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<br />, , <br /> <br />0532 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />(, <br /> <br />INDIAN WATER RIGHTS: PAST AND PRESENT <br /> <br />For more than a century the attention of western states has been <br /> <br />- <br />focused on their need for water and on the competition for this often <br /> <br />scarce and diminishingly available natural resource. Mention of competition <br /> <br />for water immediately evokes questions about right of access and right of <br /> <br />use, not only with respect to individuals but also in regard to communities <br /> <br />and even to states and regions. In the arid West, controversy over rights <br /> <br />to water is usually more intense and often more prolonged than disputes <br /> <br />involving rights to land. Particularly has this been true for a number of <br /> <br />years when the issues have encompassed Indian water rights. <br /> <br />Almost any discussion of Indians and their water rights brings into <br /> <br />immediate focus the Winter~ Doctrine of reserved rights. In the realm of <br />water law in the West, Winters Doctrine has been the well-anchored rock <br /> <br />that has stood fast amidst an angry cascade of surging claims and counter- <br /> <br />claims. Its very name still challenges the creative minds of those who <br />would capitalize on originality in law reviews; ~.s... "Indian Reserve Water <br />Rights: The Winters of Our Discontent" in Volume 88 of Yale Law Review, <br />and "The Reserved Right to Water Quality: A Winters Tale," a paper <br />prepared for a 1974 seminar at the University of Washington. <br /> <br />Indisputably, Winters v. United States (207 U.S. 564 (1908)) is the <br /> <br />most frequently cited case in litigation that involves Indian water rights. <br /> <br />A clearly detailed summary of the background can be found in the 1906 <br />decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, which predated the <br />United States Supreme Court decision by twenty-three months. The <br /> <br />appellate court record (143 Fed. 740 (1906)) places particular emphasis on <br /> <br />the agreement made between the United States and the Indians, dated <br /> <br />~". . <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />~~~':.:~::'-" . :,-'", .-:. <br /> <br />~~~~~~.~~~~~..~;;~:~~; <br /> <br />,". ," ~ ....:..;-<... <br />:.'J":.=-" :"~.:~_l-:~-~~"~:::'" <br /> <br />.;,.'_..;.::--,:;..:. <br />;,- <br /> <br />~r:; . <br /> <br />,.,~ "-' <br /> <br />-. :.~... <br /> <br />. ~."",,,'--' <br />