In a 5-4 decision last week, the country's highest court denied the Navajo Nation's request that the federal government act to aid the tribe in receiving accessible water rights on June 22, 2023.

The Navajo are the largest Native American reservation in the country, covering 27,000 square-miles of the Southwest yet, according to The Conversation, 30% of households on the reservation lack running water. In 2003, the Navajo Nation sued the state of Arizona after decades of negotiations with the state, to no avail. Currently, the federal government negotiates with states on the tribe's behalf.

 
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, that the tribe's treaties do not impose "a duty on the United States to take affirmative steps to secure water for the Tribe."

However, the 1868 treaty, signed by 29 Diné representatives and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, which allowed the Diné people to return to a part of their land after five years in exile in Bosque Redondo in New Mexico, was a key part of the court proceedings. While water rights are not explicitly mentioned, there is the promise of a "permanent home" and tools and land to establish agriculture.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was joined by the liberal justices in dissenting, agreed that the treaties provide "enforceable water rights" that have yet to be explained despite the Navajo Nation's best efforts.

In the dissenting argument, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, "The Navajo have tried it all. They have written federal officials. They have moved this Court to clarify the United States' responsibilities when representing them. They have sought to intervene directly in water-related litigation," Gorsuch wrote. "At each turn, they have received the same answer: 'Try again.'"

Moving forward The Navajo Nation faces the same passe paths to access water. Negotiate with Arizona or take it to state court. Meanwhile, the Arizona Department of Water Resources released a statement saying they are grateful for the ruling because will not disrupt the Colorado River's use and management.

Recently, California, Arizona, and Nevada reached an agreement that allows each state to voluntarily conserve a large portion of their allotted river water in exchange for over $1 billion in federal funding.