Dam Negotiations: Water, Diné Sovereignty, and the Navajo Dam

Authors

• George Smith, Brigham Young University - Provo

Keywords

Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, Navajo water rights, federal water policy

Abstract

On July 30, 1958, contractors working for the Bureau of Reclamation broke ground on the Navajo Dam, located about 35 miles east of Farmington, New Mexico. Diné Tribal chairman Paul Jones had called the dam a “new hope for [his] people,” anticipating increased agricultural and industrial capacity from irrigation and flow management. Though officially approved in 1962, the contingent Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) that was to provide those many of those benefits remained to be completed in 2024. By contrast, the San Juan Chama Project (SJCP), the other project contingent upon the dam, diverted water from the San Juan to urban areas in the Rio Grande basin and was completed ahead of schedule in 1973. The NIIP and SJCP were approved as part of the same bill in 1962, but the contrast in their fulfillment demonstrates the relative differences in the way that policymakers prioritized the projects. Despite facing significant delays and challenges in achieving development of the NIIP, the Diné were successful in eventually securing a portion of their water rights through the NIIP, over 70% complete by 2024.

Recommended Citation

Smith, George (2025) "Dam Negotiations: Water, Diné Sovereignty, and the Navajo Dam," The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing: Vol. 54: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thetean/vol54/iss1/10