WASHINGTON – Supreme Court justices on Monday approached government lawyers on the allegation that a treaty placing the Navajo on reservations suggests the government intends to provide water to the tribes but is not obligated to do so.

“If it turns out to be the Sahara desert, can we file a respectable breach of contract against the person who promised us the right to permanent housing and farming and keeping animals? Judge Neil Gorsuch asked Assistant Attorney General Frederick Liu, who was defending the case.

it came in a while 2 hours hearing The Navajo Nation argues over the Navajo Nation’s claim that the government has violated its agreement with the tribes and needs to develop a plan to meet the tribes’ water needs. Critics say the tribe is seeking more than just a plan, seeking to gain access to the waters of the Colorado River to which it currently has no rights.

“Just having a plan won’t do you any good, will it?” Judge Samuel Alito asked Tribal Attorney Shay Dvoretsky. “You may have used words in describing relief that does not require water quotas from the Colorado River. But in the end, that’s what you really want, right? will you do?”

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Despite its lengthy and sometimes esoteric content, argument, Navajo President Boo Nigren said he was “optimistic” the judges understood the tribe’s need for federal reinforcements to give them “the basic things they wanted at the time.” rice field.

“It’s not like they’re giving up their rights, their research, their infrastructure somewhere outside the United States,” Nygren said. “Actually, this is in the heart of America, in the American Southwest, and they should be happy to develop that area.”

The hearing was about a 20-year-old Navajo lawsuit challenging a 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling on water rights on the Colorado River. But Monday’s debate largely focused on more than that. A treaty with a history of 150 years That gave birth to the Navajo Reservation.

All parties to the case agreed that the government had a certain responsibility to protect tribal water rights, but disagreed as to the extent of that responsibility and whether the government had fulfilled its duty. was divided.

Dvoretsky pointed out to the judge that while most Americans consume between 80 and 100 gallons of water each day, the Navajo use an average of 7 gallons of water per day, explaining the need. said to be real. Nigren said outside court that the amount of water people are currently using is “just to survive” and not “the quality of life we ​​want”.

Despite being bordered by the Colorado River to the west, the tribe has no claim to the Colorado River. Arizona vs California, A 1963 lawsuit allocated the waters of the Colorado River to the states and tribes of the Lower Colorado River.

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Liu argued that the lawsuit protected the Navajo’s rights to water bodies on their own reservation, including groundwater, the Little Colorado River, and the San Juan River, among others. The government, which represented the Navajo and other tribes in the 1963 lawsuit, has fulfilled its responsibility by protecting the tribe’s access to sources within the reserve, and the government’s only other duty is to protect them. It said it would not interfere with the rights of

“By exercising their own sovereignty, the Navajo are free to develop their own infrastructure projects, such as drilling for access to groundwater, the cheapest source of water on the reservation,” Liu said. said in his opening statement.

“But what the Navajo cannot do is impose obligations on the United States that the government has not explicitly accepted,” he said.

Several judges told Dvoretsky that the tribe was promoting a water management plan, and that the plan included tap water intake, treatment, and water supply to each household in a large settlement. We asked whether government funding for the infrastructure needed for And Liu argued that the ruling against the Navajo could lead the government to “similar lawsuits across reservations in the country.”

Dvoretsky said the plan may eventually require infrastructure, but that’s not the immediate goal.

“The government envisions a parade of horrors that will have to build pipelines across its territory for miles and miles,” Dvoretsky said. “We are not talking about such things.”

As for the government’s treaty obligations, Dvoretsky said he was clear. The Navajo agreed to move to a new “permanent settlement” on the reservation and start farming, and the government agreed to help them do so.

“Water is inherent in the permanent homeland, making it suitable both as a permanent homeland and for agricultural purposes,” Dvoretsky said. “Without water, the purpose of the agreement cannot be fulfilled.”

The allegation was taken up by several judges, who asked Liu why the government was not obliged to provide water under the treaty.

“If you have a contract and that contract gives rights to one party, it gives obligations to the other party by the nature of how rights work,” said Judge Elena Kagan. “So you’ve got a contract here to give rights to the Navajo people. As you say so yourself, it imposes obligations on the other party to the contract, the U.S. government.”

Other judges noted that the tribes did not have the authority to exercise their water rights because the government represented the government in most legal challenges and entrusted the tribes’ water and other resources.

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“They cannot claim their rights in your name because you trust it. , right?” Judge Sonia Sotomayor asked Mr. Liu.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh asked Dvoretsky why a court should be involved in the dispute, and Liu said it would be better for Congress to settle it. Dvoretsky said courts were the proper forum for disputes and it would be a mistake to refer the matter to parliament.
“We have waited half a century for the political sector to solve our country’s problems,” Dvoretsky said. “That didn’t happen.”

Even if the judges agreed, the case would not be over for the Navajo, and they would be allowed to take the case back to the federal district court that dismissed it. But Nigren said he hopes the Navajo can take a step forward in solving their water problems.

“What I campaigned for president last year was nothing more than the basic necessities of water, electricity, broadband and improved security for us to prosper and prosper on our own as a nation. said Nygren. “The basic thing is water. We need water to build roads. We need water for agriculture. We need water to bring water to our families and build communities.”