WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.

Interior Department issues new Colorado River water distribution guidelines

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday, August 21, 2026 issued the 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines and Record of Decision for the Post-2026 Colorado River Operations Final EIS establish a 10-year Decision Framework with a broad range of operational flexibility to guide future management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

The Interior Department issued the following 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines: 

  • Provide objective criteria to determine releases from Lake Powell based on actual hydrology and maintain a minimum elevation of 3,510 feet to support continued operational reliability at Glen Canyon Dam. 
  • Provides for reductions in deliveries of Colorado River water among the Lower Basin States of 1.25 million acre-feet in each year of the next two years. If the Lower Basin States implement their proposed sharing agreement, the reduction per State would be: 
  • Arizona: 760,000 acre-feet 
  • California: 440,000 acre-feet 
  • Nevada: 50,000 acre-feet 
  • Provide for Lower Basin States to voluntarily conserve and store at least 700,000 acre-feet of water over the two-year period to protect the system, in addition to the 1.25 million acre-feet per year of reductions. 
  • Provide for the Upper Basin States to enter into an agreement, in consultation with Lower Basin States and Basin tribes, using the Secretary’s authorities to operate the Colorado River Storage Project Upper Initial Units (i.e. Aspinall (CO), Flaming Gorge (UT/WY) and Navajo (CO/NM) Reservoirs) to help protect Glen Canyon Dam infrastructure.   
  • Provide tools and flexibility in the Lower Basin to respond to drought conditions by allowing water users to store water.  
  • Provides for a Federally managed pool to help meet tribal firming obligations and provide limited offsetting to reduce tribal impacts.  
  • Provide elevation triggers for coordination and consultations to determine additional actions, if necessary, to minimize operational risks to infrastructure, and manage risks to the urban, agricultural, and natural systems that rely on the Colorado River. 

While the guidelines do not specifically address tribal needs, the new Colorado River rules recognize tribal obligations, but tribes that access water from the Colorado River still face uncertainty as reservoirs hit historic lows and states prepare for major water reductions.

Three Tribal Nations, Native Students Challenge Trump Administration

Three Tribal Nations and three Native students have amended a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s failure to consult with Tribal Nations before taking actions affecting the education of Native American students.

The Pueblo of Isleta, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, along with Native students Ella Bowen, Kaiya Brown and Danielle Ledesma, filed the amended complaint Thursday, Aug. 27, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The amended complaint, filed by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges two interagency agreements, one between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Education and the other between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. Taken together, the agreements restructure how the federal government delivers on its legal obligation to provide for Native students’ education. The administration also failed to consult with Tribal Nations before executing and implementing the interagency agreements.

“The federal government is attempting to radically restructure how it provides education for our children without consulting Tribal Nations despite federal law that gives us a clear say here,” Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph Rupnick said.