Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe 473 U.S. 753 (1985) was a case appealed to the US Supreme Court
by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
. The Supreme Court reversed the previous decisions in the District Court and the Court of Appeals stating that the exclusive right to hunt, fish, and gather roots, berries, and seeds on the lands reserved to the Klamath
Tribe by the 1864 Treaty was not intended to survive as a special right to be free of state regulation in the ceded lands that were outside the reservation after the 1901 Agreement.
Band of Snake Indians
, now collectively called the Klamath
Indian Tribe, ceded their aboriginal title
to approximately 22000000 acres (89,030.9 km²) of aboriginal lands to the United States. In return they retained 1900000 acres (7,689 km²) for a reservation. It was expressly stated in the 1864 Treaty the Tribe would be secured "the exclusive right of taking fish in the streams and lakes, included in said reservation".
Government surveyors surveyed the reservation boundaries two different times, once in 1871 and again in 1888. Both surveys failed to include large tracts of land which included the meadows of the Sycan and Sprague River valleys which were originally intended for the reservation.
After many years of tribal complaints, The United States Congress
authorized a commission from the General Land Office to determine the amount and value of the excluded land. In 1896 the commission concluded that approximately 621824 acres (2,516.4 km²) were excluded, and that land were worth $537,000, or roughly 83.36 cents per acre. This figure was based on soil quality, grazing lands, and timber. The Klamath Tribes' hunting, fishing, and trapping rights were not mentioned in the commission's report.
In 1901, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
negotiated an agreement with the Klamath Tribe for cession of the excluded lands. In the Agreement, the United States agreed to pay the Tribe $537,007.20 for the 621824 acres (2,516.4 km²) of reservation land. In Article I, the tribe agreed to "cede, surrender, grant, and convey to the United States all their claim, right, title and interest in and to" that land. The United States Congress
ratified the agreement in 1906. Virtually all ceded lands were immediately closed to entry and placed in national forests or parks.
, along with various state officials, in Federal District Court seeking an injunction against the Department's interference with tribal members' hunting and fishing activities on the previously ceded lands in the 1901 Agreement. The District Court
entered judgement in favor of the Tribe and declared that the 1901 Agreement "did not abrogate" the Tribe's 1864 "Treaty rights....to hunt, fish, trap, and gather, free from regulation by the...State of Oregon" on the lands ceded to the United States.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's decision. The Court held that the 1864 Treaty had reserved the Tribe's rights to hunt and fish and the cession of lands in the 1901 Agreement did not specifically include the hunting and fishing rights. The Court of Appeals asserted that the tribe had retained all the rights that were not specified in the cession.
The issue in this case is that the Klamath Tribal members were asserting that they had the right to hunt and fish outside the boundaries of the reservation established in the 1901 Agreement including the lands ceded in the agreement. The tribes agreed that they had no rights to hunt and fish on the ceded lands that were currently privately owned. The question the court was considering was whether or not the Tribe reserved a special right to hunt and fish on the ceded lands and were free of state regulation through the 1901 Agreement. The Court pointed out that the language in the 1864 Treaty indicated that the Tribe's right to hunt and fish was restricted to the reservation and not on any of their additional ceded lands. In addition, the language in the 1901 Agreement did not evidence any intent to preserve special off-reservation hunting or fishing rights for the Tribe.
Other
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats....
. The Supreme Court reversed the previous decisions in the District Court and the Court of Appeals stating that the exclusive right to hunt, fish, and gather roots, berries, and seeds on the lands reserved to the Klamath
Klamath
]The Klamath are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon.-Pre-contact:Prior to the arrival of European explorers, the Klamath people lived in the area around the Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath, Williamson, and Sprague rivers...
Tribe by the 1864 Treaty was not intended to survive as a special right to be free of state regulation in the ceded lands that were outside the reservation after the 1901 Agreement.
Background
In a treaty in 1864 the Klamath and Modoc Tribes, along with the YahooskinYahooskin
The Yahooskin are a band of Snake Indians comprising part of the federally recognized Klamath Tribes in Klamath County, Oregon. In 1864 they, along with the Klamath and Modoc, signed a treaty with the Federal government which established an Indian reservation in Southern Oregon for them, in...
