Navajo Nation loses Supreme Court water dispute

SCOTUS denies Navajo Nation Colorado River water access; President Biden hosts India’s Modi for state visit amid human rights concerns.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

The Supreme Court blocks Navajo Nation water rights

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

• In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the Navajo Nation in a dispute over dwindling Colorado River water resources. [The Hill]
• The Navajo Nation argued that an 1868 treaty which established the land for its reservation also made the US responsible for allocating water supply. [CNN / Ariane de Vogue]
• However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said the Navajo were asking the federal government to secure water access, which isn’t required by the treaty. [Associated Press / Jessica Gresko]
• Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said the tribe had only asked for the government to identify its water rights in a dissenting opinion joined by the court’s three liberal justices. [New York Times / Adam Liptak]
• A third of the 175,000 people on the reservation — which spans parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico — do not have access to running water. [Guardian]

Indian PM Modi's White House visit

• President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit as the US seeks to deepen ties with the world’s most populous democracy. [CNN]
• The talks come as Modi faces criticism for cracking down on democracy, freedom of the press, and encouraging discrimination against Muslims. [AP]
• However, Biden and Modi promised a new era of the US-India relationship as the two leaders announced economic initiatives to counter China. [Reuters / Nandita Bose]
• Once banned from entering the US, Modi is the third foreign leader granted such a high-level visit during Biden’s presidency. [Guardian / Mary Yang]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Zack Beauchamp explains how Modi and his government are systematically undermining India’s democracy. [Vox / Zack Beauchamp]

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“The Navajo have waited patiently for someone, anyone, to help them, only to be told (repeatedly) that they have been standing in the wrong line and must try another.”

[Justice Neil Gorsuch’s dissent in SCOTUS Navajo water rights dispute / AP]

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