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MAY 19, 1978 PAGE 9
Ceremonial Fishing: A Regulated Rite
r - Warm Springs tribal fisher
men pulled their nets out of the
Columbia R iver May 10 and
scores of spring Chinook rode in
the back of a tribal pickup to the
dark world of the Agency Long-
house freezer. The prime salmon
caught during the week-long
fishery will feed many mouths
at tribal feasts, memorials and
other ceremonial gatherings in
the coming year.
With the advent of the freez
er and increased demand on the
fish resource, families, are less
lik ely to send out their fish er
men to get whatever nature has
to offer at the time of a death or
celebration. Instead the Tribes
“ h ire” fisherm en to fill the
freezer at an appointed tim e
based on anticipated ceremonial
needs and the condition of the
fishery.
ceremonial
fisherman sets his
of quotas, tim e
regulations and
turning ritual into
nets in a sea
constraints,
procedures,
business.
F ishing for cerem onial or
subsistence purposes is protect
ed in the Columbia River Com
pact as a treaty right of the four
river trib es. D w indling runs
have made it necessary to regu
late the size of these catches
according to the Compact’s pre
determined escapement goals.
For the spring run the treaty
ceremonial and subsistence fish
ery has first priority but cannot
exceed 2000 fish on a run size of
less than 100,000 fish; 5000 on a
run size of 100-120,000 fish; and
7500 on a run of 120-150,000.
Thus, even though a com
mercial fishery was not allowed
on this year’s spring run, fish
ermen were bringing fish back
Fisherman Harold Greene assisted Terry Luther of the Tribal
Natural Resources Department in measuring the spring chinook he
caught during the 8-day ceremonial season in early May. Greene
netted 113 fish, most of which were more sizable than this one.
CDS Photo
• Election
(Continued from Page 5)
U.S. SENATOR
Sen. Mark H atfield (R ) is to a position he has held sin ce
1957, U llm an is p resen tly the
seeking re-election to the post he
Chairman of the House Ways
filled in 1966 and again in 1972.
He is being challenged by fellow and Means Committee. Familiar
to m any on the Warm Springs
Republicans Bert Hawkins, an
Reservation as a mouthpiece for
Ontario rancher; Robert Max
the
Confederated Tribes in Con
well, a Trade and Contract Ad
ministrator from Portland; and g re ss, U llm an has also sought
Richard Schnepel, a Clackamas drought assistance for ranchers
and farm ers, fought for trad i
County insurance man.
During recent years incum tional timber sales practices and
pushed for a n ational energy
bent H atfield has cham pioned
program.
such causes as the Siletz Restor
Ullman has no Democratic
ation, funding for the Chemawa
ch allen gers, but two R epubli
Indian School, drought assis-
tance, the Omnibus Oregon Wil cans seek his position: real
derness Bill, dams and power esta te m an Terry Hicks and
eastern Oregon rancher Glen
houses on the Columbia River,
Stonebrink.
the national bottle bill and the
GOVERNOR
cutting off of funds for the neu
The old “ Tom and Bob
tron bomb.
Show,”
featuring former gover
Democrats for U.S. Senator
nor Tom McCall (R ) and in
include Salem attorney Steve
cum bent governor Bob Straub
Anderson, saw filer Jack Alan
(D ), is being threatened by at
Brown, Jr., state senator Vern
least one agressive Republican
Cook and P ortland m unicipal
candidate.
employee John Sweeney.
Victor Atiyeh (R ), a P ort
REPRESENTATIVE IN
land b usinessm an and sta te
CONGRESS
Rep. A1 Ullman (D-2nd Dis leg isla to r, is creeping up on
McCall in the polls, according to
trict) is running for re-election
to their tribes for cerem onial
use. Tribal Natural Resources
Director Gene Greene recogniz
es the need for m ore coordi
nation with the other com pact
trib es to ensure fair sh ares of
the catch without exceeding
combined limits.
In order to fish ceremonially
on the Columbia, a permit must
be issued by the Fish and Wild
life C om m ittee, a system that
has ex isted sin ce 1969. At one
time the Tribes provided boats
and equipment but now fisher
men are on their own.
Four permits were issued to
established Warm Springs fish
ermen this year, with a limit of
125 fish per permit holder. The
total catch of 439 was well below
the T rib es’ quota, with som e
fishermen exceeding their limit
and others not even close.
During the recent ceremoni
al season the Tribes offered
$1.50 per pound for Chinook and
75 cen ts for steelh ea d , prices
somewhat under the going rate
for spring fish.
Greene estimated that about
7000 pounds of fish are used
annually by the Tribes, depend
ing on the num ber of funerals
held. A rrangem ents are m ade
through the Natural Resources
D epartm ent to procure for
feasts, memorial dinners, narae-
or funerals. But salmon
for any other function must be
requested from the Tribal Coun
cil, which has a sp ecia l dona
tions fund. Such fish are usually
caught at Sherar’s Bridge on the
Deschutes River where no per
mit is needed.
