'You have my word': Hobbs pledges action on key issues in Navajo Council speech

WINDOW ROCK — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs pledged Monday to work with Navajo Nation tribal leaders on key issues, including the rising number of missing Indigenous people, fraudulent rehab centers and water rights in a wide-ranging speech on the first day of the Nation Council's summer session.

“Since taking office in January, I’ve made it a priority to engage with Indigenous communities because for too long, you have been left without a seat at the table," said Hobbs to a packed audience at the Navajo Nation Council Chamber.

The Navajo Nation Council was established 100 years ago, years ago, and to commemorate the anniversary, Hobbs, a Democrat, appeared for the start of its annual summer session. The council meets four times a year at the council chamber and has been celebrating the centennial of the tribal government with cultural events.

Hobbs went straight into what her administration has done in her first six months to work with and address not only issues important for the Navajo Nation but other tribes:

• Tripled the staff size of the state's Office on Tribal Relations.

• Established a northern Arizona support team to serve constituents, tribes and local agencies.

• Established a task force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

“For years, the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People has gone unaddressed and ignored,” Hobbs said. “My team wasted no time in consulting with community leaders to establish a task force to ensure continued action in addressing this crisis.”

Hobbs cites efforts to stop fraudulent rehab centers

Hobbs also talked about the fraudulent sobriety centers that have preyed on vulnerable Indigenous communities, an issue The Arizona Republic first reported about in December. Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes promised in May to crack down on the fraudulent providers.

“After learning of the issue in the first weeks of my administration, we began immediately to address the crisis,” Hobbs said. “The culmination of that initial work was my announcement in May that payments were suspended to more than 100 sober living providers.”

She said this was the first step of many to hold bad actors accountable and work to support people on the ground who are in need of housing, medical care and proper rehabilitation services.

Hobbs said Carmen Heredia, director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona's Medicaid and CHIP agency, has worked to consult with tribes on this issue and is implementing several operational changes at the agency.

On another issue, Hobbs said Arizona received nearly $1 billion in funding to expand broadband internet access, and her administration will work with tribes to use the funding.

She also said the recently passed bipartisan budget included $10 million for the Window Rock Dine College campus, $13 million to build roads and bridges in Navajo Nation and $9 million to create and strengthen green jobs and businesses.

'Water is a human right': Supreme Court ruling in Navajo case disappoints, angers people

Indigenous communities are 'stewards of natural resources'

On the subject of water, Hobbs said Indigenous communities have borne the brunt of destructive federal policies and inaction. She said she has created a water policy council that tribes will be a part of to help develop policies and solutions for the state.

Bidtah Becker, director of the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources from 2015 to January 2019, was appointed to represent the Navajo Nation on this water policy council. Becker worked with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority as an associate attorney and served as an attorney for the Navajo Nation, focusing on water rights and natural resources. In January, she was appointed chief legal counsel for President Buu Nygren's cabinet.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Navajo Nation’s claims that the federal government was required to assess the water needs and secure supplies to meet those needs.

“I recognize that Indigenous people are the stewards of our natural resources and this of value I share,” Hobbs said. “This is why I have taken such an aggressive stance on water management, tackling issues like the Colorado River and the future of water supplies head-on. On these issues and more, I’ve been proud to work with the Navajo Nation and our Native communities in the opening months of my administration.”

Council Delegate Casey Allen Johnson, who represents the communities of Cameron, Coal Mine Canyon, Birdsprings, Leupp and Tolani Lake, was one of two delegates allowed to ask Hobbs a question and focused on Navajo Nation water rights, asking for the governor's support.

“Water is life,” Johnson said. “We need water on the Navajo Nation.”

He told Hobbs about a family of seven with livestock living in Coal Mine Canyon whose water use is capped at 500 gallons per week.

“They can only flush their toilet twice a day,” said Johnson. “They have to stretch their water. We really need help with water infrastructure. We need help with rights to our water. We would like your support on our water rights, and I know during your campaign that’s what you shared with us. I’m going to hold you to your word. We are all witnesses to that.”

After Johnson told Hobbs to have a safe trip back to the 120-degree weather, Hobbs responded and said her office is committed to re-engaging with the tribe on water rights and ongoing settlement discussions.

“You have my word we will be engaged,” Hobbs said.

More: To keep the Colorado River's heart beating, people step in to do what nature once did

Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs pledges action in Navajo Nation Council visit