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878 determined by the commission: Provided: That any prefer- ential use of water to which the Indians are entitled under Article XIX shall be made under this paragraph." The applicable portion of Article XIX reads as follows: "Nothing in this Compact shall be construed as: (a) Affecting the obligations of the United States of America to Indian tribes." I The feasibility report of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, dated January, 1955, contains the following provision, on page 48 thereof: '~he Indian Water Rights from the San Juan River in New Mexico have not as yet been defined by a Court decree. A "Reserved" right of Indian tribes to divert and use water flowing in river channels through Indian Reservations has been recog- nized by the Supreme Court of the United States since 1908, 207 U. S. 564." The above quoted language must be considered in the light of the fact that, in the case of Arizona vs. California, now pending in the United States Supreme Court, the United States claims that rights to the use of water for irrigation and other purposes, in connection with the so-called Indian lands, vested upon the creation of Indian Reservations, take precedence over all other rights to the use of water of the Colorado River, and are superior to and free from the pro- visions of the Colorado River Compact. The strong possibility is thus presented that the United States will attempt to im- press all water to be utilized, in connection with the Navajo Project, with such a preferred status as to impose an unjus- tified burden upon the tributaries of the Colorado River, not directly affected by the Navajo Project, for the purpose of supplying deficiencies at Lee Ferry which would result from the application of "preferred status" formulae in the adminis- tration of the affected water rights. In order that this may not be the result of the I authorization of the Navajo Project, the Colorado River Water Conservation District requests that Colorado's comments, to be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior bearing upon the above reports, contain appropriate language ~ to the end that: