New Mexico

FILE - Families and victims advocates participate in a prayer walk around the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center to mark Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day in Albuquerque, N.M., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

Unsolved violent crimes in Native American communities to get more attention with FBI surge

Associated Press

The FBI is sending extra agents, analysts and other personnel to field offices in 10 states over the next six months to help investigate unsolved violent crimes in Indian Country.

FILE - Phillip Yazzie waits for a water drum in the back of his pickup truck to be filled in Teesto, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, on Feb. 11, 2021. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide a critical water rights case in the water-scarce Southwest. The high court will hold oral arguments Monday, March 20, 2023, in a case with critical implications for how water from the drought-stricken Colorado River is shared and the extent of the U.S. government’s obligations to Native American tribes.

Science & Environment

Report highlights how Navajo Nation and others can build resilient water systems

Associated Press

The Pacific Institute reports looks at nature-based solutions and technology to help those hit hardest by climate change. But as federal funding dries up, it could be harder to address water woes and prepare communities for more frequent and extreme weather.

A Mexican wolf from the Eagle Creek pack was captured and collared during the 2023 annual count in Arizona, Jan. 26, 2024.

Science & Environment

More endangered Mexican gray wolves are roaming the Southwest

Associated Press

Wildlife managers say an annual population survey shows there are now at least 286 Mexican gray wolves roaming parts of New Mexico and Arizona. That is 11% more than the previous year.

Six of the seven states that use water from the Colorado River agreed on a proposal to cut back on use, as the federal government looks for ways to prop up shrinking reservoirs. The river, seen here at Horseshoe Bend in Arizona, supplies 40 million people and a multibillion-dollar agricultural industry.

Science & Environment

Colorado River states stare down the ‘looming specter’ of a Supreme Court battle

Alex Hager

States that use the Colorado River say they don't want to go to the Supreme Court, but some are quietly preparing for litigation.

A line of people holding signs mounted on posts stands on a sidewalk waving at passing cars. Their backs are to the camera. The signs say “On Strike / En Huelga”.

Business & Economy

Mass deportations could leave a hole in the West’s service and agriculture economies

Yvette Fernandez

Immigrants without legal status make up a large part of the workers in several industries and have a combined household income of almost $27 billion in the Mountain West.

The Tomasiyo family stands in front of their home, which they've lived in for 14 years without electricity, in the Navajo Nation. Pictured, left to right, are Riley, Tristen, Hunter, Lasean, Sevilla, Maria, Paulette, Leeland, and Lyla.

Science & Environment

Climate change is a strain on the 13,000 Navajo families without electricity

Kaleb Roedel

Nationwide, nearly 17,000 homes on tribal lands still need electricity hook-ups. A majority are spread across the Navajo Nation, where climate change is making it harder for families to keep cool. A mutual aid program, however, has helped to change lives.

FILE - President of the Navajo Nation Buu Nygren speaks about the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 24, 2024.

Politics & Government

Harassment investigation clears Navajo President Buu Nygren, stokes more upheaval

Associated Press

Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch announced that an investigation has cleared the Navajo president of sexual harassment allegations by the vice president. Even as results of the investigation were announced Monday, Branch was removed from office by tribal lawmakers.

Water policymakers from (left to right) Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming speak on a panel at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference in Las Vegas on December 5, 2024. State leaders are deeply divided on how to share the shrinking water supply, and made little progress to bridge that divide at the annual meetings.

Politics & Government

Colorado River states bluster and bicker ahead of an uncertain future for the water supply

Alex Hager

The seven states that share the shrinking river are deeply divided about new rules for its future. They met in Las Vegas for the annual Colorado River Water Users Association, or CRWUA, conference.

Six of the seven state representatives who will shape the next chapter of Colorado River rules speak on a panel at the University of Colorado, Boulder on Jun. 6, 2024.

Politics & Government

Colorado River states hold an uncomfortable reunion this week in Vegas

Alex Hager

As the Colorado River Water Users Association gathers, the seven river states are like kids coming home to a family reunion. Policy watchers are frustrated with their level of disagreement.