Strengthening Tribal Homelands in the Missouri River Basin

The Missouri River Basin is home to 28 Indian Nations. These reservations were set aside for the development of permanent tribal homelands. The quality of life on the 15 million acres of reservation land is directly related to the availability of a safe and adequate water supply. However, the water supplies have been detrimentally impacted by federal public works projects and non-point source water pollution. The Tribes have been hampered in addressing clean water issues due to a lack of: Funding, Technical Expertise and water resource technology and information.

Despite historical and legal rights to the water, the Tribes have not received a fair share of the benefits of the Missouri River water resources. Although twenty three percent (23%) of the acres taken for the construction of the dams and reservoirs under the government's Pick-Sloan plan were tribal lands, the Tribes have not been able to participate fully in the government's promise of irrigation development and participation in the generation of electricity. While the United States and it's agencies have a trust relationship with the Tribes to protect Indian water rights and to assist Tribes in the wise use of those resources, there is a continuing failure to do so. The Mni Sose (Lakota for Missouri River) Intertribal Water Rights Coalition, created in 1988 as a non-profit 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.