For the first time in generations, the Lummi Nation held a reef net fishery at Cherry Point. “It feels good to say that as of yesterday, we, the Lummi Nation have been reef netting,” said Lummi Chairman Tim Ballew at a tribal event Aug. 28. “To know that tomorrow we will reef net and the […]
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission chairman Billy Frank Jr. sits down with UW Professor Richard Whitney to reminisce about their involvement with tribal treaty rights and the Boldt decision in the 1970s and 1980s. Whitney was the fisheries technical advisor to federal Judge George Boldt, whose opinion in U.S. v. Washington upheld tribal treaty fishing rights […]
The Daily Herald of Everett has a story about treaty tribal hunting rights: State and federal regulations curb the hunting of endangered wildlife and protect developed areas from gunfire, but American Indians say those laws also violate the terms of treaties they signed with the federal government more than 150 years ago. Before settlers reached […]
Cooperative natural resources co-management at its best was displayed during this year’s North of Falcon process for setting Indian and non-Indian salmon fishing seasons in western Washington. The results were protection of weak wild stocks and more fishing opportunity for everyone. We were able to once again fairly share the burden of conserving weak stocks […]
The Daily Herald of Everett reports on a future court date between the tribes and state to settle the Culvert Case
Nooksack cultural resources director George Swanaset Jr. recently made a dip net to demonstrate the traditional fishing method to young adults in the tribe’s YouthBuild program
SEDRO-WOOLLEY (Dec. 1, 2008) – The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe built a new roof for its hatchery, to protect fish and children from the elements. The 20-year-old hatchery used to have a roof that didn’t completely cover two circular tanks that hold adult chum salmon before spawning. The tanks also are the centerpiece of the […]
After hearing testimony from tribal elders, biologists, historians, treaty experts, as well as testimony from private property owners and non-Indian commercial shellfish growers, Federal District Court Judge Edward Rafeedie followed in the footsteps of the Boldt Decision. He ruled the treaties’ “in common” language meant that the tribes had reserved harvest rights to half of […]
The tribes in Western Washington fish commercially, and for subsistence and ceremonial purposes. They fish for all species of salmon and steelhead in marine and freshwater areas of Puget Sound and the Washington coast. US v. Washington (the “Boldt Decision”) in 1974 reaffirmed tribes as co-managers, along with the State of Washington, of fisheries resources.Co-management […]
The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) is a natural resources management support service organization for 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. Headquartered in Olympia, the NWIFC employs approximately 80 people with satellite offices in Burlington and Forks. NWIFC member tribes are: Lummi, Nooksack, Swinomish, Upper Skagit, Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Tulalip, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Nisqually, Squaxin Island, […]
