A167 Water Rights for Indigenous Communities and Lands
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,
That the 81st General Convention reaffirm the work of previous General Convention regarding the protection of water in 2018-B025 that urges the Church to learn about the watersheds and aquifers in the regions in which our faith communities and institutions are located and to recognize the public trust that protects the waters and community uses in the watersheds and aquifers of the communities and regions that make up the Church; and be it further
Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognizes the 1868 treaty between the Federal Government and the Navajo nation; the Winters Doctrine established in 1908 that ruled that tribes were entitled to water to create permanent homeland on their reservations from the date they were established; and be it further
Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize the injustice to Tribal groups of the Natives and Indigenous People’s lands with regard to their need for clean potable water; and be further
Resolved, That the 81st General Convention directs the Office of Government Relationships to advocate for indigenous and native people’s rights involving just use and protection of water resources.
Explanation
Federal Indian water rights are defined and governed by a body of federal law that recognizes that Indian tribes have unique property and sovereignty rights in the water on their reservations. Because Native Americans have occupied the land since time immemorial, Tribes often hold the highest priority water rights. Tribal water rights, although created and vested as of the date of the reservation, are not determined unless litigation or congressional action has quantified the amount of the right.[1] [1] Williams, Susan (1997). Volume 107, Issue 1 (1997) Native Indian Water Rights: Overview of Indian Water Rights.
In practice, Native Water rights are regularly abrogated by both Federal and State agencies. For instance, in 2016 the State of North Dakota and several Federal agencies made the decision to route an oil pipeline across portions of the land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, crossing the water reservoir that serves as the source of potable water to that tribe, over the protests of the tribe.
In the past, mineral extraction operations for uranium, other metals and oil have contaminated water sources for the Navajo Nation. One such well, which served St. John the Baptizer Episcopal Church in Montezuma Creek, UT was contaminated by oil fracking operations near the aquifer from which the well drew its water. St. Christopher’s Episcopal Mission in Bluff, UT, draws water from an artesian well, and over the past several years there have been several attempts to license oil fracking wells that would penetrate the aquifer, despite the fact that the well serves as water source for many people from nearby communities on the Navajo Nation.
One egregious example of injustice to Indigenous people is in the composition of the Upper Colorado River Commission. The states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona are all represented on this commission whose purpose is to decide how water from the Colorado River watershed be apportioned. However, even though 9 tribes reside within the boundaries of the Upper Colorado watershed, none of those tribes have voting rights on the Commission.
Online Links:
The Supreme Court and Tribal Water Rights (americanbar.org) https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/native-american-issues/supreme-court-and-tribal-water-rights/#:~:text=Navajo%20Nation%2C%20a%20case%20that,secure%20much%2Dneeded%20water%20resources
The Navajo Nation's water rights are at the center of a Supreme Court case : NPR https://www.npr.org/2023/03/20/1164852475/supreme-court-navajo-nation-water-rights
Indian Water Rights Settlements | Indian Affairs: https://www.bia.gov/service/indian-water-rights-settlements
Drops of Hope Along the Colorado River: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2-summer/feature/drops-hope-colorado-river-navajo-nation
St. Christopher’s Mission, Bluff, Utah Aquifer Battle: https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2024/01/02/with-clean-water-southern-utah/
2018-B025 https://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/acts/acts_search.pl
Winters vs. United States 1907 (Winter's Doctrine) U.S. Reports: Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564 (1908). (loc.gov)
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