Amended settlement for Crow Tribe reaches president’s desk

Led by Montana Republicans Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Troy Downing, legislation impacting the Crow Reservation passed both chambers of Congress last week, according to a press release from Downing’s office.

The Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendment would build on the 2010 water compact between the Crow and the state of Montana. Its updates would include changes to the reservation’s public water system, billed by Downing as a way to integrate a “more flexible, localized approach.” 

The amendment also extends the exclusive right of the tribe to develop a hydropower project at the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam through 2030. The dam on the Bighorn River impacts flood control and irrigation for the Missouri Basin. 

Neither of the amendment’s Montana champions are Crow, but Downing is up for reelection in the state’s eastern congressional district, which includes the Crow Reservation. In a mid-September poll conducted by the Montana Free Press, Downing far outpaced his Democratic challenger when it came to registered voter preferences, name recognition among potential voters and financial reserves.

Since the state gained a second congressional representative following the 2020 Census, Downing’s eastern district has consistently supported Republicans. The Crow Tribe is located on the largest Indian reservation by land area in the state, but the district also includes the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.