Max Baucus: “I rise today to introduce the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act, along with my good friend, Senator Tester. We…”

“I rise today to introduce the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act, along with my good friend, Senator Tester. We introduce this bill as a critical step in 2 decades of negotiations between the Blackfeet Nation, the State of Montana, and the U.S. The bill ratifies the water rights compact with the Blackfeet Nation. It confirms that the United States is a nation that honors its commitments to all its citizens, including those who belong to Tribal Nations. Over 150 years ago, the United States and the Blackfeet people signed a treaty that created the Blackfeet Reservation on a tract of land the size of Delaware abutting what became Glacier National Park and the Canadian Border. Over 100 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such treaties imply a commitment to reserve sufficient water to satisfy both present and future needs of a Tribe. Honoring this particular commitment has been delayed for decades. With the introduction of this bill, we are on the brink of fulfilling that commitment. The Blackfeet people call the mountains of their homeland the ``backbone of the world.'' When you visit their land, you can feel a shiver in your own backbone at its beauty and spiritual significance. These mountains are also the wellspring of the reservation's water.”