Laserfiche WebLink
<br />fishing as specified in the tribe's treaty with the United States), sufficient to <br />maintain agriculture on their land. It also confirmed that the allottees' water <br />rights could be acquired by subsequent non-Indian purchasers of their land and <br />expanded by the new owners to include land placed under cultivation by <br />exercis ing reasonable diligence. Interesting, however, the Circuit Court held <br />that the United States, who had purchased a large portion of the reservation for <br />a national forest and wildlife refuge, could not convert' the tribe's hunting and <br />fishing water rights for its own purposes. The lower court had declared it was <br />unnecessary to rule on the quest ion, since the tribe's and the government's <br />purposes for the water were identical. <br /> <br />5. Administration of Water RiRhts on Indian Reservations <br /> <br />The question of who administers water rights within an Indian reservation <br /> <br /> <br />has also become an issue since Winters. In contention is whether the states <br /> <br /> <br />administer the rights, whether the tribe does, or if the federal government has <br /> <br /> <br />a role in the matter by virtue of its trustee relationship with Indian tribes. <br /> <br /> <br />The issue is further complicated depending on whether the rights are being <br /> <br /> <br />exercised by Indians or non-Indians, and by the nature of the water source; i.e., <br /> <br /> <br />an interstate stream flowing through or along a reservation, a stream arising on <br /> <br /> <br />a reservation, etc. <br /> <br />Several court cases have dealt with one or more aspects of water rights <br /> <br /> <br />administration on Indian reservations. In Walton (Supra, p. 14), which involved a <br /> <br /> <br />relatively small, closed basin within the Colville Indian Reservation in <br /> <br /> <br />Washington, the tribes sued to enjoin Walton from irrigating land acquired from <br /> <br /> <br />Indian allottees. Since Walton had been granted a water permit by the state, <br /> <br />-18- <br />