When federal officials earlier this month declared a historic first-ever water shortage for the Colorado River, emergency plans for water usage in the Southwest kicked into action. The declaration heralded a crisis not just for the region broadly, but also for the indigenous communities in particular who rely on the Colorado River and its tributaries for their very survival.

Things are currently bad in the Colorado Basin. But if not for a decades-long battle by a small group of lawyers, things could’ve been a whole lot worse for the region’s Native American communities.