US Supreme Court agrees to hear Navajo Nation water battle
By Matt Bernardini


The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case involving a water dispute between the Navajo Nation and the federal government. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a water dispute between the U.S. government and the Navajo Nation.

The case arises from the Navajo Nation's efforts to draw water from the Colorado River. In February, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Navajo Nation, saying it could sue the government for an alleged failure to carry out its duties on behalf of the tribe.

The tribe has argued that under a treaty it signed with the United States, the government has a duty to provide water for the tribe.

Legal precedent is clear that "when the United States creates an Indian reservation, it also promises and reserves for the tribe the amount of then-unappropriated water necessary to fulfill the reservation's purposes," the tribe's lawyers said in court papers, according to NBC News.

Many tribal members rely on wells and other local sources for their water.

The Biden administration has argued that it never entered any treaties with the Navajo Nation covering the Colorado River.

"Nothing in the supposed sources the court of appeals cited imposes any specific and affirmative duties on the federal government on behalf of the Navajo Nation with respect to the water of the Colorado River," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said.

However, the 9th Circuit disagreed, ruling that the federal government owes "an affirmative trust duty ... to ensure that the Nation has an adequate water supply," including from the Colorado River.

The high court will also hear an appeal from the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado.