{"id":34320,"date":"2023-04-28T14:52:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T20:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lorelei-cloud-is-first-ever-tribal-member-on-colorados-top-water-board\/"},"modified":"2023-04-28T20:52:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T20:52:32","slug":"lorelei-cloud-is-first-ever-tribal-member-on-colorados-top-water-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lorelei-cloud-is-first-ever-tribal-member-on-colorados-top-water-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Lorelei Cloud is first-ever tribal member on Colorado\u2019s top water board"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Lorelei
Lorelei Cloud, vice chair of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, stands for a portrait April 17 on the banks of the Los Pinos River, also known as Pine River, in the heart of the Southern Ute Reservation where water plays a critical role to the tribe. Strong winter snowpack results in higher-than-average water levels in the Pine River from Vallecito Reservoir to the north. (Jeremy Wade Shockley, The Southern Ute Drum)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

SOUTHERN UTE RESERVATION \u2013 With Western water challenges in mind, Lorelei Cloud has a message for policymakers: There should be room for partnerships \u2013 not fear \u2013 when Native American tribes join the negotiating table.<\/p>\n

In March, Cloud became one of the newest members of the state\u2019s top water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, when Gov. Jared Polis appointed her to represent the San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan drainage basin in southwestern Colorado. She\u2019s also the first known tribal member to hold a seat on the board since its creation in 1937.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy role in that position is to represent everybody in the basin, regardless of how they think about me or feel about me, or think that my views may be different than theirs. I still need to represent them,\u201d said Cloud, a Southern Ute tribal member and vice chair of the Southern Ute Tribal Council.<\/p>\n

Her appointment comes at a time when tensions over water in the West are high. The Colorado River Basin, which spans seven states in the Southwest and portions of northern Mexico, is two decades into a severe, prolonged drought. That drought plus decades of overuse have depleted the basin\u2019s water storage and jeopardized the future water security for millions of people.<\/p>\n

As states and the federal government scramble to adapt, 30 tribes within the Colorado River Basin are working to be involved in policymaking after decades of exclusion, particularly as water officials renegotiate a set of interim management guidelines that will expire in 2026. The guidelines regulate the flow of water to users and decide water cutbacks in response to drought conditions. The tribes are also pushing to assert their own water rights \u2013 which equal roughly 25% of the water supply and are among the most senior rights in the basin.<\/p>\n

Part of the Colorado Water Conservation Board\u2019s purpose is to protect the state\u2019s apportionment in dealings with other Colorado River Basin stakeholders. The 15-member board also sets water policy within the state, funds water projects statewide and works on issues related to watershed protection, stream restoration, flood mitigation and drought planning.<\/p>\n

As one of nine basin representatives on the board, Cloud is responsible for elevating the top issues for water users across the San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan drainage basin, which reaches 10 counties and two Native American reservations and includes cities like Cortez, Durango and Telluride. She will hold the unpaid, voluntary position for three years.<\/p>\n

Cloud, whose leadership experience also spans the Indigenous Women\u2019s Leadership Network, the Water and Tribes Initiative and the Ten Tribes Partnership, recently spoke with The Colorado Sun at her office on the Southern Ute Reservation\u2019s tribal campus.<\/p>\n

The following has been edited for clarity and length<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun<\/strong>: How do you feel knowing that you\u2019re the first tribal member to serve on the Colorado Water Conservation Board?<\/p>\n

Lorelei Cloud<\/strong>: A little taken aback, knowing this little Ute girl\u2019s got this position. It\u2019s a little overwhelming, but I also have to remember I\u2019ve done that in several other positions as well and this is just another part of that. At the same time if I don\u2019t (do it), I mean, who else is going to have our voice?<\/p>\n

Becky Mitchell \u2013 she\u2019s on the water conservation board and now she\u2019s our state commissioner (for the Upper Colorado River Commission) \u2013 she\u2019s elevated the tribal voice on a higher level than we could possibly get to. \u2026 Other tribes don\u2019t have that type of relationship with their states, and we do. We\u2019re very proud that we have that relationship with our state. I think it\u2019s made my transition into this role easier.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: You\u2019ve held, and continue to hold, many leadership positions tied to water issues. What makes you feel connected to water and water issues?<\/p>\n

Cloud:<\/strong> So as a Ute woman and as a Ute member, I feel like I\u2019m very connected to water and to our environment. I grew up in a very traditional Ute home, practicing our Ute ways, and so water was always a part of it \u2013 also the other elements and knowing that we were the first caretakers of this land and we need to continue that duty. Taking on this role in water has been just another aspect of that.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: Can you give us an overview of some of the top water issues in your basin and for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: I\u2019m still learning in this role and figuring out what has happened before I got onto the board. But in the entire basin, not just in my area or for the tribe, the big issue right now is the interim guidelines for the Colorado River. That\u2019s, I think, a main concern for everyone and how that\u2019s going to affect us now that the Bureau of Reclamation has released their draft SEIS (supplemental environmental impact statement). \u2026<\/p>\n

Right now, because we had a really good winter, everybody\u2019s got water. I think right now some of those fears are lessened, but we don\u2019t know what that next year\u2019s going to bring. That\u2019s always on everybody\u2019s forefront, not just in a tribal perspective or my regional area, but it\u2019s everybody.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: Do you think the CWCB should have a permanent seat for a tribal representative?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: Yes. For many years, tribes have been asking for a seat at the policymaking table, and this is just a small part of what that could be. If there was a tribal component specifically for Southern Ute and Ute Mountain, I don\u2019t think it would impact the whole state, but it gives a different perspective as to how tribes view water and that they do have a voice at that level of making policy within the state. \u2026<\/p>\n

