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In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the Navajo Nation in a water rights case, finding that an 1868 treaty with the United States did not require the federal government to ensure the Tribe's access to water.
The opinions in the case even disagreed about what the Navajo Nation was asking of the Court. In the majority opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the 1868 peace treaty did not require the federal government to take "affirmative steps" to secure water for the Tribe.
In a scathing dissent, Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the three liberal justices to say the Navajo request was much smaller, and that the United States had violated the treaty while giving the Tribe the runaround for decades.
“To date, their efforts to find out what water rights the United States holds for them have produced an experience familiar to any American who has spent time at the Department of Motor Vehicles,” Gorsuch wrote. “The Navajo have waited patiently for someone, anyone, to help them, only to be told (repeatedly) that they have been standing in the wrong line and must try another.”
The New York Times reported that Gorsuch “looked forlorn” while Kavanaugh read from the bench, bowing his head and closing his eyes as Kavanaugh conlcuded his summary.
BLM Restoration Landscapes: Muddy Creek and North Park
In celebration of the Bureau of Land Management's announcement of $161 million to fund Restoration Landscapes, Look West is highlighting landscapes across the West each day. Today's landscapes are Wyoming's Muddy Creek and Colorado's North Park. Nearly facing each other across the state line, both landscapes are core sagebrush habitat. Muddy Creek supports a rare community of native fish, while North Park is one of the largest wetland complexes in Colorado. Across the two landscapes, BLM will spend $15 million to restore more than 600,000 acres.
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Through the sacrifices and prayers of our ancestors, we secured the right to have access to water based on our treaties. Our leaders negotiated the terms of our treaties in good faith with the federal government. Today’s ruling will not deter the Navajo Nation from securing the water that our ancestors sacrificed and fought for—our right to life and the livelihood of future generations.”
