Sunlight shines on the Colorado River as it flows southwest near Gypsum, Colorado on May 20, 2024. As negotiations continue over the future of the critical Colorado River system, the 30 tribal nations that depend on its water are demanding a seat at the negotiating table — from which they’ve been excluded for a century.
“We’re the first inhabitants of this entire river,” she said, noting her ancestral homeland included a large swath of the Colorado River basin.between the Upper Colorado River Commission and the six tribes with land in the Upper Basin has sparked hope for further inclusion. That commission is made up of representatives from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as a federal appointee.
Becky Mitchell, Colorado’s top official on the river, has advocated for better tribal inclusion and made protecting tribal water rights one of her“We still have much work to do, at the federal government, as state governments, as tribal governments across the basin,” she said. Before the agreement, there was no formal engagement between the Upper Colorado River Basin tribes and states. The two tribes in Colorado — the Southern Ute Indian and the Ute Mountain Ute — maintained relationships with state water leaders, Cloud said. Mitchell, especially, had made an effort to build a relationship, she said.
“Tribal nations have worked really hard for a decade to be seen and be part of the solution in the basin,” said Celene Hawkins, Colorado River tribal partnerships program director at The Nature Conservancy.for the river to the Bureau of Reclamation, multiple state leaders said. Ultimately, it is the bureau’s responsibility to ensure the tribes have a say on the future of the river, JB Hamby, California’s negotiator, said at the conference.
Ultimately, Cloud would like to see each of the Upper Basin tribes have a formal position on the Upper Colorado River Commission, though that would take congressional approval.