Of course any system has its
abuses and the Fish and Wildlife
Com m itee as w ell a s the State
Police have been on the look-out
for illeg a lly sold fish. In fact,
fresh chinook and steelhead
have been spotted in a couple of
restaurants in the area and
illegal nets have been removed
from the river. F isherm en
themselves have reported inci
d ences of renegading and the
loss of expensive nets which can
run as high as $2400 apiece.
The Fish and Wildlife Com
m ittee can revoke or refuse to
issue permits when abuses such
as these occur.
As a sort of fish broker, the
Natural Resources Department
is very much involved in moni
toring the catch and as law
enforcers they keep an eye out
for erratic catch numbers, spoil
ed fish and other evid en ces of
abuse.
But Natural Resources per
sonnel have their hands full with
the daily routine of weighing and
m easuring fish and gathering
data for various agencies.
Wildlife biologist Terry Lu-
ther has traveled to Cascade
Locks and Hood River, Oregon
every day of the cerem onial
season to co llec t data on the
incom ing fish . Since 1972 the
department has kept records on
poundage for payment purposes
as well as to better estimate the
T rib es’ a n n u a l cerem onial
needs.
While weighing each fish on
a hand-held scale and measur
ing the length on a metric rule,
Luther took random
scale
samples. Tiny scales were sent
to the State and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services where micro
scopic rings are counted to
determine age.
Luther also m ade note of
those fish with “adipose clips,”
a hatchery marking indicating
that a coded wire tag has been
inserted in the snout. The mag
netically sensitive tags, which
contain information on the ori
gin of the fish, are removed and
also sent to the Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Such data collected over the
years helps point out trends in
the size, age and dispersal of the
salmon population, aiding in ef
fectiv e fishery m anagem ent,
said Luther.
With an occasional snout or
scale missing, the otherwise in
tact salmon were transported to
the Longhouse, bagged and
dated, and “put on ice” for later
ceremonial consumption.
Tribal wildlife biologist Terry Luther saw the ceremonial catch through from beginning to end by
weighing and measuring the fish daily as well as bagging and stocking the Longhouse freezer (above).
Most of this year's catch was spring chinook, favored for ceremonial purposes because of its high oil
content.
CDS Photo
The O regonian. Of particular
interest to Warm Springs voters
is his membership in the Com
m ission on Indian S erv ices, a
state funded advisory group to
the Legislature.
R oger Martin (R ), also a
businessman and minority lead
er in the sta te House of R ep
resentatives, does not appear to
be gaining on the two leading
Republican candidates. His plat
form is based on pragm atism ,
common sense, youth and tough
n ess. Cutting ta x es, spending
responsibly, and servin g the
people are some of his themes.
Environmentalist Tom Mc
Call spent two colorful terms in
the governor’s office enhancing
tourism in Oregon w hile pre
servin g the quality of the en
vironm ent. He w as forced to
retire after two terms and sub
sequently becam e a TV news
analyst.
Governor Bob Straub ran
against McCall twice and finally
won the governorship in the 1974
race against Atiyeh. Straub, too,
has been concerned with the
environm ent but in a quieter
fashion. He has encouraged busi
ness and clean industry, helped
sa v e and reorganize the Land
Conservation and Development
Commission and has sought Ore
gon ’s fair sh are of the North
west’s cheap hydroelectric pow
er.
BALLOT MEASURES
No. 1 - Home Rule County Ini
tiative -. Referendum Require
ments
„T his measure would estab
lish the sam e procedures for the
in itiative and referendum in
home rule cou n ties as are a l
ready provided for non-home
rule counties. Jefferson County
would not be affected since it is
already non-home rule.
No. 2 - Open Meetings Rules for
Legislature
This measure would require
open m eetin gs of joint le g isla
tive co m m ittees in addition to
the p resen tly required open
meetings of each house and the
committees of each house.
No. 3 - Housing for Low Income
Elderly
If p assed , a fund would be
created with general obligation
bonds for the financing of con
struction of multi-family housing
for Oregon’s low income elderly.
No. 4 - D om estic W ater Fund
Created
Would perm it funds to be
raised for the d evelopm ent of
public water system s. Enabling
legislation would be required.
No. 5 - Highway Repair Priority,
Gas Tax Increase
H ighway user revenues
would be used for maintenance
and rehab ilitation before new
highw ay construction. State
motor vehicle fuel tax would be
raised from 7 cen ts to 9 cents
per gallon. Diesel log truck al
ternative fees would be increas
ed and limits would be placed on
revenues usable for parks, foot
paths, b icy c le tra ils and sta te
police.
For further inform ation
about candidates and measures,
refer to the V o ters’ P am phlet
distributed in all mailboxes and
available at Macy’s Store or the
County Clerk’s office.
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