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Show COMMISSIONEB OF IND.IAN AFFAZ&S. 43 diveaing water from the Gila River has been taken advantage of and Congress has authorized a dam and diversionsyst~to take water ' from the Gila River about 12 miles above Florence, by means of. which all the irrigable lands on the southside of the.Gila River, as well as - white lands which are entitled to water, will secure a much more reliable supply tlian has been possible from the temporary and un-satisfactory diversions used in the past. Congress has also au-thorized the construction ofa diversion dam lower down on the Gila River, from which water may be diverted not only to the euth-side lands but to the north side, where a large body of h e land is already being cultivated as well as the limited supply of water available will permit. These appropriations are the first important steps to rectify the bijustice which has been done these Pima Indians for the 30 or 40 years t b t their water supply 'has been encroached upon by the whites. Another important irrigation project which has been authorized for the coming year and funds therefor made immediately available is that for the Yakima Reservation, for the portion known as the ~ ' Wapato project. The situation at the Yakima Reservation has been somewhat similar to that among the Pimas, in that the Indians were apparently unjustly deprived of water which was found to be neces-sary for their self-support. The matter of the water supply had .previously been adjusted by Congress in the Indian bill for the year 1915,nnd the appropriation of $200,000 now made permits the con-struction of a permanent diversion dam and the begim~ing of the enlargement of the- canal system which will eventually supply %20,000 acres of land, most of which is still held by Indians. A long-needed irrigation improvement has been authorized for the , coming year--the F'yramid Lake project in Nevada. Sufficient funds have been appropriated for 1917 to construct a diversion d ~ t nzn ~dth e remainder of the authorized project, it is expected, will be provided fdr next year. This improvement will permit the industrious In-dians of thi$ reservation, who have been attempting with very un- -' satisfactory means to farm a su5cient area to make themselves self-sipporting, to really accomplish this result. The more important project+ upon which construction has been maintained during the past year are as follows: On the Wind River Reservationon both the ceded and diminished portions; on the Crow Reservati6n, Mont., where the work of replacing the worn-out tem-porary stmdures, many of which have been in use 20 or more years; with properly designed permanent works has proceeded as well as . the necessary extensions of the lateral system. . |
