Here is the opinion in U.S. v. Colville, and an excerpt:
This appeal is the latest chapter in the saga of Pacific Northwest Native American treaty fishing rights; a saga that has spanned many generations and over forty years of federal litigation. If history is our guide, it will not be the last chapter written. After a 2006 remand from this court, the district court conducted a trial primarily based on expert anthropological opinions, century-old documents, and reliable hearsay. The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation (“Yakama”) appeal, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation (“Colville”) cross-appeal on behalf of theirWenatchi Constituent Tribe (“Wenatchi”), the district court’s finding that they share joint fishing rights at the “Wenatshapam Fishery” on Icicle Creek-a tributary to the Wenatchee River which flows into the Columbia River-under an 1894 agreement between the United States and the Yakama. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
For over a century-as the result of broken and forgotten promises-the Wenatchi’s fishing rights at their aboriginal home and fishing station have been in doubt. We hold that the district court’s ruling is supported by historical evidence establishing that it was the intent of the 1894 negotiators to grant theWenatchi fishing rights at Wenatshapam, that the Yakama did not sell all of their fishing rights at Wenatshapam, and that both tribes’ fishing rights are non-exclusive. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.
Turtle Talk 