WATCH: Kelly Introduces Tribal Leaders and Highlights Arizona Water Settlement at Senate Indian Affairs Hearing

Today, during a
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
hearing on his
Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement
(NAIWRSA), Arizona Senator Mark Kelly
delivered
remarks and introduced Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, Hopi Tribe Chairman Lamar Keevama, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe Vice President Johnny Lehi Jr.
Kelly underscored the
need to expand
reliable
water access in Arizona and how this legislation would secure Tribes’ water future:
“Access to clean, reliable water
shouldn’t
be a question in the United States, but it still is for far too many families in Northeastern Arizona. On the Navajo Nation alone,
roughly one
in three homes does not have running water. The Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute communities face similar challenges. This settlement is a major step forward, securing the Tribe’s water future while providing long needed certainty for Arizona and the entire Colorado River Basin. Without it, uncertainty over tribal water claims will persist, affecting not only the tribes but also the communities across the region that depend on clean, clear, and reliable water management.”
Kelly also thanked the Tribal leaders for their work to strengthen the agreement and urged his colleagues to support the legislation, noting that the updated settlement reflects years of negotiation and is backed by a broad coalition across northeastern Arizona.
Sen. Kelly introduces
tribal leaders
at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing.
Click
here
to download a video of Kelly’s remarks. See the transcript below:
Sen. Kelly:
Thank you,
Chair
Murkowski,
Vice
Chairman
Schatz. Thank you for holding today’s hearing on the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act.
It’s
my honor to introduce Navajo President Buu
Nygren, Hopi
Chairman
Lamar
Keevama,
and
San Juan’s
Southern Paiute
Vice
President
Johnny Lehi.
President Nygren was elected to serve as the 10th Navajo Nation president in November 2022. President Nygren has a doctorate from the University of Southern California.
He has been leading the Navajo Nation through the negotiation of the Northeastern Arizona Indian
Water
Rights
Settlement.
Chairman Keevama was elected to lead the Hopi Tribal Council in 2025. A former multi-term councilmember, he has worked extensively on water rights, energy
policy,
and
economic development. He previously served as the manager of the Hopi Cultural Center
and
as a director of the Hopi
Tribe
Economic Development Corporation, reflecting a long record of leadership
and
service to the Hopi people.
Vice
President Lehi currently serves as the
Vice
President of the San Juan Southern
Paiute
Tribe. He was first elected to the council in May of 2022
and
served as
President
prior to his current role.
Vice
President Lehi
is serving, as did his father, Johnny Lehi
Sr., who was on the
Tribal
Council when the
Tribe
was originally recognized in December of 1989,
and
who was the
Tribe’s president when he negotiated
and
signed the land
treaty
in 2000.
Access to clean, reliable water
shouldn’t
be a question in the United States, but it still is for far too many families in
Northeastern Arizona. On the Navajo Nation alone,
roughly
one
in
three
homes does not have running water. The Hopi
and
San Juan Southern Paiute communities face similar challenges. This settlement is a major step forward, securing the
Tribe’s water future while providing long needed certainty for Arizona
and
the entire Colorado River
Basin.
Without
it, uncertainty over tribal water claims will persist, affecting not only the tribes but also the communities across the region that depend on clean,
clear,
and reliable water management.
I also want to thank this committee for the hearing that you held on
a previous
version of this legislation
in 2024. That hearing helps surface important questions from members and stakeholders.
Since then, the
Tribes, the state of Arizona and other partners have continued working to strengthen the agreement. The result is the updated legislation before us today.
It’s
built on years of negotiation and supported by more than 30 parties across the region.
Finally, President Nygren,
Chairman Keevama,
and Vice President Lehi, I want to thank you for your commitment to your communities.
This is a large and complex agreement, and you and your teams deserve recognition for the decades of persistence, collaboration, and dedication it took to reach this point.
I urge my colleagues to support this important bill as it moves through the committee process. I will also be
submitting
dozens of letters of support from stakeholders across
Northeastern Arizona that underscore the critical importance of this legislation and the broad coalition that supports this settlement.
Again, Chair Murkowski and Vice
Chairman
Schatz, thank you for holding the hearing today on this important and historic legislation. Thank you.