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Leaders of Zuni Tribe of New Mexico join Interior Secretary Gale Norton
and Assistant Secretary Dave Anderson for signing of water rights settlement.
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A water rights settlement finalized on Thursday gives Zuni Tribe the
ability to protect one of its most sacred sites, officials said at a
signing ceremony.
Tribal leaders joined federal and state officials in Washington, D.C.,
to mark the end of a long battle over water rights in eastern Arizona.
The tribe, based in New Mexico, asserted claims on the Little Colorado
River more than 20 years ago.
But rather than keep the dispute tied up in the courts, officials said
they worked to find a solution that respects the tribe's religious
rights. The $26.5 million package, signed into law by President
Bush a year ago, will protect the final resting place of the Zuni
people, said a tribal leader.
"They are the most important lands from time immemorial," said
Wilford Eriacho, chairman of the tribe's water rights negotiating
team.
The place is known as Zuni Heaven. Located about 50 miles from the main
reservation in New Mexico, tribal members make regular pilgrimages to the
area, considered a window into heaven. Tribal ceremonies and culture revolve
around Zuni Heaven, which provides water, animals, plants and other
materials needed for religious activities.
Yet Zuni Heaven has been missing a crucial ingredient for much of
the 20th century -- water. Tribal history, photos and other documents
show water was once plentiful there. But dams upstream and other diversions
have dried up Zuni Heaven, threatening he very existence of the site.
The tribe hopes to reverse course by restoring the area to
a wetlands state. While Zuni Heaven may never be returned to its
original condition -- when elders recalled waist-deep, swift-moving
streams -- the tribe sees the deal finalized yesterday as a "good step forward," said Eriacho.
"The water rights settlement will start to ease the hearts and minds of
the Zuni people," he said at the Department of Interior.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the agreement helps the tribe
and non-Indian water users by clearing up all unresolved issues related
to the tribal claim. She said it was an example of
how the federal government can work in partnership with tribal and
state governments.
"It's important to protect and restore a sacred area," she said. "We need
to have traditions that are long-standing and for our cultures
to remain vibrant. Today's event has great significance for the cultural
and natural future of the Southwest."
Under the settlement, the tribe can purchase up to 3,600 acre-feet of
water in addition to existing rights at Zuni Heaven, which has been held
in trust since 1984. The tribe also draw up to 1,500 acre-feet from
particular wells.
The federal government is responsible for $19.2 million of the settlement,
with the state of Arizona providing $1.6 million and Salt River Project,
a power and water utility, will contribute $1 million. The money
will create the Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Development Fund
to provide for restoration activities and to purchase additional water
rights from willing sellers.
Get the Bill:
Zuni
Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2003 (S.222)
Relevant Documents:
Senate Testimony |
Hearing Video