But the Biden administration and several states argue that the treaty does not give the Navajo the right to more water in the drought-stricken West, which would likely have to come from the Colorado River.
The Biden administration in a brief argued that under Supreme Court precedent, the United States can only be brought into court by a tribe when it has “expressly accepted” a responsibility, such as passing a law or regulation.
“Here, the Navajo Nation has not identified any statute, treaty, or regulation that expressly establishes an affirmative trust duty to assess and address the Navajo Nation’s general water needs,” the administration’s brief said.
Arizona told the justices in a brief that the tribe’s suit is an end run around decades of agreements about water distribution from the Colorado River in a zero-sum game — more water for the Navajo means less for everyone else.
And Arizona and other states contend the dispute threatens to crack open 100 years of interstate negotiations, lawsuits, regulations and statutes over Colorado River water known as “The Law of the River,” where the federal government asserted water rights on behalf of some tribes, but not the Navajo.
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March 16, 2023 at 04:00PM
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Supreme Court to hear arguments on Navajo Nation water needs - Roll Call
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