navajo nation

Last week, Our Living Lands highlighted the challenge of living without electricity. Now, hear from Navajo families who are getting power for the first time through a life-changing mutual aid program.

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

The U.S. Forest Service is spending another $20 million to remove flammable underbrush and logs from forests to reduce wildfire risk. Some of the funding will be used to turn that chopped timber into firewood for Indigenous families in parts of the Mountain West to heat their homes.

Nationwide, nearly 17,000 homes on tribal lands didn’t have electricity in 2022, according to federal data. The Biden administration is making new investments to address the issue.

The federal government is spending another $327 million to help fulfill water rights settlements with Native American tribes, including several in the Mountain West.

Read or listen to the morning news headlines for Thursday, March 31, 2022.

Read or listen to the morning news headlines for Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

As tourism booms and crowds grow, the Navajo Nation considers reopening its parks and some states charge non-residents more for entry.

NASA is using the Navajo language to name features on the surface of Mars. Aaron Yazzie, a Navajo NASA engineer, said he hopes this helps students take pride in their language.