North Dakota Law Review Volume 84 Number 2 Article 5 1-1-2008 The Future of Quantifying Tribal Water Rights in North Dakota Erica Shively Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/ndlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Shively, Erica (2008) "The Future of Quantifying Tribal Water Rights in North Dakota," North Dakota Law Review: Vol. 84 : No. 2 , Article 5. Available at: https://commons.und.edu/ndlr/vol84/iss2/5 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Dakota Law Review by an authorized editor of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE FUTURE OF QUANTIFYING TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS IN NORTH DAKOTA “When we talk about water, we call it mni wiconi, and that means water is life.”1 I. INTRODUCTION While there is no doubt that water is a cornerstone of life,2 water to many North Dakotans has often been both a blessing and a curse.3 From floods, droughts, and the failure of municipal water systems, to arguments both for and against the diversion of water from some of the state’s major bodies, North Dakota is not a stranger to water conflict.4 The disputes have involved the Devils Lake outlet,5 proposals to divert water from the Missouri River to supply the Red River Valley,6 and addressing issues of water shortage in the western part of the state.7 The debates have occurred between neighbors,8 between North Dakota and 1.