Supreme Court news: Justices rule 5-4 against Navajo Nation in right to Colorado River water

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In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation, dismissing a suit that argued the federal government has an obligation under an 1868 treaty to create a plan to provide the tribe with a sufficient water supply.

The 5-4 ruling was authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, while the court's three liberal justices and Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch sided against the decision.The suit pitted the Navajo Nation against the U.S. government along with Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. It involves an array of complex agreements and court decisions that over the decades have informed how the waters of the Colorado River are allocated among the states.

"While the 1868 treaty 'set apart' a reservation for the 'use and occupation of the Navajo tribe,' 15 Stat. 668, it contains no language imposing a duty on the United States to take affirmative steps to secure water for the Tribe," Kavanaugh wrote. The majority's author also said the Constitution gives Congress and the executive branch a responsibility to"update federal law as they see fit in light of the competing contemporary needs for water."

 

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