ALBUQUERQUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2019) The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation hopes a court battle convinces the US state of Utah to recognize the nation's federally reserved water rights, tribe Water Commissioner Christopher Tabee told Sputnik.
"For over 100 years, they have been using our water basically for nothing," Tabee said. "I want to see the state [of Utah] come to the tribe and recognize our Federal reserved water right."
Tabee said the tribe, which includes 30,000 members in northeastern Utah, hopes it can win a battle with the state in federal court because there are laws that support the nation's position. In fact, the water rights in question, he explained, are actually enshrined in a treaty that was reached with the government itself years ago.
"And the state of Utah and local counties have done everything besides respect those water rights," he said.
The state also hurts tribe revenue by imposing restrictions and not allowing them to market their water.
"In the treaty it says that we are allowed to use that water for culture, tradition, economics, [and] farming," he said. "Yet... we're kind of treated like we're third or secondary water users."
Moreover, Tabee went on to say, the tribe has now no control over the dams on their own reservation.
"The state has their hand on the spigot per se, right. They decide on how much water comes out where it goes and stuff like that," he said. "We have nothing to say or do about it, even though that is our water."
The government, Tabee said, should recognize the water rights and even help the tribes develop and benefit from them.
Instead of all the finger-pointing, he added, they should focus on solutions that benefit not only the tribe but the surrounding people as well.
Tabee spoke on the sidelines of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) 76th Annual Convention and Marketplace in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Established in 1944, the NCAI is the oldest and largest non-profit organization representing US native tribes and the interests of tribal governments and communities.
