Puyallup Tribe v. Department of Game (Puyallup I)

What happened

Article III of the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, made with the Puyallup and Nisqually Indians, secured to them "the right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations ... in common with all citizens of the Territory." The fish at stake were salmon and steelhead that hatch in the Puyallup and Nisqually Rivers.

The Indians used set nets to catch fish for their own use and for sale. The Puyallup fished in Commencement Bay, at the mouth of the Puyallup River and upstream. The Nisqually fished in the fresh waters of the Nisqually River. Washington law barred set nets in any waters of the State for salmon or steelhead, and the nets were illegal if the State's rules were valid. The State went to court, and the Washington Supreme Court held the fishing rights could be regulated, sending the cases back to decide whether the rules were reasonable and necessary.

On May 27, 1968, the United States Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Douglas, held that "the State may in the interest of conservation regulate fishing by the Indians 'in common with' the fishing by others." The opinion adds that regulation of the manner of fishing and the size of the take must meet "appropriate standards" and must not discriminate against the Indians.

The Court did not decide whether using set nets where the Indians placed them is allowed, because the record did not reach that question.

Good to know. Whether Washington's particular rules met the standard was left for later proceedings.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error