In the Sardis Lake case, the tribes initially sought, among other things, an injunction against the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Oklahoma Water Conservation Storage Commission. Authorized by the Water Resources Board, it sought a comprehensive adjudication of tribal water rights in the Kiamichi River and other stream basins. The current fight started in 2011, when Oklahoma City — which receives water from southeast Oklahoma reservoirs in both tribes' territories — sought rights to more water from one of those reservoirs, Sardis Lake. Oklahoma and two Native American tribes have reached a settlement to end a water rights and tribal sovereignty dispute stemming back to the 19th century, according to negotiators for both sides. The tribes filed a lawsuit alleging that the Oklahoma Water Resources Board had no right to consider an offer to use water from traditional Native American homeland.

Source: ABC News August 11, 2016 04:52 UTC