FT. BELKNAP – For over 100 years, the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre people have been fighting for tribal water rights, not just on their own reservation but for the entire nation.
In 1908, Winters v. United States Supreme Court case found that when tribes are allotted a piece of land, they should be issued water rights. The Ft. Belknap Tribe is known as the “Winters Tribe” being the first people to ensure that indigenous reservations have the fair right to water. A monumental decision that still led to false promises from the federal government.