However, the vast majority of the reservation is semi-arid to arid desert. The reservation also includes forested areas such as the Chuska Mountain, Lukachukai Mountain and Navajo Mountain. Iconic geological formations such as the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley and Canyon De Chelly are scattered across the area. The landscape varies dramatically driving across the reservation. The Navajo Nation is a Native American reservation that encompasses over 27,000 square miles and spans into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. In creating DSET, it was critical to acknowledge the cultural and spiritual values of the Navajo Nation alongside the hydrologic cycle, agriculture, ranching, rangeland management and domestic and livestock water usage.Ĭanyon de Chelly National Monument located on the Navajo Nation near Chinle, Arizona. The Navajo Nation lifestyle heavily consists of agriculture, owning livestock and hauling water. On the reservation there is a common phrase: “Water is Life.” Those three words encompass the fundamental mentality in sustaining the way of life for the Navajo Nation and its people. The project aims to provide the Navajo people with useful data to better manage their water resources through the Drought Severity Evaluation Tool ( DSET). This summer, I worked closely with Amber McCullum, a research scientist at NASA Ames ResearchCenter, on the Navajo Nation Drought Project as part of my internship with NASA’s Western Water Applications Office ( WWAO). I’m a member of the Navajo Nation on a mission to help my community protect its most vital resource: water. This memory in particular is from my childhood. This is a typical summer experience for many children of the Navajo Nation who were raised around livestock in the vast rural areas of the reservation. So, slightly wetting the face and hair will have to be sufficient enough to cool down in the summer heat before returning home. It’s well-known that the livestock well water trough is one of the limited water sources shared by the Navajo Nation community. While jumping into one of the troughs would be immensely refreshing, there’s an unspoken understanding about respecting water and livestock in the area. The idea of cooling down in a community swimming pool to escape the summer heat is unthinkable, with the closest water source being the livestock well water troughs. Imagine a hot summer day spent herding sheep in the semi-arid desert of southwest America.Nikki Tulley and her grandmother Marcella Tulley in Blue Gap, Arizona, a community on the Navajo Nation the Tulleys call home. Connecting The Drops: Managing the Navajo Nation’s Water Resources with Satellites and Indigenous Knowledgeīy Nikki Tulley, NASA's Western Water Applications Office Intern (with Maddie Ecker, NASA Earth Applied Sciences)