Valley Journal
Valley Journal

This Week’s e-Edition

Current Events

Latest Headlines

What's New?

Send us your news items.

NOTE: All submissions are subject to our Submission Guidelines.

Announcement Forms

Use these forms to send us announcements.

Birth Announcement
Obituary

Water is for agricultural purposes

Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local. You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.



Subscribe now to stay in the know!

Already a subscriber? Login now

Editor,

After reading some of the propaganda espoused by the few water compact supporters, one can only wonder what compensation these people are receiving (or hope to receive) from the Confederated tribes.

Can it be promises of favorable treatment in their irrigation programs? Or receiving advantageous leasing contracts? Or maybe they are receiving outright salaries with a generous expense account?

A number of people have contacted me complaining and objecting to her telephone calls attempting to frighten them with threats of forthcoming litigation if they don’t approve this proposed hanky-panky take-over of their water rights.

As a retired attorney with a heap of experience in the area of reservation water rights, I must refute this supposition espoused by these few proponents.

First, according to the relevant decisions of the higher courts, including the United States Supreme Court (Winters v. United States), waters available to reservations are reserved for the purposes for which the reservation was created as indicated in the treaty.

The Treaty of Hellgate of 1855, Article V explicitly provides that this reservation was set aside for agricultural purpose. Specifically, the United Sates agreed to provide 1. An agricultural school; 2. Employment of two farmers, one blacksmith, one tanner, one plow maker and to further provide for breaking up and fencing lands for farms.

Subsequent Congressional acts have reserved and assigned Flathead waters to irrigators and stock growers on this, as described by Congress, “Former Reservation.”

These allocations of water for farming purposes must top and have priority over the Tribes’ goal of providing water to generate electric power for the Bonneville Power Co., located in Washington.

In closing, any cost of litigation should and must be borne by the State of Montana and the United States Department of the Interior.

Lloyd Ingraham
Ronan

 

Sponsored by: