Late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving a dispute between the Navajo Nation and the U.S. government. The Supreme Court will review a lower court ruling in favor of the Navajo Nation over claims to Colorado River water pursuant to treaties signed in the mid-19th century, as the River shrinks because of drought and overuse.

In a separate, climate-related announcement, the Department of the Interior announced it will give tribes money to aid in their relocation from places threatened by the impacts of climate change. The program — the first of its kind in U.S. history — will help three tribes in Alaska and two in Washington state with the costs of moving and rebuilding as their communities are threatened by permafrost melt, flooding and erosion. The move reflects the fact that centuries of colonialization and ethnic cleansing of Native Americans have forced Indigenous peoples into locations that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. (SCOTUS: AP, NBC, Politico Pro $, The Hill, LA Times $; Relocation aid: New York Times $)