Quileute Nation

Materials on Makah Indian Tribe’s Request for Determination Re Quileute and Quinault Usual and Accustomed Fishing Grounds in the Pacific Ocean

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

There is the potential for an enormous amount of chaos for both US v. Washington and for any Indian tribe with extant treaty rights based on the arguments going on here now. Most notably, several tribes (Quinault, Quileute, and Hoh) are claiming that the Sherrill-based equitable defenses may apply in some way to Indian treaty claims.

I find this personally horrifying and disturbing — that any tribe would claim that Sherrill and its Second Circuit progeny apply to treaty rights. Sherrill is a statute-based claim, and so are the Second Circuit cases that purport to follow its reasoning. Treaty rights are an entirely different genre.

I sincerely hope the U.S. v. Washington tribes will opt-out of federal litigation — with its potential to undercut treaty rights for tribes all over the country — and move toward an inter-tribal treaty. There is at least one proposal on the table, and tribal leaders and tribal constituents should act quickly to adopt it. These inter-tribal disputes are doing nothing now but threatening to make bad law for everyone.

Luckily, Judge Martinez did not hold that equitable defenses apply here, but who knows what will happen in the Ninth Circuit and beyond.

Here are the new materials in subproceeding 09-01 of United States v. Washington (No. 70-9213) (W.D. Wash.):

248 Makah Motion for Summary J on Equitable Defenses

251 Quinault and Quileute Motion for Summary J

267 Quinault and Quileute Response to 248 Motion

274 Makah Reply in Support of 248 Motion

275 Interested Tribes Response to 251 – Equitable Defenses

276 Hoh Tribe Response to 251

277 Makah Response to 251

279 Quileute and Quinault Reply in Support of 251

281 Quileute and Quinault Reply in Support of 251

283 Quileute and Quinault Motion to Define Burden of Proof

284 Interested Tribes Response to 283 — Burden of Proof

285 US Response to 283 — Burden of Proof

286 Upper Skagit Tribe Response to 283 — Burden of Proof

287 Makah Response to 283 — Burden of Proof

288 State of Washington Response to 283 — Burden of Proof

289 Quileute and Quinault Reply to 284 in Support of 283

290 Quileute and Quinault Reply in Support of 283

296 Makah Surreply re 283

304 DCT on Motions for Summary J

306 DCT Pretrial Order

Materials in a related pending Ninth Circuit matter in subproceeding 09-01 are here.

Ninth Circuit Materials in Hoh/Quinault/Quileute v. Port Gamble/Jamestown/Makah Subproceeding 09-1

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the briefs in United States v. Washington subproceeding 09-1:

Hoh Tribe Opening Brief

Quinault & Quileute Tribes Opening Brief

Makah Answer Brief

Port Gamble and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribes Answer Brief

Washington Answer Brief

Hoh Tribe Reply

Quileute & Quinault Reply

Oral argument audio and video.

Lower court materials.

Judge Martinez Grants Makah Motion for Summary Judgment in U&A Dispute with Quinault and Quileute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in United States v. Washington subproceeding 09-1 (W.D. Wash.):

DCT Order

Makah Motion for Partial Summary J

Quileute Response

Quinault Response

Makah Reply

Angela Riley NYTs Op/Ed on “Twilight” and the Quileute: “Sucking the Quileute Dry”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the NYTs:

ALL the world, it seems, has been bitten by “Twilight.” Conservative estimates place revenue generated from Stephenie Meyer’s vampire chronicles — the books, movies and merchandise — in the billion-dollar range. Scarcely mentioned, however, is the effect that “Twilight” has had on the tiny Quileute Nation, situated on a postage stamp of a reservation, just one square mile, in remote La Push, Wash.

To millions of “Twilight” fans, the Quileute are Indians whose (fictional) ancient treaty transforms young males of the tribe into vampire-fighting wolves. To the nearly 700 remaining Quileute Indians, “Twilight” is the reason they are suddenly drawing extraordinary attention from the outside — while they themselves remain largely excluded from the vampire series’ vast commercial empire.

Just last month, MSN.com issued an apology to the Quileute for intruding on its territory while videotaping a “Twilight” virtual tour in September. MSN.com sought permission from the Chamber of Commerce in nearby Forks, Wash., but didn’t pay the same courtesy to the Quileute. The video team trespassed onto a reservation cemetery and taped Quileute graves, including those of esteemed tribal leaders. These images were then set to macabre music and, in November, posted on MSN.com. The tribe quickly persuaded MSN.com to remove the Quileute images.

But this was only one episode in the story of the tribe’s phenomenal, and apparently increasing, new fame. “Twilight” has made all things Quileute wildly popular: Nordstrom.com sells items from Quileute hoodies to charms bearing a supposed Quileute werewolf tattoo. And a tour company hauls busloads of fans onto the Quileute reservation daily. Yet the tribe has received no payment for this commercial activity. Meanwhile, half of Quileute families still live in poverty.

It’s important to point out that the outside uses of the Quileute name, from the “Twilight” books to the tattoo jewelry, are quite likely legal. American intellectual property laws, except in very specific circumstances, do not protect indigenous peoples’ collective cultural property.

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