The Puget Sound: Native Americans and Fishing

Bob Miller, the instructor for the American Maritime Heritage workshop, stopped by to give a preview of the course and some of the topics covered. The presentation was titled. "The Puget Sound: A Select History". Not being from this region it was extremely informative and I learned many things that I had no clue about.

I'm sure it's no surprise the importance of the bounty of fish and shellfish from the Salish Sea to the Native Americans that were here long before the white man came. The first video is about the Pacific Northwest Canoe Legacy Project and the importance of honoring the past.

Duane Pasco, well-known Northwest Coast Artist, explains how the canoe was an integral part of the culture in the coastal waterways. It was not only a means of transportation but an art form in itself

The next two videos illustrate a darker side to the Pacific Northwest's history. "The Days of Salmon Traps and Fish Pirates" shows that there is such a thing as being too efficient. The film "As Long as the River Runs" is about the Fish Wars of the late 1960's and early 1970's.
The Days of Salmon Traps and Fish Pirates

As Long as the River Runs

The Fish Wars were a series of civil disobedience protests in the 1960s and ‘70s in which Native American tribes around the Puget Sound pressured the U.S. government to recognize fishing rights granted by the Point No Point Treaty. Under the Point No Point Treaty, tribes on the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas gave up most of their land, but retained rights to their traditional fishing areas.

In 1974’s United States v. Washington, U.S. District Court Judge George Hugo Boldt stated that treaty right fishermen must be allowed to take up to 50% of all potential fishing harvests, and required that they have an equal voice in the management of the fishery.

The so-called Boldt Decision was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in 1979 and has been used as a precedent for handling other similar treaties.