Article contained in the Vol. 1, no. 1 issue of Review of constitutional studies
Summary
"This paper illustrates the American experience with negotiated intergovernmental agreements between tribes and individual states..The author suggests that these intergovernmental agreements in the United States provide a useful model to resolve lingering issues, effect practical solutions and expand First Nations self-government in Canada."
Article contained in the Vol. 84, no. 6 (Dec. 1996) issue of the California law review
Summary
This is Getches' most-cited article on Indian law. In it he asserts that "the [Supreme] Court has assumed the job it formerly conceded to Congress, considering and weighing cases to reach results comporting with the Justices' subjective notions of what the Indian jurisdictional situation ought to be. This new subjectivist approach...severs tribal sovereignty from its historical moorings, leaving lower courts without principled, comprehensible guidance."
Article contained in the Vol. 26, no. 1 (Spring 1996) issue of Environmental law
Summary
"Professor Getches concludes that traditional instruments of water policy in the West--the beneficial use requirement of the prior appropriation doctrine, the water projects that harnessed the river in the first place, and the historically unfulfilled ideal of watershed management--can be reformed and redirected to address many of the problems the river has suffered."
Article contained in the Vol. 10, no. 1 (Winter 1999) issue of the Colorado journal of international environmental law and policy
Summary
Dedication to University of New Mexico law professor Albert E. Utton published in the Winter, 1990 issue of the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy.
Article contained in the Vol. 20, no. 1 (Jan. 2001) issue of the Stanford environmental law journal
Summary
This influential article reviews the history of western water law and the "myth" of federal deference to state control, the movement in the 1980s and 1990s to reform the law, and the future of state policy initiatives in an era of growing demand and competition for water.
Book review contained in the Vol. 99, no. 6 (May 2001) issue of the Michigan law review
Summary
Michigan Law Review essay published in May, 2001 reviewing John Shurts' 2000 book, Indian Reserved Water Rights: The Winters Doctrine in its Social and Legal Context, 1880s-1930s.
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs (1993- )
Type
Publications
Summary
Hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held on Feb. 27, 2002 regarding "concerns of recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the future of Indian tribal governments in America" (statement of David Getches, professor, pp. 4-10, 55-85).
Article contained in the Vol. 16, no. 2 (Spring 2005) issue of the Colorado journal of international environmental law and policy.
Summary
In this article, Dean Getches examines the nature of international law as it relates to indigenous water rights and evaluates the kinds of claims that native peoples might assert when they are deprived of access to water. Around the world, indigenous peoples have experienced depletion or pollution of their traditional water sources caused by the uses made by dominant, non-native societies. As a result, native peoples' ability to perform water-dependent vocations like farming and fishing, and to perpetuate cultures and spiritual practices requiring water is limited. While a few countries recognize water rights of indigenous peoples in their domestic laws, the author focuses on the potential for asserting claims under international law, the primary source of protection where domestic law is lacking or non-existent. In a thorough assessment of the sources of law and types of water rights claims that can be made under international law, the author identifies six types of rights that exemplify ways in which claims can be framed and the various international law instruments and norms that can serve as the basis for those claims. However, because these claims are large and complex in nature, the assistance of lawyers and experts in international law is vital to efforts to advance the development of international law as an instrument for protecting indigenous water rights.
