After doing the reading for this module, I have come to the conclusion that the Tohono O’oodham have been compensated for their losses in some ways by the United States government, but there are still many actions that have been taken that are unfair and continue to be a struggle for the native nation.
The Tohono O’oodham nation is nestled in Arizona in the desert which experiences less than ten inches of rainfall each year. Their tribe is known for successfully farming despite the improper conditions due to their sophisticated form of floodplain irrigation. For this reason, water resources have always been extremely important to this tribe’s success.
The Gadsen Purchase drew a new border between the US and Mexico that cut the traditional Tohono O’oodham homelands in half. Despite this, the tribe was eventually able to live practically unharmed by the new border until many settlers started coming in and creating competition for the tribe. Apache attacks and raids were a huge threat to the tribe’s various small settlements and their tradition was being messed with and changed by outsiders. With all these negatives side effects of the Gadsden Purchase, the US government did make an honest effort and tried to make it right by reserving over three million acres for the tribe’s reservation. The Winters v. United States case had given a lot of groundwater rights to the tribe in the lands where they lived, and so that caused a lot of torment from Arizona cities like Tucson because they relied on that water and began using unfair tactics to take it. They would dig wells that were deeper than the tribe’s so they could get to the water first. Since then, The Central Arizona Project has been proposed to bring water in from Colorado. But that plan has never been executed, and the Tohono O’oodham nation is left with constant water crises putting stress on their relationship with nearby communities.
Overall, I think many of the laws put in place over water rights are ethical and fair. It seems unfair to me that the Native Americans don’t fall under the common water laws and require their own rules, but those rules are not necessarily too unfair themselves. In my opinion, it’s not so much the laws as it is the actual treatment the tribe is receiving since the Gadsden Purchase that is unfair.