27 May 2009

American Indian Tribes Have Top Priority for Colorado River Water

Tribes have right to receive water ahead of every other state or Mexico

 

The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project in New Mexico provides water to the tribe’s crops.

The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project in New Mexico provides water to the tribe’s crops.

By Nancy L. Pontius
Special Correspondent

Littleton, Colorado — In the Colorado River Basin, 10 American Indian tribes have the highest priority for receiving water from the river, above all other agreements with any state or even Mexico. This means that “even under the most extreme conditions, the tribes will get [their full share of] water before any city, such as Phoenix or Los Angeles,” Gary Hansen, water resource director for the Colorado River Indian Tribes, told America.gov. “That’s the way the water [rights] hierarchy is set up.”

Located on reservations in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, the following tribes are part of the Colorado River Ten Tribes Partnership: the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Cocopah Indian Community, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Jicarilla Apache Tribe, Navajo Nation, Northern Ute Tribe, Quechan Indian Tribe of the Fort Yuma Reservation, Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe.

With a combined population of about 210,000, the 10 Indian tribes receive a total of 1 million acre-feet (1.233 billion cubic meters) from the Colorado River annually.

On their reservations, the tribes use this water mainly for irrigating crops of alfalfa, wheat and cotton.

Of the 10 tribes, the Colorado River Indian Tribes irrigates the most farmland and holds water rights for the largest amount of water.

 

This aerial view shows an American Indian tribe’s irrigated land.

This aerial view shows an American Indian tribe’s irrigated land.

Each tribe has an “obligation to not waste the water, and to put the water to beneficial use for the tribe when managing water on the tribe’s reservation,” Hansen said.

The tribes want to use this water in ways that provide “the maximum benefit for the tribal members,” he said. “We are investigating different options for using the water for the development of the reservation, which could include irrigating crops and supplying domestic and industrial uses on the reservation.”

Each tribe acts as a stand-alone sovereign nation, responsible for managing its own water resources and negotiating directly with the U.S. federal government. The United States has a government-to-government relationship with each tribe, Bob Walsh, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman for the lower Colorado region, told America.gov.

In the mid-1800s, the federal government established Indian reservations and provided enough water for the tribes to manage this land, Hansen said. All other groups that hold water rights, such as towns, have an agreement with their state to receive water. Indian water rights are “perfected” rights separate from the states in which the tribes live. Both the tribes and the states get their water directly from the federal government, which is the water master for the lower basin of the Colorado River.

In 1992, the 10 tribes formed the Colorado River Basin Tribes Partnership to strengthen tribal influence over the management of Colorado River resources, especially when negotiating with the seven basin states.

Looking to the future, the tribes intend to protect their water rights from non-Indian users, who “want to take as much water as possible from us,” Hansen said.

More information about the 10 tribes is available on the Colorado River Water Users Association Web site.