Tribal nations were once excluded from Colorado River talks. Now they're key players

This Spring, a high level delegation met inside the Arizona Governor's office to announce a huge water conservation deal.

The crowd was a who's who of the western water world, including top Biden administration officials, the head of Arizona's powerful water department, the state's Governor Katie Hobbs, and its senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema.

But the man at the center of the announcement was someone who probably wouldn't have even been invited to this type of event not too long ago: Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community.

In a blue suit, bolo tie and white Nike shoes, Lewis beamed when it was his turn to step to the microphone. After saying hello in his native language, he called the moment historic: "In the worst drought in over 1,200 years, we're trying to make this moment into a movement, a movement of water conservation," Lewis said to applause.

His community near Phoenix will get $233 million for irrigation projects. In exchange, the tribe agreed to keep a huge amount of its legally entitled water in Lake Mead, in order to save the nation's largest reservoir from drying up.