American Indian Water Rights and the Limits of Law : University Press of Kansas : 9780700606016 : 0700606017 : 30 Jun 1991 : Gold is no longer the most precious treasure of the American West. Water is. In the arid western half of the United States, the unquenchable thirsts of industry, agriculture, and growing urban areas have nearly drained the region dry. There is no longer enough water to satisfy the conflicting claims of the many groups fighting over it. Among the claimants are American Indian tribes. They hold water rights dating back to treaty obligations of the U.S. government?rights that often conflict with state water-rights allocation doctrines. Currently they are locked in legal combat with non-Indian adversaries in about fifty major water-rights disputes throughout the western United States. The amounts of water involved are huge, as are the potential economic benefits for the victors. In this thorough, timely study, Lloyd Burton traces the history of American India