‘A living spirit’: Native people push for changes to protect the Colorado River
When representatives of seven states signed the Colorado River Compact in 1922, the agreement included only a brief mention that nothing in the compact “shall be construed as affecting the obligations of the United States of America to Indian tribes.” It wasn’t until 1924 that Congress extended U.S. citizenship to Native Americans by passing the Indian Citizenship Act. … In the 1963 Supreme Court case Arizona vs. California, which settled a dispute over Colorado River water, the federal government intervened to assert that the Fort Mojave Tribe and four other reservations along the river held federally reserved water rights.
Related article:
- The New Yorker: How Native Americans Will Shape the Future of Water in the West