Water In Indian Country

Providing Clean Water for All

Join us in bringing clean water and hope to Tribal communities in the United States – give the gift of clean water to a Native American family in need today!

Water is critical to life – you can only survive about 3 days without it – yet many of us take for granted this precious resource. Clean water is something everyone should have access to, but that is not the case for 2 billion people (26% of the world’s population.)¹ Do you have to haul water into your home to brush your teeth, wash your hands, or wash your dishes? People on the Navajo Reservation do.  30% of them.² When you make your pot of coffee in the mornings, do you once think that the water you use might be contaminated? Navajo people do. When you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, do you have to walk outside, in the dark, to an outhouse? Navajo residents do.  42% of them.³

Donate Today!

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Country(Required)

Yes, please sign me up for the PWNA Newsletter.

CAPTCHA

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Water is critical to sustaining life, stability, and peace.

Water scarcity is not just a local issue but a global crisis. Rising temperatures and declining rainfall have decreased water sources by 98% in the 20th century. ⁶ But keep in mind, most of the groundwater in the Navajo Nation is contaminated due to abandoned uranium mines. ⁹
 According to EPA, unregulated drinking water sources are the greatest public health risk on the Navajo Nation. ⁸

But it’s not just about providing clean water; it’s about addressing systemic inequalities. In the United States, Native American reservations face unequal access to water, among other injustices. Just last year, the Supreme Court ruled that “Tribes have the right to as much water as they need to establish a permanent homeland” on the reservations. Yet, the government has no responsibility to aid them with access to clean water.

Water affects everyone, so everyone needs to take action. You can help address this difficult inequity for Native American Elders and families – please donate for clean water today.

Download the Water Fact Sheet to learn more about the ongoing struggle for clean water on the reservation. In the download, you’ll find:

Research data on water in Indian Country
How the lack of water affects Native lives
Why access to water is different for Tribes and on reservations
What the U.S. Government is doing (or not doing) to help
Ways you can make a difference and help make water accessible

Help us spread the word by sharing this fact sheet with family, friends, and local officials to make them #NativeAware® – aware of the need for food and clean water on geographically isolated reservations. We need your help to educate people about the ongoing disparities Native Americans are facing on a daily basis.

^{1 https://www.unwater.org/publications/who/unicef-joint-monitoring-program-update-report-2023
2 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-navajo-nation-running-water-cbsn-originals/ 
3 http://navajobusiness.com/pdf/Ads/2006_2010ACS/ACS_10_5YR_B25047_PlumbNoPlumbByChapters_051712.pdf 
4 http://blog.nativepartnership.org/world-water-day-conserving-a-precious-resource/ and http://blog.nativepartnership.org/will-you-make-a-difference-on-world-water-day/ 
5 https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/news-events/news-insights/native-waters-risk-learning-listen 
6 https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1926292/water-is-life-covid-19-exposes-chronic-crisis-in-navajo-nation 
7 https://www.nativeknot.com/blog/Partnership-with-Native-Americans/World-Water-Day-Water-Scarcity-for-Indigenous-Peoples.html 
8 http://uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/Closing%20the%20Water%20Access%20Gap%20in%20the%20United%20States_DIGITAL.pdf 
9 https://www.epa.gov/navajo-nation-uranium-cleanup/abandoned-mines-cleanup#:~:text=Many%20Navajo%20people%20worked%20the,with%20elevated%20levels%20of%20radiation. 
10 http://closethewatergap.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Dig-Deep_Closing-the-Water-Access-Gap-in-the-United-States_DIGITAL_compressed.pdf 
11 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kol9q9e5u26ctgv/AAAeSBN2Bf2trILgcZ1KmWgRa?dl=0&preview=WorldWaterDay2022_Factsheet_ENGLISH.pdf 
12 https://www.epa.gov/navajo-nation-uranium-cleanup/water-sampling-results-navajo-nation 
13 https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2021/04/30/how-pandemic-exposed/}