Indigenous nations have been an afterthought in U.S. water policy for over a century. That was all part of the plan.
Social justice
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Tribes along the Colorado River navigate a stacked settlement process to claim their water rights
The gauntlet leaves those nations in an unjust state of limbo.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Tribes negotiate for a fairer future along the Colorado River
The Colorado River Interim Guidelines will expire in 2025, and Indigenous officials like Daryl Vigil are pushing to replace them with a more inclusive framework.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
How a Tacoma gas facility started a fight over climate change, sovereignty and human rights
A Washington methane gas project is compounding a crisis of tribal consultation, pension funds and national immigration practices.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Portland community leaders bring the heat to building standards
An activist collective says making buildings carbon-free is just the start.
Posted inArticles
Wildfires’ unequal impacts on pregnant people
An interview with one researcher studying the effect of wildfire on pregnancy outcomes in the West.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
A just transition for farmworkers
As agricultural laborers continue to bear the brunt of climate change, activists in Washington chart a new path for climate justice.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Tribal nations are locked inside the U.S. water regime
Phoebe Suina on the Rio Grande River, Pueblo inclusion and the need for holistic solutions to our man-made disaster.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
A shellfish company gets into the weeds
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community shows how eelgrass and aquaculture can coexist in Puget Sound.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Indian Country deserves better than Facebook
Social media has helped undo centuries of colonial disconnection, but Native communities need a much better platform.
Posted inArticles
Bringing the fight against dams to COP26
Indigenous activists and allies from Oregon to Chile are highlighting how dams harm the climate and Indigenous peoples worldwide.
Posted inArticles
Can younger generations spur corporations to divest from fossil fuels?
Youth activists in Seattle call out banks and insurance companies for fueling the climate crisis.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
The ways Afro-Indigenous people are asked to navigate their communities
Two leading scholars discuss the complex relationship between Black and Native people.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Hmong Americans in Northern California fight wildfire — and distrust
Wary of local authorities, a community forms an ad-hoc firefighting force to defend its property.
Posted inArticles
Home after fire: A new housing model aims to give kids stability
Wildfires often hit low-income, minority families the hardest. Talent, Oregon, offers a home-grown solution to the displacement that follows.
Posted inArticles
How community control of housing and land can help solve the housing crisis
Communities are turning to land trusts and real estate cooperatives as possible solutions.
Posted inArticles
Why investing in libraries is a climate justice issue
For vulnerable communities, libraries are increasingly becoming a refuge in times of disaster.
Posted inArticles
Uncurbed climate change and extreme heat will extract a toll on outdoor labor
A new report forecasts the loss in workdays and wages if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reined in.
Posted inArticles
A Q&A with New Mexico’s deputy director of The Wilderness Society
Kay Bounkeua discusses growing up Lao-Chinese in the state, her connection to landscape and what’s next for the conservation movement.
Posted inArticles
The fight over a 5,000-year-old burial site in California
How a state law to expedite affordable housing erased a tribe’s right to consultation.