Band of Snake Indians
Snake Indians
Snake Indians is the common name given by American immigrants on the Oregon Trail to the bands of Northern Paiute, Bannock and Shoshone Native Americans in the Snake River and Owyhee River valleys of southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon...
, now collectively called the Klamath
Klamath
]The Klamath are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon.-Pre-contact:Prior to the arrival of European explorers, the Klamath people lived in the area around the Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath, Williamson, and Sprague rivers...
Indian Tribe, ceded their aboriginal title
Aboriginal title
Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism...
to approximately 22000000 acres (89,030.9 km²) of aboriginal lands to the United States. In return they retained 1900000 acres (7,689 km²) for a reservation. It was expressly stated in the 1864 Treaty the Tribe would be secured "the exclusive right of taking fish in the streams and lakes, included in said reservation".
Government surveyors surveyed the reservation boundaries two different times, once in 1871 and again in 1888. Both surveys failed to include large tracts of land which included the meadows of the Sycan and Sprague River valleys which were originally intended for the reservation.
After many years of tribal complaints, The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
authorized a commission from the General Land Office to determine the amount and value of the excluded land. In 1896 the commission concluded that approximately 621824 acres (2,516.4 km²) were excluded, and that land were worth $537,000, or roughly 83.36 cents per acre. This figure was based on soil quality, grazing lands, and timber. The Klamath Tribes' hunting, fishing, and trapping rights were not mentioned in the commission's report.
In 1901, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
negotiated an agreement with the Klamath Tribe for cession of the excluded lands. In the Agreement, the United States agreed to pay the Tribe $537,007.20 for the 621824 acres (2,516.4 km²) of reservation land. In Article I, the tribe agreed to "cede, surrender, grant, and convey to the United States all their claim, right, title and interest in and to" that land. The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
ratified the agreement in 1906. Virtually all ceded lands were immediately closed to entry and placed in national forests or parks.
Case
In 1982 the Klamath Tribe filed suit against the Oregon Department of Fish and WildlifeOregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats....
, along with various state officials, in Federal District Court seeking an injunction against the Department's interference with tribal members' hunting and fishing activities on the previously ceded lands in the 1901 Agreement. The District Court
District court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:-Australia:District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter...
entered judgement in favor of the Tribe and declared that the 1901 Agreement "did not abrogate" the Tribe's 1864 "Treaty rights....to hunt, fish, trap, and gather, free from regulation by the...State of Oregon" on the lands ceded to the United States.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's decision. The Court held that the 1864 Treaty had reserved the Tribe's rights to hunt and fish and the cession of lands in the 1901 Agreement did not specifically include the hunting and fishing rights. The Court of Appeals asserted that the tribe had retained all the rights that were not specified in the cession.
The issue in this case is that the Klamath Tribal members were asserting that they had the right to hunt and fish outside the boundaries of the reservation established in the 1901 Agreement including the lands ceded in the agreement. The tribes agreed that they had no rights to hunt and fish on the ceded lands that were currently privately owned. The question the court was considering was whether or not the Tribe reserved a special right to hunt and fish on the ceded lands and were free of state regulation through the 1901 Agreement. The Court pointed out that the language in the 1864 Treaty indicated that the Tribe's right to hunt and fish was restricted to the reservation and not on any of their additional ceded lands. In addition, the language in the 1901 Agreement did not evidence any intent to preserve special off-reservation hunting or fishing rights for the Tribe.
See also
Related cases- Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians v. Minnesota, 449 U.S. 905 (1980).
- Kimball v. Callahan, 590 F.2d 768 (1979).
- Washington v. Washington Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Assn., 443 U.S. 658 (1979).
- Carpenter v. Shaw, 280 U.S. 363 (1930).
- Puyallup Tribe v. Department of Game of Washington, 391 U.S. 392 (1968).
- United States v. WinansUnited States v. WinansUnited States v. Winans, , was a U.S. Supreme Court case that held that the Treaty with the Yakima of 1855, negotiated and signed at the Walla Walla Council of 1855, as well as treaties similar to it, protected the Indians’ rights to fishing, hunting and other privileges.- Background :In 1854 and...
, 198 U.S. 371 (1905).
Other