Colorado River Indian Tribes v. National Indian Gaming Commission et al.

Federalism has played an important role in the explosion of legalized gambling in the United States in the last two decades. Indian gaming, in particular, has challenged state and national governments to come to terms with the place of American Indian tribes within the federalist system and organize a meaningful framework for the expansion of gaming on tribal lands. Now largely controlled by a federal statutory framework, Indian gaming has left states in a subordinate position in negotiating the establisment of major casino enterprises within their own borders. Confusion in states' rights during negotiations has further weakened their bargaining position, leading to extensive tribal casino development. The cooperation between states and tribes and states and casino corporations have facilitated casino proliferation throughout the United States, a trend that appears destined to contiue until the market is fully saturated.

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Challenge and response in the Colorado River Basin

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2014.003 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (S1) ◽

pp. 12-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jason Robison ◽

Katja Bratrschovsky ◽

Jaime Latcham ◽

Eliza Morris ◽

Vanessa Palmer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Water Regime ◽

Colorado River ◽

Water Rights ◽

Colorado River Basin ◽

Western United States ◽

Past Century ◽

The Past ◽

Salinity Control ◽

Indian Tribes

The Colorado River Basin supplies water to roughly 40 million people in the south-western United States. A complex interstate regime that has evolved across the past century governs allocation and management of these coveted flows, and formidable challenges face this regime in contemporary times – a historical era aptly dubbed the ‘era of limits’. This paper illuminates these challenges and offers modest input regarding potential responses to them. We initially survey the evolution of the interstate water regime and outline its essential features as well as those of the basin. We then turn to the contemporary challenges and potential responses, which generally concern an unprecedented imbalance between water supplies and demands, long-standing disagreements over the meaning of the Colorado River Compact, water rights held by American Indian tribes on reservations throughout the basin, and ongoing biodiversity protection and salinity control efforts. We conclude by reflecting on lessons from and for the Colorado River Basin vis-à-vis the interstate water regimes existent in the other four basins encompassed within the Harvard Water Federalism Project.

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