‘The US dammed us up’: how drought is threatening Navajo ties to ancestral lands

As climate crisis chokes Arizona, tribal regions often lack natural resources and are most vulnerable to the impacts of drought

Candice Mendez grew up on the Navajo reservation in a home that lacked running water and electricity. There was no phone service and few paved roads. A supermarket was miles away. But to Mendez, now 39, it felt like a time of abundance.

We did not want for anything," she said.