United States District Court Judge George H. Boldt (1903-1984) Courtesy Washington Secretary of State

The Boldt Decision

Boldt handed down his decision on February 12, 1974. First and foremost in his ruling was the nature and scope of the treaty fishing rights. Boldt reviewed the treaty wording closely, specifically the key language: "The right of taking fish, at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations, is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory ..." and found that the tribes had the original rights to the fish, which they granted to the settlers, but this grant was limited. Boldt ruled that the language of the treaty provided for an equal sharing of the resource between the tribes and the settlers, and ruled that tribes that were parties to treaties (not all of the tribes in the state were) could take up to 50 percent of the fish harvest that passed through their recognized fishing grounds. This was to be calculated on a river-by-river, run-by-run basis. He rejected the state's argument that steelhead trout should not be included since they are not salmon, finding that the time the treaties were signed, the signatories considered steelhead no different than salmon.

Excerpt from HistoryLink.org Essay 21084 by Phil Dougherty (posted 8/24/2020)

On January 19, 2001, the Duwamish Tribe wins federal recognition. However, fewer than 48 hours later, the tribe learns that President George W. Bush has suspended a batch of President Clinton's 11th-hour orders, including federal recognition of the Duwamish. The Duwamish were the indigenous inhabitants of the Seattle area. They have been seeking recognition since 1979, when U.S. District Judge George Boldt (1903-1984) found that the tribe had not existed continuously as an organized tribe (within the meaning of federal law) from 1855 to the present, and was therefore ineligible for treaty fishing rights.

A 10-year gap in the record (from 1915-1925) prompted Boldt's decision as well as a denial of recognition by the Bureau of Indian affairs in 1996. The tribe has assembled additional evidence for its active existence through the decade in question, which prompted the Bureau of Indian Affairs to reverse its 1996 decision. The Duwamish, including Chief Seattle (178?-1866), for whom Seattle is named, were among the signers of the Point Elliott treaty, signed on January 22, 1855, and ratified by the United States Senate in 1859. The treaty guaranteed both fishing rights and reservations.

Excerpt from HistoryLink.org Essay 2951 by Priscilla Long (posted 1/20/2001)