The Lummi Indians and the Canadian/American Pacific Salmon Treaty

Abstract

N MARCH OF 1985 AT A CEREMONY in Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and United States President Ronald Reagan signed a new treaty designed to allocate Pacific Ocean salmon' stocks between the two countries. The United States and Canada have had a limited salmon treaty in effect for nearly 50 years but this new treaty will specifically allocate the number of salmon based on the country of origin. Unlike the other states (Alaska, Oregon and California) and province (British Columbia) affected by the treaty, Washington State is subject to a 1974 Federal Court decision guaranteeing Treaty Indians 50 percent of the allowable salmon harvest. The new Pacific Salmon Treaty promises to modify the harvest of some of these Indian tribesespecially the Lummi Tribe. This paper seeks to explore the probable impact of the Pacific Salmon Treaty on the Lummi Indian community2 and the manner in which the Lummi have reacted to the international agreement. The Lummi had no input into the negotiation process and available information suggests that just as the Lummi have built their fleet to the point where they can harvest the Indian share of the allocation under the old treaty, they must now cut back their increasing harvest of Fraser River sockeye and pinks. The Lummi have reacted in opposition to the constraints imposed by the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The perception seems to be that the treaty imposes unfair harvest restrictions on the Indian fishers and therefore the opportunity to continue to increase harvest is jeopardized. The Lummi case points out a serious conflict that exists concerning the federal government's conception of international treaties. It has long been conceded that treaties between the United States and Indian tribes are the Supreme Law of the Land, and as such the tribes are not subject to the sovereignty of the individual states (Cohen 1942: 117). But how do Indian treaties fare when stacked up against a treaty with a foreign nation? The Canadian/American Pacific Salmon Treaty did not take into account the probable impact on the treaty-assured Indian fishing rights of Western Washington, but was primarily concerned with facilitating more effective management of the several salmon stocks that cross the international ocean boundaries during annual migration.