Ninth Circuit Allows Sauk-Suiattle Tribe to Pursue Expanded Fishing Claims

In a detailed opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed that the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe may advance its lawsuit to expand fishing territories along the Baker River, a tributary of the Skagit River in northwestern Washington. The decision references the 1974 Boldt ruling, which interpreted the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott and allowed tribes to fish at "usual and accustomed" sites, but omitted the Skagit River from the Sauk-Suiattle’s designated area.

The appellate court rejected a lower-court dismissal, directing the district court to evaluate evidence of the tribe’s historic use of the Baker River. It also cleared the way for the tribe to argue for rights in certain marine waters, where the original injunction was silent. Four other tribes—Swinomish, Suquamish, Tulalip and Upper Skagit—had intervened, seeking dismissal, and the Ninth Circuit only partially sided with them.

The tribe’s attorney emphasized that the ruling does not grant the rights themselves, only the ability to prove them in court. The panel included Judges Margaret McKeown, William Fletcher and Patrick Bumatay.