{"id":448282,"date":"2026-03-12T22:21:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=448282"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:35:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T03:35:46","slug":"these-are-treaty-and-trust-responsibilities-lawmakers-struggle-with-tribal-water-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/03\/12\/these-are-treaty-and-trust-responsibilities-lawmakers-struggle-with-tribal-water-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"‘These are treaty and trust responsibilities’: Lawmakers struggle with tribal water rights"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tExamining Indian Water Rights & S.953, Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hosts an oversight hearing and legislative hearing on March 11, 2026.The oversight portion of the hearing focused on E…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Senate Committee on Indian Affairs: Oversight Hearing on \u201cExamining Federal Policies Governing Indian Water Rights Settlements,\u201d and Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S.953, Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
‘These are treaty and trust responsibilities’: Lawmakers struggle with tribal water rights<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, March 12, 2026<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump isn’t known for being shy on any issue but when it comes to a basic necessity in Indian Country, his administration isn’t quite as forthcoming.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nFor the first time in the 119th Congress, the Trump administration got a chance to explain its stance on Indian water rights settlements. At a hearing on Wednesday<\/a>, a political official from the Department of the Interior<\/a> (DOI) confirmed that a long-running policy at the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities remains in place despite a change in power in the nation’s capital.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“The department supports the long-standing policy that negotiated Indian water rights settlements are … certainly preferable to protracted and divisive litigation,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Scott Cameron told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Settlements can resolve long-standing claims, provide certainty to water users, promote tribal sovereignty and self-sufficiency and support to the development of water infrastructure that improves conditions on and off reservations,” Cameron added.\r\n

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The Donald Trump administration is sounding an alarm about Indian water rights settlements. Congressional testimony from Scott Cameron of the Department of the Interior raises concerns about federal funding being promised to tribes, states and local communities. #HonorTheTreaties<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) March 11, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>