| From Classbrain.com Supreme Court Decisions
Winters v. People of the State of New York involved an 1888 agreement that ratified by an act of Congress, which ceded to the United States a large tract of land to be opened up for settlement, while reserving to the tribes other land, bordered by a flowing stream, which became the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana. Non-Indian settlers diverted the stream, and the United States brought suit on behalf of the Indians. The settlers argued that lands would not have been cede for settlement without also ceding the water which would permit them to become fruitful. The United States argued that lands would not have been reserved for the tribes unless water had also been reserved to make the reservation productive. The Court chose to interpret the agreement from the standpoint of the Indians and to resolved the conflict in their favor. The resulting, decision has become the foundation of all Indian water law. Source: Department of the Interior Read the US Supreme Court ruling on Winters v. People of the State of New York Additional Learning LinksLesson Plans:Tribal Water Rights and the Law Lesson Plan Students will write a persuasive essay regarding Native Americans and reserved water rights. Source: Focus West U.S. Supreme Court OpinionsFindLaw's searchable database of the Supreme Court decisions since 1893 (U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: US Reports 150-, 1893-). Browsable by year and US Reports volume number and searchable by citation, case title and full text.Browsing Citation Search© Copyright 2004 by Classbrain.com |
