Lisa Yellow Eagle

Tribal Water Attorney

Southern Ute Indian Reservation, CO

October 21st, 2025

Our group gathered in the window-walled conference room of the Ute Museum and Cultural Center, where representatives of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe met with us to talk about water within their government.

Lisa Yellow Eagle was the first speaker we met with. Yellow Eagle is a Tribal Water Attorney representing the Southern Ute Indian Nation, she's been working for the tribe for four years but tackling water issues for much longer. Throughout her career she has been involved in crucial discussions and negotiations regarding water rights in the Colorado River Basin, particularly addressing the Utes senior water rights and the current drought affecting the region.

She explained to us how the 1905 supreme court case ‘Winans vs United States’ provided the basis for reserved water rights that the tribe uses today. The Animas La Plata project was authorized in 1968 as a result of this court case, allowing the Utes to finally get access to their

by Wilson Finlay