Reading Comprehension

I'm having hard time with this passage can someone give me the gist of the passage and then explain how to approach this kind of passages?

In Winters v. United States (1908), the Supreme
Court held that the right to use waters flowing through
or adjacent to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation
was reserved to American Indians by the treaty
(5) establishing the reservation. Although this treaty did
not mention water rights, the Court ruled that the
federal government, when it created the reservation,
intended to deal fairly with American Indians by
reserving for them the waters without which their
(10) lands would have been useless. Later decisions, citing
Winters, established that courts can find federal rights
to reserve water for particular purposes if (1) the land
in question lies within an enclave under exclusive
federal jurisdiction, (2) the land has been formally
(15) withdrawn from federal public lands-i.e., withdrawn
from the stock of federal lands available for private
use under federal land use laws-and set aside or
reserved, and (3) the circumstances reveal the
government intended to reserve water as well as land
(20) when establishing the reservation.
Some American Indian tribes have also established
water rights through the courts based on their
traditional diversion and use of certain waters prior to
the United States' acquisition of sovereignty. For
(25) example, the Rio Grande pueblos already existed when
the United States acquired sovereignty over New
Mexico in 1848. Although they at that time became
part of the United States, the pueblo lands never
formally constituted a part of federal public lands; in
(30) any event, no treaty, statute, or executive order has
ever designated or withdrawn the pueblos from public
lands as American Indian reservations. This fact,
however, has not barred application of the Winters
doctrine. What constitutes an American Indian
(35) reservation is a question of practice, not of legal
definition, and the pueblos have always been treated
as reservations by the United States. This pragmatic
approach is buttressed by Arizona v. California (1963),
wherein the Supreme Court indicated that the manner
(40) in which any type of federal reservation is created
does not affect the application to it of the Winters
doctrine. Therefore, the reserved water rights of
Pueblo Indians have priority over other citizens' water
rights as of 1848, the year in which pueblos must be
(45) considered to have become reservations.

56. According to the passage, which of the following was true of the treaty establishing the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation?
(A) It was challenged in the Supreme Court a number of times.
(B) It was rescinded by the federal government, an action that gave rise to the Winters case.
(C) It cited American Indians' traditional use of the land's resources.
(D) It failed to mention water rights to be enjoyed by the reservation's inhabitants.
(E) It was modified by the Supreme Court in Arizona v. California.

57. The passage suggests that, if the criteria discussed in lines 10-20 were the only criteria for establishing a reservation's water rights, which of the following would be true?
(A) The water rights of the inhabitants of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation would not take
precedence over those of other citizens.
(B) Reservations established before 1848 would be judged to have no water rights.
(C) There would be no legal basis for the water rights of the Rio Grande pueblos.
(D) Reservations other than American Indian reservations could not be created with reserved water rights.
(E) Treaties establishing reservations would have to mention water rights explicitly in order to
reserve water for a particular purpose.

58. Which of the following most accurately summarizes the relationship between Arizona v. California in lines 38-42, and the criteria citing the Winters doctrine in lines 10-20?
(A) Arizona v. California abolishes these criteria and establishes a competing set of criteria for
applying the Winters doctrine.
(B) Arizona v. California establishes that the Winters doctrine applies to a broader range of situations than those defined by these criteria.
(C) Arizona v. California represents the sole example of an exception to the criteria as they were set forth in the Winters doctrine.
(D) Arizona v. Californiadoes not refer to the Winters doctrine to justify water rights, whereas these criteria do rely on the Winters doctrine.
(E) Arizona v. California applies the criteria derived from the Winters doctrine only to federal lands other than American Indian reservations.

59. The "pragmatic approach" mentioned in lines 37-38 of the passage is best defined as one that
(A) grants recognition to reservations that were never formally established but that have
traditionally been treated as such
(B) determines the water rights of all citizens in a particular region by examining the actual history of water usage in that region
(C) gives federal courts the right to reserve water along with land even when it is clear that the
government originally intended to reserve only the land
(D) bases the decision to recognize the legal rights of a group on the practical effect such a
recognition is likely to have on other citizens
(E) dictates that courts ignore precedents set by such cases as Winters v. United States in
deciding what water rights belong to reserved land


60. The author cites the fact that the Rio Grande pueblos were never formally withdrawn from public lands primarily in order to do which of the following?
(A) Suggest why it might have been argued that the Winters doctrine ought not to apply to pueblo
lands
(B) Imply that the United States never really acquired sovereignty over pueblo lands
(C) Argue that the pueblo lands ought still to be considered part of federal public lands
(D) Support the argument that the water rights of citizens other than American Indians are limited by the Winters doctrine
(E) Suggest that federal courts cannot claim jurisdiction over cases disputing the traditional diversion and use of water by Pueblo Indians

61. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) trace the development of laws establishing American Indian reservations
(B) explain the legal basis for the water rights of American Indian tribes
(C) question the legal criteria often used to determine the water rights of American Indian tribes
(D) discuss evidence establishing the earliest date at which the federal government recognized the
water rights of American Indians
(E) point out a legal distinction between different types of American Indian reservations


62. The passage suggests that the legal rights of citizens other than American Indians to the use of water flowing into the Rio Grande pueblos are
(A) guaranteed by the precedent set in Arizona v. California
(B) abolished by the Winters doctrine
(C) deferred to the Pueblo Indians whenever treaties explicitly require this
(D) guaranteed by federal land-use laws
(E) limited by the prior claims of the Pueblo Indians

Hi Hemant,

This passage is definitely a tricky one.You are a GMAT Destroyer so you would be knowing all the RC stretegies.
I will tell u how I proceeded with this or rather with any passage and may be you can also try the same.I tried this passage and got 5 out of 7 correct,which I feel is decent.

Below points are no thumbrules nor am I a GMAT instructor,they are just the points I follow.Hope these will work for you.

1.Read the first question before the passage.Only the question not the options.By doing this I kind of make the first ques correct 90% of the times.

2.After every sentence you read,ask yourself some ques such as "so what","what next".This helps a lot in linking the the previous sentence to the following sentences.

I suggest you give another try to this passage once again and we can further discuss on specific questions.