(♪ Upbeat music playing ♪)
I'm chairman of the
Suquamish Tribe and also president (of) Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
Our way of life is at stake for us.
We've been relying on Puget Sound and the Salish Sea for our subsistence,
and our culture, and spirituality,
and our way of life for thousands of years.
So not only did it feed our bodies, but it feeds our spirit
and also allowed us to be economically independent
and able to trade with our neighbors and also provide the resources we needed
to support our ceremonial structure, our social structure,
our residents and our winter houses.
Chief Seattle
signed the Treaty of Point Elliott on behalf of Suquamish Tribe in 1855.
And in that treaty, we gave up
title to our lands that we've occupied for thousands of years.
In exchange for that,
we agreed to move to this reservation, Port Madison Indian Reservation,
which was established by treaty, and we also reserve certain rights
for hunting, fishing and gathering and also
other guarantees such as education and health care.
Although the treaty rights existed,
once the treaty was signed and ratified by Congress,
they were never honored.
And so in the 1960s, tribal leaders
realized that the salmon
was being mismanaged by the state,
and they are also being denied access to harvest in a traditional way.
And in the treaty, it says the tribes agreed to move to the reservations
were allowed to fish in their usual and accustomed fishing areas,
and those are the exact words: usual and accustomed, or UNA.
So the tribes were saying, well, we should be able to fish
where we've always fished and it wasn't only on the reservation.
We traveled as far north as the Fraser River to harvest salmon.
So it was important for the tribes to do that.
Well, the state said, no, you have to stay on the reservation.
You can fish on the reservation, but nowhere beyond that.
So the
tribe sued the state after many demonstrations
and fish ins and civil rights struggles that were
engaged in to demonstrate that we had this right.
Many people know the late Billy Frank Junior, who was jailed 43 times
for fishing on the river that his family been on for thousands of years.
So this all culminated in a legal case
called the United States versus Washington or the Boldt Decision.
So when that case went to court, Judge Boldt realized that
there was a contract between the tribes in the United States.
State of Washington was violating that.
He ruled that the tribes are entitled to 50%
of the harvestable salmon available in Puget Sound...
And said, well, the tribes need to be at the table too,
and declared them co-managers with the state.
So the tribe has seat...
tribes have a seat at the table
with the state federal government, other states, with Canada,
in determining
the seasons and how salmon are harvested.
So those people are new to this area, to our usual custom fishing area around
Central Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, just like to say welcome
and hope that you'll consider our traditions and values in the..
in the way you adapt to living here.
And just try to do
as little harm as we can to our environment by having responsible
growth management in our area and,
you know, addressing issues around vessel traffic
in the Puget Sound and protecting, you know, orcas,
protecting our salmon runs,
and getting our communities to talk about these issues regarding
protecting rivers and from logging
and and a development
that invades the buffers that are needed to protect the salmon runs.
(♪ Slow sorrowful music playing ♪)