In Winters v. United States (1908), the Supreme
Court held that the right to use waters flowing through
or adjacent to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation
was reserved to American Indians by the treaty
establishing the reservation. Although this treaty did
not mention water rights, the Court ruled that the
federal government, when it created the reservation,
intended to deal fairly with American Indians by
reserving for them the waters without which their
lands would have been useless. Later decisions, citing
Winters, established that courts can find federal rights
to reserve water for particular purposes if (1) the land
in question lies within an enclave under exclusive
federal jurisdiction, (2) the land has been formally
withdrawn from federal public lands—i.e., withdrawn
from the stock of federal lands available for private
use under federal land use laws—and set aside or
reserved, and (3) the circumstances reveal the
government intended to reserve water as well as land
when establishing the reservation.
Some American Indian tribes have also established
water rights through the courts based on their
traditional diversion and use of certain waters prior to
the United States' acquisition of sovereignty. For
example, the Rio Grande pueblos already existed when
the United States acquired sovereignty over New
Mexico in 1848. Although they at that time became
part of the United States, the pueblo lands never
formally constituted a part of federal public lands; in
any event, no treaty, statute, or executive order has
ever designated or withdrawn the pueblos from public
lands as American Indian reservations. This fact,
however, has not barred application of the Winters
doctrine. What constitutes an American Indian
reservation is a question of practice, not of legal
definition, and the pueblos have always been treated
as reservations by the United States. This pragmatic
approach is buttressed by Arizona v. California (1963),
wherein the Supreme Court indicated that the manner
in which any type of federal reservation is created
does not affect the application to it of the Winters
doctrine. Therefore, the reserved water rights of
Pueblo Indians have priority over other citizens' water
rights as of 1848, the year in which pueblos must be
considered to have become reservations
56. According to the passage, which of the following was
true of the treaty establishing the Fort Belknap Indian
Reservation?
(A) It was challenged in the Supreme Court a
number of times.
(B) It was rescinded by the federal government, an
action that gave rise to the Winters case.
(C) It cited American Indians' traditional use of the
land's resources.
(D) It failed to mention water rights to be enjoyed by
the reservation's inhabitants.
(E) It was modified by the Supreme Court in
Arizona v. California.
57. The passage suggests that, if the criteria discussed
were the only criteria for establishing a
reservation's water rights, which of the following would
be true?
(A) The water rights of the inhabitants of the Fort
Belknap Indian Reservation would not take
precedence over those of other citizens.
(B) Reservations established before 1848 would be
judged to have no water rights.
(C) There would be no legal basis for the water
rights of the Rio Grande pueblos.
(D) Reservations other than American Indian
reservations could not be created with reserved
water rights.
(E) Treaties establishing reservations would have to
mention water rights explicitly in order to
reserve water for a particular purpose.
58. Which of the following most accurately summarizes
the relationship between Arizona v. California in , and the criteria citing the Winters doctrine?
(A) Arizona v. California abolishes these criteria and
establishes a competing set of criteria for
applying the Winters doctrine.
(B) Arizona v. California establishes that the Winters
doctrine applies to a broader range of situations
than those defined by these criteria.
(C) Arizona v. California represents the sole example
of an exception to the criteria as they were set
forth in the Winters doctrine.
(D) Arizona v. California does not refer to the Winters
doctrine to justify water rights, whereas these
criteria do rely on the Winters doctrine.
(E) Arizona v. California applies the criteria derived
from the Winters doctrine only to federal lands
other than American Indian reservations.
59. The "pragmatic approach" mentioned in
the passage is best defined as one that
(A) grants recognition to reservations that were
never formally established but that have
traditionally been treated as such
(B) determines the water rights of all citizens in a
particular region by examining the actual history
of water usage in that region
(C) gives federal courts the right to reserve water
along with land even when it is clear that the
government originally intended to reserve only
the land
(D) bases the decision to recognize the legal rights
of a group on the practical effect such a
recognition is likely to have on other citizens
(E) dictates that courts ignore precedents set by
such cases as Winters v. United States in
deciding what water rights belong to reserved
land
60. The author cites the fact that the Rio Grande pueblos
were never formally withdrawn from public lands
primarily in order to do which of the following?
(A) Suggest why it might have been argued that the
Winters doctrine ought not to apply to pueblo
lands
(B) Imply that the United States never really
acquired sovereignty over pueblo lands
(C) Argue that the pueblo lands ought still to be
considered part of federal public lands
(D) Support the argument that the water rights of
citizens other than American Indians are limited
by the Winters doctrine
(E) Suggest that federal courts cannot claim
jurisdiction over cases disputing the traditional
diversion and use of water by Pueblo Indians
61. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) trace the development of laws establishing
American Indian reservations
(B) explain the legal basis for the water rights of
American Indian tribes
(C) question the legal criteria often used to
determine the water rights of American Indian
tribes
(D) discuss evidence establishing the earliest date
at which the federal government recognized the
water rights of American Indians
(E) point out a legal distinction between different
types of American Indian reservations
62. The passage suggests that the legal rights of citizens
other than American Indians to the use of water
flowing into the Rio Grande pueblos are
(A) guaranteed by the precedent set in Arizona v.
California
(B) abolished by the Winters doctrine
(C) deferred to the Pueblo Indians whenever treaties
explicitly require this
(D) guaranteed by federal land-use laws
(E) limited by the prior claims of the Pueblo Indians
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