"President Barack Obama, speaking last week at a White House signing ceremony for Indian water rights settlement legislation, said the bill would provide "permanent access to secure water supplies year-round" for seven Native American communities around the West.

One of those is the Navajo Nation. John Leeper, with the Navajos' Department of Water Resources, sounded almost giddy when I asked him to elaborate on what it means: "Real water to real people in real time."

That's because the legislation, a clever package engineered by a group of legislators that included Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has something that has been hard to nail down in recent Indian water rights settlements: real money.

Go to the water hauling station in downtown Gallup most any day and you can understand Leeper's enthusiasm. Pickup trucks line up to fill big tanks sitting in their beds, schlepping water back to homes that have no running water."

Get the Story:
John Fleck: Water Deal a Milestone for Navajos (The Albuquerque Journal 12/14)

Related Stories:
Senate passes water rights settlements for tribes in three states (11/22)