Leaders from the Blackfeet Nation joined Montana Congressman Steve Daines and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in Washington Friday to celebrate the enactment of four Indian water rights settlements.
The settlements, which were ratified and approved in December, allocated $422 million in funding to the Blackfeet nation for clean drinking water and other water-related infrastructure projects. Tribes from Oklahoma and California also received funding.
The Obama administration enacted 12 tribal water settlements over the past eight years and allocated nearly $3 billion dollars in funding to tribes.
Earlier this week, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council set a date for tribal members to vote on whether to accept the Blackfeet Water Compact. The referendum election is set for April 20.