"Last weekend I traveled to Phoenix to visit my brother and friends, do some shopping, bask in the warm weather and basically, get away. When I was young the only time I went to Phoenix was for the state track meet or for a summer science program. It was so exciting. The big city! Bright and shiny. Hot. Fun. Full of current music and cute boys. Ahh Phoenix, the life-giving oasis. It was where I saw myself living one day when I “got away” from my boring and opportunity-less existence on the reservation. Today I still own remnants of that adolescent Phoenix State of Mind. I was excited about going to Phoenix last weekend. Besides the airport, I hadn’t spent any time there for quite awhile. Family, friends, shopping, warmth, cute boys…c’mon, I couldn’t wait!

Well friends, it was not what I expected- or rather, I was not what I expected. Instead of seeing just the shiny big city, I saw the unsustainable, unnatural virus of a city, growing and growing beyond its means. Instead of seeing just cute boys, I saw the 1.5 million people who have no idea where their energy comes from, where their water comes from, or how their city continues to grow in the middle of a desert! In addition to family and friends, I saw the family and friends who may never find their way back to our homeland or worse yet, find their way back to no homeland at all. Instead of a life giving oasis, I saw a life taking oasis."

Get the Story:
Jihan Gearon: Cities in the Desert Are Thirsty for Navajo Water (Indian Country Today 5/11)