Infrastructure throughout most Native American reservations is poor. That affects delivery of critical resources to residents, the most dire of which is often water. In the nearby Navajo reservation, tens of thousands of people are without running water. One local nonprofit is dedicated to reducing that number. You’re watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Three Rivers Brewing and The Big Idea makerspace at San Juan College. I’m Connor Shreve. Cortez-based nonprofit Fundamental Needs is in its third year providing functional water systems to those on the reservation who aren’t on the grid. It started in 2020 when co-founder Justice Ramos started hearing from family connections on the reservation just how bad COVID was getting.
We were hauling firewood and food boxes and water and PPE and everything, but we always wanted to work towards some sort of long-term solution, so…
