AWWA JAW19759

Establishing a legal right to the use of water on Indian reservations in the United States has been a major focus of tribal efforts in past decades. This focus is currently expanding to include tribal assertions of control over the regulation and management of water resources in Indian Country. This article discusses ongoing tribal management efforts and how such efforts interface with state water administration in the West. Impediments to tribal water regulation such as control over non-Indian water use and the 1975 moratorium imposed by the US Secretary of the Interior on the approval of tribal water codes are addressed. Tribal water management strategies at the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeastern Oregon, the Navajo Nation in the northeastern corner of Arizona and contiguous portions of Utah and New Mexico, and the Colville Indian Reservation in eastern Washington are described. The need for dialogue and communication between tribal governments and state and federal governments is emphasized. Includes 12 references.