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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1981)
July 8,1981 P««« 3 SpDyay Tymoo ★ Heated hearing “It is important to note that the g majority of fish produced for ' this run originate from g Continued from page 1 spawning areas within the Warm Springs Indian “Of the annual Reservation. statewide top ten “Of the annual statewide top summer steelhead ten summer steelhead rivers in one to four of those rivers in Oregon, one Oregon, rivers each year are located to four of those rivers within or above the treaty Indian commercial fishing each year are located area, ” the analysis continues. within or above the In a thoughtful, yet strong against the treaty Indian com statement decommercialization of mercial fishing area.” steelhead and the bill, Bill MacMillan of the Clark- Skamania Flyfisher Associa commercially for steelhead,” tion offered the following claimed the Columbia River remarks: Inter-Tribal Fish Commission “Today, we’re examining legislation that negates the (CRITFC). “These bills, if enacted, possibility for a powerful ’ would be a hook on which to political alliance to preserve hang the gradual total steelhead by further lengthen eradication of tribal fishing ing and intensifying a counter- rights,” said a prepared productive internal war statement by the CRITFC. between two of the main user The CRITFC also noted that groups—the sports fishermen legislation similar to the and the Indian fishermen. Running for rights proposed Steelhead Trout “The end design is to Protection Act has failed to effectively eliminate the Indian pass Congress in the last two as a significant user group and sessions because these allow the sportsmen to add the steelhead decommercialization Indian harvest to his (own) bills have no biological, legal, catch—the end result being moral or fiscal justification. the same number of dead “Despite claims of the bills steelhead combined with a 75 for the hearing. proponents that upriver percent reduction in national steelhead runs are in jeopardy political punch to fight for the enhance these wild popula Union, Richard Cellarius of the due to overfishing, the upper preservation of steelhead.” Sierra Club’s regional Columbia River and its He said that sportsmen must tions....” conservation committee agreed He urged sportsmen to view tributaries consistently support re-examine the Indian issue with tribal leaders that Indian the Indian as an ally in the some of the largest sport from the standpoint of reality fishing rights have not had a fisheries for summer steelhead rather than emotion. The preservation of valuable detrimental affect on sports steelhead runs. (The full text of within Oregon and Washing Indians have proven them fishing, as the bills claim. They ton,” according to a biological selves in their consistent fight MacMillan’s statement has agreed with the Indian been reproduced on page 4.) analysis . of Columbia River for correct conservation Besides Bill MacMillan, fishermen that the proposed act steelhead, conducted by practices, he said. several non-Indian individuals would have no conservation MacMillan told the Senate CRITFC. and groups offered statement impact on steelhead resources, “In recent years the panel that it’s no accident that in support of the treaty tribes as the act implies. However, representatives of Deschutes River has consis really strong runs of wild and against the proposed the fishing groups pledged tently maintained its standing spawning steelhead “happen to legislation. among the top summer be on rivers that have Indian Russ Bristow of Columbia never to give up the fight to ban steelhead sport fishing rivers teservations that use, protect, River Gillnetters’ Protective all commercial fishing of the in Oregon,” the report states. and in some instances even steelhead. “These Indians must understand that we will never, never shut down our course to make the steelhead a national game fish,” vowed Chuck Voss, a member of the National Steelhead Trout Committee. Among boo’s and shouts, Dale Johnson of the Makah Tribe remarked, “Apparently, some value fishing for fun more than fishing for necessity—to earn a living and put food on our family’s tables. We, of course, do not share that view. Wallulatum offers testimony against Steelhead Protection Act “Fishing is ol ir Testimony of Nelson Wallula tum on behalf of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs Regarding Senate Bill 874 (Seattle, Washington June 29, 1981) My name is Nelson Wallulatum. I am Chief of the Wascos, one of the three Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, and a member of the Warm Springs Tribal Council. I am here to speak on behalf of the Warm Springs Tribe in opposition to Senate Bill 874, the Steelhead Trout Protection Act. This Bill is sometimes called the "Steelhead Decommercial ization Bill." The Warm Springs Tribe, however, considers this a "Treaty Abrogation Bill" and we are unalterably