Colville Tribe's Gathering Access - WA

Public Land is the only area it is legal for me to gather because I am a descendant. WA Fish & Wildlife only considers enrolled members of tribes "Indian" so, I cannot access inherent rights to hunt and fish in our territory except on Public Land or being with a relative who is an enrolled member on-reservation. I have limitations from the State on gathering quantities for berries, fish, mushrooms, deer and elk. I'll include Idaho, Montana, Oregon and B.C. in the future and the limitations to gathering and access on Public Lands there too. I created these maps to guide myself, other descendants and enrolled members to understand access to our territory.

The Public Lands layer helps to define areas where access to off-reservation gathering of, roots, berries, and other plants. Unfortunately, there is not hunting access to much of this traditional territory because of The Colville Tribe did not ceded lands through treaty to maintain hunting and fishing rights in usual and accustomed areas like neighboring federally recognized tribes like Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla and Warm Springs who do have treaty rights, but even in the executive orders concerning the 12 Colville Tribes there was no mention of giving up the right to hunt, fish or gather in our territory, so I wonder why it's been difficult for the Tribes of the Colville, Spokane, Kootenai of Idaho, Kalispel, Coeur d'Alene? I have sent an email to UCUT the Upper Columbia United Tribes to help answer this question.

The Colville Tribe on behalf of the Wenatchi band fought in court and won access to fishing on the Icicle River near Leavenworth, WA. At one time the signatories on the Yakama Treaty of 1855 included Wenatchi's who were offered a 6 square mile reservation at the point where the Wenatchee River and Icicle River's meet. This reservation was never surveyed by the U.S. government and so people stayed on their homelands while settlement in the valley grew in population, eventually the settlers were asking for the removal of our people. Unknowingly to the Wenatchi People staying in the valley, the reservation was not established or surveyed. A settlement for these lands was given to the Yakama Nation, their tribe accepted because they were starving. The Wenatchi's having their lands ceded with no reservation were given some allotments in the area, but most left to the Colville Reservation. Currently to further exercise Wenatchi rights there are planned hunts taking place in the valley's hills and mountains. The map below shows the 1855 Yakama Treaty, Wenatchi Territory and the 6 square mile unsurveyed reservation.

Other bands of the Colville Reservation, the Palus and Nez Perce came to the Colville Reservation with Chief Joseph. Unlike the other Nez Perce Tribe, they do not have treaty or rights in their traditional territory.

The Sinixt or Arrow Lakes band has recently had their hunting rights recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada. Though they remain unrecognized as a First Nation. The Colville Fish and Wildlife on behalf of the Sinixt now have a headquarters in British Columbia to allow Tribal Members with Arrow Lakes Sinixt listed on their I.D.'s to hunt in the Purcell and Selkirk Mountains.

The bands with no special rights off-reservation are only able to hunt on our 1.4-million-acre reservation (Red) and the Colville National Forest part of what is known as the 'North Half' (White) of our former reservation that was taken by government in 1892.

Fires are disproportionately affecting our territory and the reservation. Before diversifying our economy and becoming one of the largest employers in Washington State, the Colville Tribe's main source of revenue was timber, we still manage this in a sustained yield practice. Today, managed burns and traditional fire management has returned to the reservation after years of BIA and USDA Forest Service policy of fire suppression.

This map shows us the areas in red of human development that ended Salmon runs in the Columbia Basin the dark green is the areas in the watershed that had waterfalls preventing historical migration and light green all the paths salmon swam before dams.

The map above shows the Ceded Lands within the State of Washington boarders. The Southwest and Northeast parts of the state in purple show the cession from executive orders and the green shows treaty cession mostly from the mid 1850's.

What is ceded? Is treaty cession different than executive order cession?

I mentioned earlier that in the province of British Columbia most land is "crown land" this really means "unceded land" many nations in this region hold they never ceded rights or land and have continued their sovereign governance since time immemorial.

Can unceded mean the same for the Upper Columbia Tribes in the U.S.? It could, but for example the former Colville and Columbia Reservations were ceded away from us by the federal government through forced agreements and decisions made by the executive and judicial branches.

This is why although we never gave up hunting and fishing rights the government refused to recognize these inherent rights because "unceded" could be a threat to illegitimate settler colonial state land claims. Both the U.S. and Canada will never liberate us from their occupation and tyranny.

The seasonal rounds reflect the 4 food chiefs and the seasons. This cycle begins with feasts to celebrate and pray for the harvest and gathering to start after this is done we won't gather until each of these feasts. In the spring the roots become ready and we spent time in areas around the plateau finding camas, bitterroot, biscuit root, wild celery, carrots and onions. Then the fish run in the spring. The summer heat would bring us to the rivers and mountains for berries of all kinds. The fall was a time for gathering materials for our winter homes and the materials to create with like tule, Indian hemp and foods like Indian potato. After the fall salmon migration there would be plenty of meat to make it through the cold season, but we would supplement with deer, elk and moose and wintering birds.

As a student at Northwest Indian College I’ve become more familiar with our Internal Review Board. This is a process that all researchers need to do to to work in our communities. The NWIC IRB process requires consent from tribal governments.

I am learning a lot more from a Ethnography course from Dr. Walsey.

NRCS - State Archeologist and cultural resource concerns.

I learned about the Cultural Resource Review Worksheet (CRRW) and how the state tribal historic preservation offices and tribal governments work with the NRCS before private landowners are able to do projects they have to be reviewed and sometimes surveyed if cultural properties are found or likely hood that the project will be built in a area with high likely of tribal use.

They call this tribal historic properties. I feel like there could be future use through accessibility programs for cultural gathering on private lands and in places like forests or restoration easements around farmland through the NRCS or conservation districts.

• Food sovereignty assessments.

• New state laws for descendants of tribes to be able to gather in state managed lands and be able to apply to special permitting for cultural use. Enrolled and unenrolled. Federally recognized or not.

• New federal laws to allow non-treaty tribes to gather in their lands.

• Conservation programs to support native plant and cultural resource enhancement on private lands.

• Ultimately, all public land back.