NATIVE TREATY RIGHTS “Supreme Law of the Land” (U.S. Constitution Article VI ) Dr. Zoltan Grossman Faculty member in Geography and Native American Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington

Treaties for cessions (Land transfers to U.S.) Cessions traded land for peace (prevented war) U.S. benefited from ceded lands & resources If abrogate treaties, give back land? Pay for resources?

Usufructuary (Use) Rights Tribes could not survive on reservation resources alone, so treaties reserved use rights on ceded lands -- Hunting, fishing, gathering Similar to use rights after selling private property –Access to fruit tree, boat landings, road, etc. Some treaties further specified that services or payments were to be provided to the tribe –Unequal to land’s value

Treaty annuity payments to Ojibwe LaPointe, Madeline Island, WI 1852

Treaties are agreements between sovereign nations treaties signed by U.S. & Native nations to 1871, implied recognition of sovereignty. Only federal government can negotiate a treaty; State laws cannot impingeTreaties

Treaties removed rights. They did not grant them. Tribes sold land to U.S. under conditions. Rights to control ceded lands taken away. Tribes retained some rights practiced for centuries. Reserved Rights Doctrine

Accounts of treaty talks, translations often ambiguous Historical inquiry into context of culture & economy Ambiguities must be resolved in favor of Indians. Treaties must be interpreted and construed as Indians would have understood them. Canons of Construction

Violations of treaty rights Ward vs. Race Horse decision, 1896 –Statehood nullified treaties Hunting/fishing for sport rather than food in early 1900s (T. Roosevelt) “Conservation” of resources used to curtail tribal rights Treaty rights practiced in secret; Confiscations, jail terms if caught

Washington “Fish-Ins,” 1960s Treaties of guaranteed fishing rights Returning vets asserted rights, called “poachers” Attracted national support for Puget Sound tribes Violent reaction from police, local vigilantes

Boldt Decision, 1974 WA tribes entitled to a share of fish (50%) “in common” Can fish in “usual and accustomed” places Tribes need a “modest” standard of living Belloni decisions for Columbia River tribes

Backlash to Boldt Backlash from sportfishermen, commercial fishermen Steelhead/Salmon Protective Assoc. and Wildlife Network (S/SPAWN) Joined reservation whites opposing tribal jurisdiction Interstate Congress for Equal Rights and Responsbilities

National Anti-Treaty Movement Spread from Northwest to Great Plains to Midwest Overlap with national “Wise Use” movement; some contact with right-wing extremist groups (Ryser) Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) national network strongly denies racism

Definitions of Place SOCIAL Defines place as belonging to one ethnic or racial group (“Law of the Blood”) TERRITORIAL Defines place geographically as home for all who live there (“Law of the Soil”) “Ethnic cleansing” in early ‘90s to match ethnic, state boundaries Flag of Bosnia (multiethnic state) Flag of Bosnian Serbs (ethnic)

Geographies of Exclusion (Sibley) “Insiders” belong in the place “Outsiders” are transgressing in the place “Insiders” set up boundaries, rules to exclude outsiders Examples: Gypsies, Homeless, Ethnic minorities, etc.

Indians as “Outsiders” Native Americans “belong” in place (on reservation) Spearfishers “transgressing” into non-Indian social space Whites “border towns” zones of social exclusion Wisconsin chants: “White Man’s Land,” “Indians Go Home”

Anti-Treaty Movement: “Equal Rights for Whites” Interpretation of civil rights as individual rights Whites victims of “Red Apartheid” Martin Luther King would have opposed treaties?

Indians granted “special rights” to resources Tribes are pawns in federal “land grab” Fish & game endangered by “rape” of resources “Sport” is higher use of resources than “harvest” Anti-Treaty Movement: Access to natural resources

Anti-Treaty Movement: Economic dependency Indians opposed for being on welfare –“Welfare Cadillac” message Indians have “free” housing, education, medical care, cash Indians use tax $$, “don’t pay taxes” Indians opposed for getting off welfare

Pro-Treaty Movement Response to displays of racism by anti-treaty groups Witnessing of anti-Indian harassment and violence Public education on history, culture, resources Build environmental and economic common ground with non-Indians

Shared identities in conflict Both Native & non-Indian fishers depend on resources for identity Both highly value outdoors for cultural lifestyle Both relatively poor; mom & pop businesses closing for corporate chains Both independent rural people often at odds with government

Anti-Treaty Movement: “Equal Rights for Whites” Interpretation of civil rights as individual rights Whites victims of “Red Apartheid” Martin Luther King would have opposed treaties?

Indians granted “special rights” to resources Tribes are pawns in federal “land grab” Fish & game endangered by “rape” of resources “Sport” is higher use of resources than “harvest” Anti-Treaty Movement: Access to natural resources

Anti-Treaty Movement: Economic dependency Indians opposed for being on welfare –“Welfare Cadillac” message Indians have “free” housing, education, medical care, cash Indians use tax $$, “don’t pay taxes” Indians opposed for getting off welfare

Pro-Treaty Movement Response to displays of racism by anti-treaty groups Witnessing of anti-Indian harassment and violence Public education on history, culture, resources Build environmental and economic common ground with non-Indians

Shared identities in conflict Both Native & non-Indian fishers depend on resources for identity Both highly value outdoors for cultural lifestyle Both relatively poor; mom & pop businesses closing for corporate chains Both independent rural people often at odds with government

“When America says something, America means it, whether a treaty, or an agreement, or a vow made on marble steps. Great nations, like great men, keep their word.” -- President George Bush, Inaugural address, 1989