The Ute Indian Tribe has again filed a federal lawsuit against a Tridell farmer over water rights. In 2015, the Ute Indian Tribe brought a suit before the Ute Tribal Court against Greg McKee, a non-tribal member who the Tribe alleged was unlawfully using water from Deep Creek Canal. On August 3rd, 2015, the Ute Tribal Court ruled in favor of the Ute Tribe, awarding the Tribe damages of over $140,000 dollars. As a non-tribal member and private landowner McKee did not acknowledge the Tribal Court as having authority over him. As a result, the Ute Indian Tribal Business Committee brought the matter before a variety of federal judges looking for help in enforcing their ruling. So far their efforts have been without success, with the rulings focused less on the water dispute and more on the Tribe asserting authority over a non-tribal member. The most recent ruling came from a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2022 from Judge Joel Carson who upheld a U.S. District Court ruling that the Ute Tribal Court lacked jurisdiction over McKee. The Tribe’s latest federal lawsuit against McKee was filed on April 25th.
