Jan 06, 2005 - 23:32:46 CST
American Indian tribes and the state should consider going to court to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management of the Missouri River, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe says.Officials along the upper Missouri complain that the agency releases too much water to downstream states, and the practice has been blamed for recent water shortages in reservation communities.
"We need to work together, state and tribe, in a lawsuit if necessary, to make sure that all the citizens are never left high and dry without water," tribal Chairman Charles Murphy said Thursday in a speech to a joint session of the Legislature.
Residents of the Standing Rock reservation were surprised a few days before Thanksgiving 2003 when silt in depleted Lake Oahe clogged their water system's intake pipe.
Murphy said the tribe still is working on a permanent repair for the damaged intake. "We've asked Congress for $30 million to do it," he said.
Sen. Dennis Bercier, D-Belcourt, said water issues and river management are important to all North Dakotans.
"That doesn't just affect Indian tribes. It affects everyone who gets water out of the Missouri," he said.
Murphy gave what is called the "State of the Relationship" address on Thursday, a responsibility that is shared among the chairmen of North Dakota's five tribes. Two years ago, it was given by Tex Hall, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes.
The address comes on the Legislature's third day, following speeches by the governor and North Dakota's chief justice.
The speech was punctuated by the drumming and singing of a group from Cannon Ball, a town on the Standing Rock reservation. A group of Indian military veterans served as a color guard, and Murphy presented Senate and House leaders with Indian artwork.
In his speech, Murphy praised the role of tribal casinos in revitalizing the economies of North Dakota's Indian reservations and surrounding rural areas.
Kurt Luger, director of the Great Plains Indian Gaming Association, said North Dakota's tribal casinos have created about 2,000 new jobs in the past decade.
"We were probably, outside of technology, the fastest growing industry in North Dakota in the '90s," he said.
Tribes also are trying to broaden the reach of casinos by expanding their appeal as tourist destinations. "That's where you see the marinas and the golf courses," Luger said.
Gov. John Hoeven said the state should help tribal governments expand business opportunities.
"It's about creating more opportunity, both tribally owned businesses and individually owned businesses," Hoeven said.
Murphy also said the fight against illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine, is important to tribes. He praised the state's efforts to dismantle the makeshift chemical laboratories that produce meth.
"We don't need those here in North Dakota or on the reservation," Murphy said to applause from lawmakers.
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