December 30, 1997

Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition

Protection and management of tribal water and land resources in the Missouri River watershed are among the most critical priorities facing the 28 basin Tribes as the 21st Century approaches. The Tribes, which control more than 15 million acres of land within the watershed, are geographically distributed from the headwaters to the mouth of the Missouri River system. The reservations were set aside for use by the Indian people for the development of their permanent tribal homelands.

The concept of a water resource consortium was envisioned for many years by the Northern Great Plains Tribes. In January of 1993, having recognized the benefits of uniting with other Tribes, the Missouri River Basin Tribes formally organized the Mni Sose (Lakota for Missouri River) Intertribal Water Rights Coalition. Currently 26 of the 28 Missouri River Basin Tribes are members of the Mni Sose Coalition.

Mni Sose is the first tribal membership organization devoted to working with and assisting Tribes in the protection of Indian water rights to the Missouri River and the development of viable economies that rely upon the use of the Tribes water rights to the Missouri River.

The Coalitions objectives are to strengthen tribal capabilities to manage, control, and protect tribal water resources pursuant to tribal goals and values as defined by tribal law. In addition, the Coalition assists in the enhancement of tribal capabilities to implement environmental programs pursuant to federal law.

Following are some of the areas in which the Coalition has pursued:

1. Low-Cost Hydropower

Currently tribal members with the lowest incomes in the Missouri River Basin pay some of the highest power rates. However, with assistance from the Mni Sose Coalition, Missouri River Basin Tribes will receive allocations of the hydropower resource pool that will be available from Western Area Power Administration, the agency which governs and markets federally-generated Missouri River hydropower, in the year 2001. As a result, Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) will, for the first time, contract directly with Indian Tribes for domestic and industrial power use on reservations which will ultimately result in lower electrical rates on the reservations. This may well be the most significant economic event to occur for the benefit of Indians in the Missouri River Basin in this century. The ongoing goal of the Coalition is to assist the Tribes to become "ready, willing, and able" to receive the hydropower allocations in the year 2001.

2. Recognition of Indian Water Rights in the Management of the Missouri River

Based on the Flood Control Act of 1944, commonly called the Pick-Sloan Plan, massive federal water facilities on the Missouri River and its tributaries were constructed on or adjacent to Indian reservations.

Tribal people still remember their communities; then prime bottom lands, riparian areas, forest and grave sites; being inundated by the construction of these facilities and the water siphoned away from the reservations. Twenty-three percent of the 1,499,759 acres taken for the construction of the dams and reservoirs under the Pick Sloan Plan were lands of the Tribes. While the tribal rights to water were conveniently ignored, benefits of these projects accrued to non-Indian communities.

When the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) was forced to re-evaluate its Master Water Control Manual for operating the mainstem dams on the Missouri River after the upper basin states took the Corps to court in 1992, Mni Sose took advantage of the opening by pressing for the inclusion of tribal concerns in the management plan. Chief among these tribal issues are recognition of tribal water rights, protection of graves and ceremonial sites, and fisheries protection.

The ACOE now recognizes that there are tribal interests involved and has, for the first time since the Missouri River dams were built, acknowledged that Tribes have a legitimate interest in the management of the river.

3. Cooperative Ventures with Federal Agencies

The Coalition is creating cooperative ventures between Federal agencies and Mni Sose Tribes. The Coalition is conducting outreach services and providing technical assistance to the Tribes through the following goals and principles: pollution prevention, environmental justice, and community-based environmental protection. The Coalition has set the framework for active participation by the local tribal officials and for enhancing the skills of community leaders for effective participation in community-based partnerships.

4. Identification of Tribal Environmental Problems

The Coalition is assisting the member Tribes in the identification of environmental problems on their respective reservations. The program is intended to facilitate an intertribal, interagency, coordinated effort to assess baseline conditions on tribal lands in the Missouri River Basin. The program includes performing field sampling and water monitoring, assessing the environmental infrastructure on the reservation, training tribal personnel, identifying problems, and developing remedial strategies.

The Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition serves as a vital resource to Missouri River Basin Tribes since its establishment in 1993. Indian water rights and water resources issues remain high priorities for tribal leaders and governments as federal, state, and non-tribal organizations continue in the development of scarce water resources in the Missouri River Basin. The Missouri River Basin Tribes utilize the Coalition to protect, promote, and preserve their respective Indian water rights and resources.