Friday Top of the Scroll: The Colorado River is this tribe’s ‘lifeblood,’ now they want to give it the same legal rights as a person
… [T]he Colorado River Indian Tribes, often referred to as CRIT … are planning to establish legal personhood status for the Colorado River, giving it some of the same rights and protections a human could hold in court. No government, tribal or otherwise, has given these kinds of rights to the Colorado River before. … A Supreme Court decree, Arizona v. California, recognized CRIT as having the most senior water rights on the lower Colorado River, and among the most senior in the entire basin. That means CRIT has some of the most legally untouchable water rights along the lower half of the Colorado River.
Other tribal water news:
- The Denver Gazette (Colo.): Native American tribes push for seat at Colorado water negotiations
- Los Angeles Times: Trump backs huge Arizona copper mine as Apache win late reprieve to halt it
