WSPC02585

• File Number: 8064
• Description: Indian Water Rights
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 3/17/1997
• Author: Todd M Olinger
• Title: Summary of Indian Water 1997
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Indian Water-1997: Trends and Directions in Federal Water Poljey

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At the very last moment, the United States Marshall came, and each and
every one of those government people left the reservation. Some of them
went to Hawaii, one or two to New York and some to different countries.
They had a big package to slap on somebody, and there was not a single
government person they could slap it on. They were all gone, and we were
there building that dam.

At the main entrance-there were two main entrances, and we blocked all
the others to Holly Lake-we had game wardens with rifles. The United
States Marshall stopped there, and they almost came to a fight. We had
arms, and they had arms, and we were going to defend ourselves. They had
no business interfering with what we were doing. They had no right at all to
try to stop my tribe from building that dam. .

They came very, very dose to blows. They thought there were only two
rangers standing there at that road-but we Apaches are noted for
camouflage, which was used wonderfully in World War II, by the way. And I
trained at Camp Two, Marine Corps. How amazing it was that Apache was
heard everywhere. This is how Geronimo did it.

Victoria did it this way, camouflaging ourselves. Up in the higher mountain,
we had high-powered rifles they couldn't see. If they shot those two rangers
or tried to break through them, they would have never made it, but they
didn't try. Airplanes would come by flying low, like they were attempting to
drop a bomb. Twenty-four hours a day we worked, and we built that dam.

At the very last moment again, we heard .that they were going to come in.
They notified every one of us what was going to happen. Not a single word
was spoken in English. Every word that was said was in Apache. We had
some non-Indians working for us, but we'd tell them what we were talking
about later on so that they would not even squeal what we were saying, what
we were talking about.

So when you walk on my land, Apache language first. If you speak some
other language, you're in tough luck. You got to read and write in Apache, if
you step on my land today. Just kidding.

But anyway, at night we packed up. It was done and we left. On our tent we
put in mud, "Nobody home", and we all exited, clear at the other entrance
that we had destroyed. We left there and went around the other way and
came back to White River. The next day we saw the Arizona Republic:
"Nobody Home" was on the front line.

Everybody was so interested in what we were doing over there like that.
How magnificent it was! They were so interested in the survival of the

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