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(♪ Upbeat music playing ♪)

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I'm chairman of the

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Suquamish Tribe and also president (of)
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

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Our way of life is at stake for us.

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We've been relying on Puget Sound
and the Salish Sea for our subsistence,

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and our culture, and spirituality,

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and our way of life
for thousands of years.

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So not only did it feed our bodies,
but it feeds our spirit

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and also allowed us
to be economically independent

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and able to trade with our neighbors
and also provide the resources we needed

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to support our ceremonial structure,
our social structure,

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our residents and our winter houses.

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Chief Seattle

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signed the Treaty of Point Elliott
on behalf of Suquamish Tribe in 1855.

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And in that treaty, we gave up

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title to our lands that we've occupied
for thousands of years.

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In exchange for that,

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we agreed to move to this reservation,
Port Madison Indian Reservation,

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which was established by treaty,
and we also reserve certain rights

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for hunting,
fishing and gathering and also

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other guarantees
such as education and health care.

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Although the treaty rights existed,

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once the treaty was signed
and ratified by Congress,

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they were never honored.

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And so in the 1960s, tribal leaders

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realized that the salmon

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was being mismanaged by the state,

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and they are also being denied access
to harvest in a traditional way.

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And in the treaty, it says the tribes
agreed to move to the reservations

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were allowed to fish in their usual
and accustomed fishing areas,

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and those are the exact words:
usual and accustomed, or UNA.

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So the tribes were saying, well,
we should be able to fish

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where we've always fished
and it wasn't only on the reservation.

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We traveled as far north
as the Fraser River to harvest salmon.

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So it was important for the tribes
to do that.

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Well, the state said, no,
you have to stay on the reservation.

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You can fish on the reservation,
but nowhere beyond that.

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So the

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tribe
sued the state after many demonstrations

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and fish ins and civil rights struggles
that were

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engaged in to demonstrate
that we had this right.

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Many people know the late Billy
Frank Junior, who was jailed 43 times

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for fishing on the river that his family
been on for thousands of years.

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So this all culminated in a legal case

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called the United States
versus Washington or the Boldt Decision.

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So when that case went to court,
Judge Boldt realized that

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there was a contract
between the tribes in the United States.

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State of Washington was violating that.

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He ruled that the tribes are entitled
to 50%

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of the harvestable
salmon available in Puget Sound...

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And said, well,
the tribes need to be at the table too,

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and declared them co-managers
with the state.

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So the tribe has seat...

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tribes have a seat at the table

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with the state federal government,
other states, with Canada,

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in determining

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the seasons and how salmon are harvested.

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So those people are new to this area,
to our usual custom fishing area around

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Central Puget Sound and the Salish Sea,
just like to say welcome

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and hope that you'll consider
our traditions and values in the..

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in the way you adapt to living here.

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And just try to do

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as little harm as we can
to our environment by having responsible

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growth management in our area and,

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you know, addressing issues
around vessel traffic

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in the Puget Sound and protecting,
you know, orcas,

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protecting our salmon runs,

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and getting our communities
to talk about these issues regarding

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protecting rivers and from logging

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and and a development

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that invades the buffers that are needed
to protect the salmon runs.

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(♪ Slow sorrowful music playing ♪)