Jon Tester: “water is the foundation for life. That is true in every community, but especially in American Indian Country. Water…”

“water is the foundation for life. That is true in every community, but especially in American Indian Country. Water plays a particularly important role in Native American life--past and present--in history, culture and religion. That is why I am proud to introduce the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2012. Not every issue relating to this important compact is resolved. I very much appreciate the perspective of those who say that changes are still needed. My goal in introducing this legislation is to get all interested parties to negotiate on the issues that must still be resolved. By introducing this bill today, the Ft. Belknap Indian community, surrounding counties and the State of Montana indicate to the United States that we are ready to negotiate in earnest. During that process, Montanans and I will work to gain support from the Department of the Interior, State of Montana, the Tribe, and local communities as we address individual concerns. The current federal policy to determine Indian water rights is to negotiate, rather than litigate. Montana has had a similar policy since it created the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission in 1979. Both governments recognize that litigating every water right on Montana's vast Indian reservations is cost prohibitive and time consuming. Negotiated settlements are cheaper for everybody. They are much faster than litigation.…”