opposed to it. When our ancestors signed the Treaty of 1855 they reserved for our people the right to fish at our usual and accustomed stations beyond the Reservation. The United States Supreme Court has interpreted this reserved right to include the taking of steelhead, which we have always regarded as a type of salmon. To us, the fact that biologists way of life” proud of the fact that the major say steelhead are an ocean-run for sportsmen tocatch. Neither production of the Deschutes variety of . Rainbow trout claim is true. The Warm Springs Tribe has River steelhead occurs on the means notning. We view the Warm Springs Reservation. steelhead as our ancestors exclusive fishing rights in the The Warm Springs River, Deschutes river where it viewed it—one of the great Shitike Creek and the fishes that returns from the sea borders our reservation. As a Deschutes River bordering the courtesy, we share this right each year to our traditional Reservation are the primary fishing sites to become food for with non-Indians. Down spawning areas which combine our people and the basis for stream from the reservation, with the Warm Springs and trade or sale with others to some of our usual and Round Butte hatcheries to obtain the necessities of life. accustomed fishing places, produce the strong Deschutes Taking steelhead, like such as Sherars Falls, are also River steelhead, which are taking salmon, is at the heart on the Deschutes. The produced in and pass through of the Warm Springs culture. Deschutes, as you probably the heart of the Wann Springs We are river people and we are know, joins the Columbia Treaty fishing areg, do not need fishermen. Catching these fish River upstream from the conservation. is not sport or recreation. It is Treaty Indian commercial Even if steelhead needed fishing zone which begins at our way-of life. conserving, elimination the It has been the right of the Bonneville Dam. Considering Indian fishery would not Warm Springs people since the River's location, according increase the numbers. The time immemorial to fish for to the sponsors of the bill there Warm Springs Tribe together Steelhead. The Treaty of 1855 should be very few Steelhead with the three other Columbia specifically reserves this right available for Deschutes River River Treaty Tribes agreed to us in written form and makes sportsmen to catch. However, several years ago to limit our it the supreme law of the land. just the opposite is true. From 1970 through 1978, the Steelhead catch. Under the Take legislation now before you would take this right from Deschutes River sports catch of Five Year plan, begun in 1977, us, a right our people have summer steelhead was .the we agreed to concentrate our, exercised for countless largest among 92 steelhead commercial fishery on Fall generations. For that reason, streams in Oregon. The Chinook and limit our catch. more than any other, we Deschutes River was Oregon’s steelhead We were told more Chinook leading steelhead stream even oppose this bill. would be available to us to The other reason the Wann in 1977 when the four make up for the loss of Springs Tribe opposes this bill Columbia River Treaty Tribes steelhead. We kept our part of is that it is unnecessary. The recorded their largest ever the bargain. Since the Five sponsors of the bill claim the commercial steelhead catch. Ye^r Plan went into effect, the Treaty Indian fishery on The Deschutes has surrendered four Columbia River Treaty steelhead has created a its number one position in Tribes have reduced their conservation problem. They recent years only because of catch from 29,000 to say that if the Indian expanded hatchery production steelhead 3,000 during the fall season. on the Rogue and other rivers. steelhead fishery is eliminated, But our Fall Chinook catch The Warm Springs Tribe is more steelhead will be available has not increased. Rather, it has decreased during the Five Year Plan. Instead of catching fewer steelhead in exchange for more salmon, we now catch almost no steelhead and fewer and fewer salmon. Put simply, if there is a steelhead conservation problem on the upper Columbia River we are not the cause of it and this bill will not solve it. The Warm Springs Tribe regards the Treaty of 1855 as a sacred document. It preserves for us those rights that have been ours since time immemorial and protects our culture from being over whelmed by the world outside our reservation. An attack on our Treaty rights is an attack on the Warm Springs people and our way of life. That is how we view the Steelhead Decommercialization Bill—as a threat to the Warm Springs Tribe’s historic and treaty- protected fishing rights which form the basis of our culture. Because this bill would undo a sacred trust entered into by the United States and the Warm Springs people and because there is no conserva tion or biological purpose to be gained for its enactment, I respectfully but strongly urge the committee to defeat this legislation. Thank you.
