Hopi Reservation

Tribes have negotiated a settlement to resolve the largest outstanding claim to the Colorado River, while providing billions of dollars for water infrastructure. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — the Upper Basin states — are resisting the deal because it allows the Navajo and Hopi to lease water outside their reservations.

The idea for this free trip began out of the high cost of recreation in the canyon. Amber Benally with the Grand Canyon Trust said she thinks the expense excludes many Indigenous people from visiting.She said she wants young Natives to know they have a place in this sacred area and in conservation.

After months of repeated written questions and public records requests from NPR and the Mountain West News Bureau, Interior Department officials said they now plan to contract with an outside agency to examine the troubles plaguing tribal detention centers.