8012 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

upheld its application to the Environmental Protection Agency, Nance v. Environmental Protection Agency, 645 F.2d 701,711 (9th Cir. 1981), (Enderson 1992:9-10). In a memorandum, dated April 29, 1994, President Clinton reiterated this trust responsibility by specifical- ly mandating "...all executive departments and agencies, including every component bureau and office... to ensure that the rights of sovereign tribal governments are fully respected.:' through operating within a gov- ernment-to-government relationship; consulting with tribal governments prior to taking actions that affect tribal governments; assessing the impact of federal plans, projects, programs, and activities on tribal trust resources and assuring that tribal governmental rights and concerns are considered during the development of such plans, projects, programs and activities; and remove any procedural impediments to working directly and effectively with tribal governments on activities that affect the trust property and/or govern- mental rights of the tribes. Subsequent to the Presidential Memorandum, all Interior federal agencies were ordered, through Secretarial Order 3175, to "ensure that the trust resources of federally recognized Indian tribes and their members that may be affected by activities of those bureaus and offices are identified, conserved and protected." Currently, the trust relationship is implemented through government to government relationships and procedures, consultation, and through administrative reforms at the agency level to specifically incorporate tribal resources and issues. According to the Bureau of Reclamation's policy, this trust relationship is interpret- ed in terms of trust assets which are defined as "... any- thing owned that has a monetary value. The asset need not be owned outright, but could be some other type of property interest, such as a lease or a right to use something. Assets can be real property, physical assets or intangible property rights" (Reclamation 1994). Examples of resources that can be Indian Trust Assets are lands, mineral, water rights, hunting and fishing rights, other natural resources, money, or claims. This narrowly focused interpretation falls dramatically short of the intended application of the trust relation- ship which, defined through treaties, Executive Orders, and court decisions, is a responsibility of the United States to protect and preserve the traditional cultures and lifeways of the Native American tribes as "denomi- nated domestic dependent nations"(Cohen 1982:220). By far, the foremost "trust asset" and resource issue, both economically and culturally, for Native American stakeholders within the Colorado River Basin is their ability to have their portion of the Colorado River waters quantified and allocated. Thus, the issue of water rights is central to the discussion of Native American economic and cultural interest in the Colorado River Basin. WATER RIGHTS Increased population growth in the west coupled with full appropriation of dependable surface water sup- plies, declining ground water levels, and increased envi- ronmental opposition to new water projects have collectively led to the competition for water supplies and interests in the Colorado River waters (Checchio and Colby 1993: 1) The historical failure of the federal government to uphold its trust responsibility to Native Americans is clearly demonstrated in its deep-seated institutional 25