Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Indian Tribe’s Bid to Access Water From the Colorado River

9th Circuit previously sided with the Navajo Nation, allowing the lawsuit to proceed

A boat makes its way through rock formation becoming increasingly visible as Lake Powell recedes, near the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in Page, Ariz., on Sept. 1, 2022. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court agreed Nov. 4 to hear a dispute about whether an Indian tribe has the right to draw water from the Colorado River.

The case pits the Navajo Nation, a large Indian reservation occupying territory in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, against the states of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.