Everybody\u2019s really receptive to having a tribal voice, and it\u2019s a lot of learning on their side as well. When you add on a tribal appointment specifically, I think that just adds a greater level of understanding that the state wants to hear from everybody. Because ultimately, tribal members are still citizens of the state. And so why not include them?<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: Part of your role is to represent stakeholders who have conflicting water interests. For example, if tribes fully utilize their senior water rights, it will have a major impact for users with more junior rights, as you have stated in the past. How do you plan to resolve issues when people\u2019s needs conflict?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: You have to give everybody the opportunity to be heard \u2013 a lot of times, that\u2019s all they want is to be heard. Their points could be completely valid, and I don\u2019t know that until I listen to them. Just like in my role as a tribal leader, everybody\u2019s voice counts. They may be different from mine, but I still need to listen to them. \u2026 When you\u2019re in these types of leadership roles, you learn that sometimes those that come at you the hardest \u2013 those are lessons that you need to learn from, and sometimes those are your opportunities to grow.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: So if Southern Ute water interests conflict with other stakeholder groups in the basin, how will you balance your CWCB responsibilities with your role on tribal council?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: If there\u2019s a situation where all of those meet or they intersect, I would take on my appointment from the state just because I know that there\u2019s other tribal council members that \u2026 can speak on the tribe\u2019s behalf. But I would definitely remove myself from the tribal component because I did take the challenge and the opportunity to be on the Colorado Water Conservation Board. \u2026 I don\u2019t think that that\u2019s going to happen very often or at all, but that\u2019s my game plan, just to remove myself.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: In a 2022 opinion piece in The Colorado Sun, you emphasized collaboration and said that starts with recognizing the role of tribal nations in shaping the future of the Colorado River Basin. What are some of the past challenges in recognizing that role? What do you believe the next steps should be?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: It goes back all the way back to the 1922 (Colorado River) Compact. Tribes were left out of that compact; we weren\u2019t even considered citizens at that point. Knowing that next year is going to be 100 years since Native people have become citizens in the United States \u2013 that you\u2019re 100 years behind policymaking \u2013 that\u2019s a challenge that everybody has to overcome. \u2026<\/p>\n

The Gila River community, they\u2019ve shown that there\u2019s true collaboration, also with the Colorado River Indian Tribe. We should do that in the Upper Basin. There\u2019s opportunities for us to be partners. Fear should be out of the picture. We\u2019re all in this together, regardless. If we all run out of water, it\u2019s gonna affect every single one of us, not just a certain group. Climate change doesn\u2019t look at race, doesn\u2019t look at state lines, tribal reservations. It\u2019s going to affect everybody, so why can\u2019t we all work together? There\u2019s challenges in just working together that have to be overcome.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: And for specific next steps?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: This is part of it \u2013 tribal members taking on these leadership roles in these different committees. Again, I\u2019m thankful that the state of Colorado was open enough to have a tribal member be put in that type of role. Other states aren\u2019t willing to do that. Colorado has always been a trailblazer in pushing boundaries, and so that\u2019s just part of it. If all the tribes had those opportunities within the other basin states, I think you would have better collaboration.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: Anything I haven\u2019t asked about that you\u2019d like to highlight?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: I just think that it\u2019s important for people not to be fearful of Native people taking on these roles. Again, we\u2019re the original caretakers of this land, so why wouldn\u2019t we take on a management role like this? No one should fear me. I\u2019m their voice, and we all need to figure out how we can work together. It\u2019s not \u2018Draw the line in the sand, and this is the way it is.\u2019 We can\u2019t do that. We\u2019re way beyond that right now. We need to just work together and figure out how we\u2019re going to save our river, save our water. Because ultimately, we can have all the water rights in the world, but that\u2019s not going to do us any good unless we develop them and we can get the water up to where it really needs to be.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: Is that where the fear comes up, the water rights discussion?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: Both tribes have senior, federal water rights, which means we can\u2019t lose them. And so when the river has been over-allocated, everybody\u2019s using that tribal water for free. Their fear is that once we put our water to use, they\u2019re not going to have anything. Well, you can\u2019t take away the tribe\u2019s rights to develop their water and do what they need to for their people. How are you going to figure that out downstream? It\u2019s not their fault, either, but we\u2019re gonna have to figure it out. That\u2019s why the management decisions in these interim guidelines are so important.<\/p>\n

Sun<\/strong>: How do you keep the momentum going, for yourself and those you represent, to continue to work on these issues that have been going on for so long?<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong>: For me, honestly, you should never give up regardless of the situation. Having water, being in drought, having a good snow season \u2013 you always have to fight because so many people are counting on us, any leader in the basin, to make the best decisions for everybody. It\u2019s not just the people now, it\u2019s our future generations. They\u2019re counting on us to make those decisions for them right now. \u2026<\/p>\n

My dream is that we fix this, so that we never have to come back and have the types of negotiations that we\u2019ve had now, where some are holding out or some don\u2019t want to collaborate. I hope that everybody can come together, (that) we can find a solution that\u2019s going to impact everybody in the positive. Everybody\u2019s a winner, no one\u2019s a loser. Our future descendants, they\u2019re gonna look back at us, and I hope that we\u2019ve done them justice in creating something that they can be proud of.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cloud, a Southern Ute tribal member, breaks down her ideas on water issues, basin tensions and possible collaborations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1462,28,629,294],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-34320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-river","tag-headlines","tag-southern-ute-indian-tribe","tag-water-supply"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34320"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=34320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}