This article covers the appropriation of Montanans’
water rights by the federal government in the name of
the CKST (Confederated Kootenai and Salish Tribes).
Superficially, the federal government is upholding the
rights of the Indian Tribes to claim all surface and
subsurface waters of the western one-third of the state
of Montana. In reality, the federal government is
taking a 170-year-old treaty, expanding its meaning,
and using it as a tool to commandeer everyone’s water.
Whether you live in California or New York, the reason
this is important should be obvious to you.
Government overreach has become a way of life. The
paradigm has shifted, and now, people barely bat an eye
when the government steadily removes the rights
enumerated under the Constitution. Today, it may not
matter to you because this is happening in Montana.
Perhaps it will matter when the federal government
comes to commandeer your drinking supply, crops, arable
farmland, etc.
The Hellgate Treaty of 1855 was the document used to
create the Flathead Indian Reservation. The treaty
(under Article III) stipulates that the tribes have the
“right of taking fish,” and this right refers to
waters, not on the reservation.
The expansion of this document has been used as
“justification” to confiscate the water rights from 11
counties in the state of Montana. Interestingly,
Article I of the treaty includes a ceding,
relinquishment, and conveyance by the tribes all rights
of ownership over any waters or property, except what
is on the reservation.
In order to “ensure the quality” of where the tribes
fish, the water rights in those 11 counties must be
placed under tribal government to be administered by
the federal government.
The state of Montana enabled it.
Back in 2015, when this first surfaced, the Montana
State Legislature (the Senate) voted to push the
Compact forward and “re-interpret” it.
The cast of characters in this charade includes the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency), the DOJ (the
Department of Justice), the BIA (Bureau of Indian
Affairs), the IRS, and the Treasury Department. The
Water Compact Commission was formed in Montana with
deep ties to and directives from the EPA. The
Department of the Interior (the “umbrella” organization
holding the BIA) will collect the revenues and “manage”
them for the tribes. DHS (the Department of Homeland
Security) will enforce compliance.
All water sources, private and public, standing or
running, wells and aquifers, will be metered, and taxes
will be collected.
A recent prime example was the John Warner Defense Act
of 2006, adding its weight to the NDAA (National
Defense Authorization Act). They declared the U.S. a
part of the worldwide “battlefield” in the “global war
on terror.” In essence, they negated posse comitatus,
the provision that disallows the deployment of federal
troops on U.S. soil. It also negated the National Guard
as a “check and balance” of the states against a
tyrannical federal government.
By appointing a senior member of the National Guard to
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, essentially, the federal
government “federalized” the use of National Guard
troops. As you can see, it went a lot further: APCs
(armored personnel carriers) and military weaponry
filtering down to cities and even small towns. Gone are
the days of Norman Rockwell paintings of cops playing
stickball with neighborhood kids in the streets. Gone
are the days of “Officer Friendly,” whose job it was to
protect and serve the citizens.
The police departments weren’t meant to serve as
protectors of corporate interests or as the “strong-
arm” enforcers for politicians. In the past few
decades, we’ve seen the complete militarization of the
police departments, as well as agencies that were never
designed as such…the US Postal Service and the IRS, to
name a few.
I’ve included the notification sent by the U.S.
Department of Justice for your perusal. You can see it
for yourself and research it further. It covers all of
the land and the counties affected. Although there are
scheduled hearings on this to take place in December,
it’s pretty much a done deal.
You can read it here: Water Compact Information
The overarching issue here is that the federal
government can use any pretext they wish to seize
whatever they wish. We do not live under the rule of
law. If that were the case, then the laws would be
applicable to the rulers, as well as we, the subjects.
We live under the color of law, and whether we wish to
admit it or not, we’re nothing more than serfs. Barely
above the level of slaves, we have to eke out meager
existences and be taxed on every single cent, from
birth to death…and beyond. Feudalism has been reborn,
with the monarchy now supplanted by elected officials
and oligarchs. They also play the part of the land
barons, shrinking the cages of the populace by the day.
They already “manage” most of the United States.
More public land is “held in trust” by the federal
government than ever before. Held hostage is a better
description. Liberty and justice for all? No. A better
slogan: What’s in your wallet?
This is all a part of a larger agenda: the complete
takeover and subsequent destruction of the United
States of America. Economically, culturally, and
morally, we are long past our peak as a nation. The
rulers of this country are making it that way, both
directly and indirectly.
So, this sad drama is almost played out here in
Montana, and it bears relevance to the rest of the
nation.
It’s just a matter of time before we’re all under the
same yoke of tyranny, no matter what state we live in.
Solzhenitsyn warned of such times, as did Orwell and
others. The federal government has usurped control over
Montana’s water supply. It won’t stop there. It’s just
a matter of time before we find out what state is next
on their list.
Let’s close with an old Montana saying: “Whiskey’s for
drinking and water’s for fighting.”
What are your thoughts on the water rights situation in
Montana? Do you think this will spread? We welcome your
comments and input.
(Want uninterrupted access to The Organic Prepper?
Check out our paid-subscription newsletter.)
About Jeremiah Johnson
Jeremiah Johnson is the nom de plume of a retired Green
Beret of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Mr. Johnson is
also a Gunsmith and a Master Herbalist. He graduated
from the Special Forces course at SERE (survival,
evasion, resistance, and escape) School, and is an
expert in small unit tactics, survival, and disaster-
preparedness. He lives in a cabin in the Rocky
Mountains of Western Montana.
|
|