How does a commentary about upstream dams on the Colorado River fit within a special issue devoted to dams and development on Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon? First, dam building on the Colorado River helps us envision a scenario of what the future might look like for Amazonian Indigenous peoples. For the past century, capital-intensive development on the Colorado River has taken the form of energy-producing dams, irrigation projects, and storage reservoirs on Indigenous lands in the American Southwest. Second, the ultimate paradox is that Colorado River dams and irrigated water on Indigenous lands have undoubtedly improved many lives, but at enormous cultural and environmental costs.