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Episode 6: Proper to Water
In 2020, in the course of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Zoel Zohnnie was feeling stressed. Rising up on the Navajo Nation, he stated, the significance of caring for household and neighborhood was instilled at an early age. So Zohnnie needed to discover a manner to assist members of his tribe. One want particularly stood out: water.
American Indian and Alaska Native households are 3.7 occasions as prone to lack full plumbing as households whose members don’t determine as Indigenous or Black, in accordance with a 2019 mapping report on plumbing poverty in america.
“Local weather change and extreme water use is exacerbating these struggles,” defined George McGraw, CEO of DigDeep. “A lot of the western United States has been in extreme drought for years. Many rivers and wells on or close to the Navajo land have dried up. As groundwater recedes, persons are compelled to hunt water from unsafe sources.”
To reply that want, Zohnnie started hauling water to individuals who have been with out, and he based Water Warriors United. On this episode, listeners come alongside for the experience as he ― and his truck ― make one herculean trek throughout snow-covered roads in New Mexico.
Episode 6 is an exploration of the foundation causes behind the Navajo Nation’s water accessibility challenges and a narrative in regards to the water rights that some communities have successfully misplaced.
Voices from the episode:
- Dr. Ernestine Chaco, emergency drugs doctor and lawyer — Twitter
- Brianna Johnson, neighborhood well being consultant with the Naschitti Chapter, Navajo Nation
- George McGraw, CEO of DigDeep — LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter
- Jeanette Wolfley, assistant professor of legislation on the College of New Mexico — LinkedIn
- Zoel Zohnnie, founding father of Collective Drugs and actor — TikTok
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