There are 574 federally recognized tribes and many more tribes recognized at the state level. Native American people are not monolithic and neither are tribes. Each tribe possesses inherent tribal sovereignty—sovereignty that predates the United States and individual states and municipalities. When you are seeking multiple Native/Indigenous perspectives about a topic, these resources are good places to start.
Resources about Native American Fishing Rights and Tribal Fish Recovery Efforts:
On March 2, 2025, the Native American Studies program, the department of History, and the William L. Davis, SJ Lecture hosted a screening of the film Fish War. The film explores the history tribal treaty fishing rights, the state of Washington’s refusal to honor treaty fishing rights, the civil disobedience and other forms of protest tribal fishers practiced, and the lawsuit the United States brought against Washington that ultimately led to recognition of treaty rights and that required state and tribal co-management of fisheries. The film also explores contemporary fish restoration and ecosystem management efforts.
The resources below offer an introduction to this history and the court case popularly known as the Boldt Decision. 2024 was the 50th anniversary of the Decision.
Messages from Frank’s Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way
Charles Wilkinson, University of Washington Press, 2006
Messages from Frank’s Landing, explores the broad historical, legal, and social context of Indian fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest, providing a dramatic account of the people and issues involved. He draws on his own decades of experience as a lawyer working with Indian people, and focuses throughout on Billy Frank and the river flowing past Frank’s Landing. In all aspects of Frank’s life as an activist, from legal settlements negotiated over salmon habitats destroyed by hydroelectric plants, to successful negotiations with the U.S. Army for environmental protection of tribal lands, Wilkinson points up the significance of the traditional Indian world view - the powerful and direct legacy of Frank’s father, conveyed through generations of Indian people who have crafted a practical working philosophy and a way of life. Drawing on many hours spent talking and laughing with Billy Frank while canoeing the Nisqually watershed, Wilkinson conveys words of respect and responsibility for the earth we inhabit and for the diverse communities the world encompasses. These are the messages from Frank’s Landing. Wilkinson brings welcome clarity to complex legal issues, deepening our insight into a turbulent period in the political and environmental history of the Northwest.
Treaty Justice: The Northwest Tribes, the Boldt Decision, and the Recognition of Fishing Rights
Charles Wilkinson, University of Washington Press, 2024
Charles Wilkinson tells the dramatic story of the Boldt Decision against the backdrop of salmon’s central place in the cultures and economies of the Pacific Northwest. In the 1960s, Native people reasserted their fishing rights as delineated in nineteenth-century treaties. In response, state officials worked with non-Indian commercial and sport fishing interests to forcefully—and often violently—oppose Native actions. These “fish wars” spurred twenty tribes and the US government to file suit in federal court. Moved by the testimony of tribal leaders and other experts, Boldt pointedly waited until Lincoln’s birthday to hand down a decision recognizing the tribes’ right to half of the state’s fish. The case’s long aftermath led from the Supreme Court’s affirmation of Boldt’s opinion to collaborative management of the harvest of salmon and other marine resources.
Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.
Trova Heffernen, University of Washington Press, 2013
Where the Salmon Run tells the life story of Billy Frank Jr., from his father's influential tales, through the difficult and contentious days of the Fish Wars, to today. Based on extensive interviews with Billy, his family, close advisors, as well as political allies and former foes, and the holdings of Washington State's cultural institutions, we learn about the man behind the legend, and the people who helped him along the way.
Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe: A Memoir
Ramona Bennett Bill, University of Washington Press, forthcoming 2025
A relentless advocate for Native rights, Ramona Bennett Bill has been involved in the battles waged by the Puyallup and other Northwest tribes around fishing rights, land rights, health, and education for over six decades. This invaluable firsthand account includes stories of the takeover of Fort Lawton as well as events from major Red Power struggles, including Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, and the Trail of Broken Treaties. She shares her experiences at the Puyallup fishing camp established during the Fish War of the 1960s and 1970s, which led to the federal intervention that eventually resulted in the Boldt Decision. She also covers the 1976 occupation of a state-run facility on reservation land and the lobbying that led to the property’s return to the tribe.
As Long as the Rivers Run (film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN46NWkEFow
“The Fish-in Protests at Frank’s Landing” (historical research essay)
https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/fish-ins.htm
“Treaty History with the Northwest Tribes” (overview of U.S. treaties with tribes located in Washington)
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/management/tribal/history
Northwest Indians Fisheries Commission
https://nwtreatytribes.org/
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
https://critfc.org/
Upper Columbia United Tribes
https://ucut.org/