Analyzing tribal drought management: a case study of the Hualapai tribe

Native American reservations are as susceptible to drought as non-tribal regions, if not more so (National Drought Policy Commission 2000). Tribes are often faced with unique cultural, political, and technical issues that must be taken into account when planning for and dealing with drought conditions. Therefore, this research project focuses on better understanding tribal drought management issues. The Hualapai Tribe in north-western Arizona was selected for investigation. Not only is the tribe emerging from a multiyear drought, but it has also recently completed one of the first tribal drought mitigation and response plans in the south-western United States (i.e., the Hualapai Tribe Cooperative Drought Contingency Plan [Christensen 2003], hereafter referred to as the Hualapai Drought Plan).