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<br />(, J 3d ' ' <br />, 1I '. <br /> <br />litigation regarding Indian water rights is currently underway. <br /> <br />6. South Dakota <br /> <br />The United States claims slightly over 5 million acres of Indian lands in <br /> <br />the State of South Dakota within the Missouri River Basin. They occur on six <br /> <br />reservations -- the Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Pine Ridge, <br /> <br />Rosebud, and Standing Rock; two disestablished reservations, Sisseton and <br /> <br />Yankton; and at the Flandreau Santee Field Office. <br /> <br />In an attempt to quantify all water rights on the Missouri River and its <br /> <br />tr ibutaries in western South Dakota, the State of South Dakota initiated a <br /> <br />general adjudication in state court in 1980 (South Dakota v. RipplinR Water <br /> <br />Ranch). The federal government sought to have the case removed to federal <br /> <br />courts, but their request was denied in 1982. The case could have ultimately <br /> <br />involved 50,000 or more water users, including Indian tribes and the federal <br /> <br />government. At the request of the state, the suit was dismissed without <br /> <br />prejudice in August 1983. The Office of the Attorney General, South Dakota, <br /> <br />remains open to negotiate water rights among the state, federal government and <br /> <br />Ind ian tr ibes. <br /> <br />?.:.. WyominR <br /> <br />Indian lands in Wyoming, totaling nearly 1.9 million acres, are contained in <br />the Wind River Indian Reservation. The reservation lies entirely within the <br /> <br />drainage basin of the Bighorn River, a tributary to the Missouri River system. <br /> <br />-31- <br />