At the end of Hilary Term, Professor Rhett Larson, came to visit Oxford where he obtained his MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management to give a topical lecture on Resource Sovereignty and Indigenous Rights in the American West.
Rhett Larson is the Richard Morrison Professor of Water Law at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. He is also a senior research fellow with the Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU's Morrison Institute for Public Policy. In addition to his research and teaching, Prof Larson works on dispute resolution and improved processes in water rights adjudications in Arizona and the Colorado River Basin, giving him first-hand knowledge of the issues he will discuss in this Oxford Water Network lecture.
Professor Larson pointed out that resource sovereignty for Native American tribes in the western United States was at an inflection point due to recent court decisions, legislation, and settlement agreements.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Arizona v. Navajo Nation on the Colorado River has implications for the trust relationship between tribes and the federal government. Currently ongoing trials quantifying the water rights of the Hopi people and Navajo Nation, the recent Hualapai settlement agreement and water marketing legislation for the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and other ongoing settlement and legislation negotiations on water rights for tribes will determine the role of tribes in addressing shortage in the Colorado River Basin. All of these current issues occur with Deb Haaland as the first Native American to serve as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for the Biden/Harris administration, an unprecedented amount of federal dollars allocated to drought relief and tribal settlements, and under the shadow of uncertainty with a looming presidential election.
You can watch the recording to learn why this moment creates unique opportunties and challenges for tribes and their neighbours in sharing and managing natural resources while protecting and promoting tribal sovereignty.
