING AT THIS RIVER. WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, FOR BOTH CRIT AND THE COLORADO. SO I’M HOPING THAT YOU KNOW I CAN CREATE A SPACE THROUGH MY WORK THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO FARM THIS LAND AND TO LIVE ALONG ITS BANKS AND THAT THERE WILL STILL BE WATER IN THE COLORADO RIVER IN 20 YEARS ON THE RESERVATION IN ARIZONA, I’M DINA DEMETRIUS. FOR MATTER OF FACT, CRIT IS CURRENTLY NEGOTIATING THE TERMS OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT WITH ARIZONA AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THEY SAY I