The Boldt Decision at 50
Treaty Rights and the Rise of Collaborative Resource Management
I tell my people to get ready. Get your smokehouses back in shape. Don't forget the ceremonies. That guy, the salmon, he's coming back.
-Billy Frank Jr.
In the 1850s, as Pacific Northwest tribes faced westward expansion by the United States, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens compelled them to enter treaties. Stevens made numerous promises, but one provision was central— the right of tribes to fish in their “usual and accustomed” places.
For decades, the State of Washington ignored this promise. A century after the treaties, the “Fish Wars” pitted activists like Billy Frank Jr., Hank Adams, Bob Satiacum, and Ramona Bennett against state officials. The activists knew they were exercising their legal treaty rights; the state considered those agreements outdated.
On February 12, 1974, Judge George H. Boldt handed down his landmark decision in United States of America v. State of Washington, finding the promises of the treaties remained in effect, guaranteeing tribes up to half of the harvest.
In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Boldt Decision, Legacy Washington presents a collection of works that highlight the struggle to protect treaty fishing rights and the rise of collaborative resource management.
Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.
Billy Frank Jr. was a fisherman, and hoped that's how history would remember him. He was not a casual angler; fishing was part of Billy's DNA. Decades ago, in a far different America, conflict over harvesting salmon erupted on Northwest rivers. Many tribal members took a stand defending treaty-guaranteed fishing rights- Billy Frank was one of them:
"I wasn't the Billy Frank that I am now," the Nisqually tribal leader told reporters in 1984, "I was a bitter person."
Frank's friend Tom Keefe noted, "When I look at Billy Frank, ... I can say there is a guy who decided that he could change the world by changing himself."
Frank emerged from those riverbank skirmishes to become a visionary leader known across the world. While court battles over fishing rights continue, Frank's enduring message is to protect the salmon, still struggling to survive.
In a society immersed in advancing technology, the story of this Nisqually Indian will take you back to the great rivers where the salmon run and tell the story of his mysterious fish.
Lightning Boldt: Judge George H. Boldt and a Defining Moment in Tribal Sovereignty
On February 12, 1974, Lincoln’s Birthday, “The Boldt Decision” stunned the state. Federal Judge George H. Boldt ruled that the State of Washington had disregarded solemn promises made to the tribes in the 1850s. Now, Boldt said, they were entitled to up to 50 percent of the catch in their “usual and accustomed places.”
The decision unleashed a tsunami of protest from non-Indian commercial and sport fishermen. Al Ziontz, the Seattle attorney who represented several tribes, said Boldt’s ruling was much more than a fishing-rights decision: “It is an Indian survival case. It is a case that gave the tribes the standing—the power—to sit down at the table with other governments as equals.”
This compelling biography explores George Boldt’s eventful life. An immigrant’s son, he persevered through a bumpy childhood and became a champion debater and yell king at the University of Montana. He went on to become one of Seattle’s most admired attorneys and the governor’s versatile legal trouble-shooter.
During World War II, Boldt was an OSS officer on the front lines in Burma, directing covert operations against the Japanese Army with the help of Nisei interpreters. Early in his career on the bench, he was dubbed “Lightning Boldt” for his efficiency. He threw the book at brazen mobsters and jailed union leaders who misused their power.
When the fishing-rights case landed in his Tacoma courtroom, the tribes and their attorneys feared their case was lost.
Confluence - The Boldt Decision at 50: Stories of Conflict and Collaboration
Five individuals with lifelong ties to salmon, treaty rights, and collaborative resource management share their recollections of the half-century since the Boldt Decision. Each represents different facets of the larger story:
- Ed Johnstone Jr., chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, shares how his Quinault family and community’s early involvement in the fight for treaty rights and salmon protection steered his life toward this important work.
- Mason Morisset, attorney, has represented tribal interests since 1968, including before the US Supreme Court, addresses legal misunderstandings and disinformation that persists around the Boldt Decision.
- Charlene Krise, director of the Squaxin Island Museum, began fishing commercially with her family in the 1970s because of the opportunities the Boldt Decision provided, later becoming an environmental advocate and story keeper for her community.
- Jim Waldo, an attorney raised in Seattle, partnered with the late Billy Frank Jr. and many others to facilitate talks between business, government officials, and tribes at odds over salmon and environmental stewardship.
- Kadi Bizyayeva, the young director of the Stillaguamish Department of Natural Resources, shares her journey from administrative staffer to committed advocate of her people’s right to protect the salmon and our environment.
Legacy Washington is a program of the Washington State Archives
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“...to record and document oral histories of current and former members and staff of the Washington state executive and judicial branches, the state’s congressional delegation, and other citizens who have made indelible contributions to the political history of Washington state.” (RCW 43.07.363)
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