United States v. Washington, 384 F.Supp. 312 (1974) Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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United States v. Washington, 384 F.Supp. 312 (1974)

If a federal treaty grants Indian tribes the right to fish, does a state have the authority to impose its state fishing regulations on the tribe members? We’ll get the answer to this question in United States versus Washington, one case in a decades-long battle to determine Indian tribes’ rights to fish in Washington state.

In 1854 and '55, the United States and numerous Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest entered into treaties in which the tribes gave the government land in present-day Washington state. Fishing was an important part of the tribes’ culture and also a source of food and income for the tribes. A provision in the treaties held that the tribes retained a guaranteed right to fish off-reservation at, quote, “all usual and accustomed grounds in common with all citizens of the territory,” unquote. The treaties were written in English, even though most of the tribal representatives weren’t fluent in English. The treaties were then translated into a trade language with only three hundred words, known as Chinook Jargon. Because of the limited number of terms, Chinook Jargon could only convey rudimentary concepts rather than a sophisticated meaning of treaty provisions. The treaties were eventually translated from Chinook Jargon into the tribes’ native languages.

The state of Washington enforced state fishing regulations against Indians who fished off-reservation in the state, including limiting the time Indians could fish and limiting the number of fish that Indians could catch off-reservation. The state argued that the phrase in common with in the treaties meant that Indians should be subjected to state fishing regulations just like non-Indians.

In 1970, the United States, on its own behalf and on behalf of the tribes, sued the state of Washington. The tribes sought a declaratory judgment regarding off-reservation treaty fishing rights and injunctive relief to enforce the tribes’ fishing rights.

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