• Historical Significance: Indian people have integrated fishing into their lifeways along the coasts and rivers of the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial, using sustainable methods to harvest salmon and other fish.

• Encroachment and Activism: By the 1920s, white settlers began encroaching on traditional fishing grounds, leading to conflicts and the emergence of canneries and industrial fishing activities.

• Legal Battles: The 1950s saw increased activism by Tribal leaders to protect fishing rights, culminating in the 1970s with the Washington State Supreme Court guaranteeing these rights, though conflicts persisted.

• Photographic Evidence: The Washington State Archives holds a digital library with over 2,000 photos depicting traditional fishing lifeways and the structures used by Pacific Northwest tribes.

• Additional Content: The document also includes photographs of Tribal elders, activists, and events related to fishing rights, providing a human portrait of these historical events.

• Bibliography: The bibliography cites various collections from the Washington State Archives, including the State Library Photograph Collection and the General Subjects Photograph Collection.

Contents

i. Prospectus

ii. Photo: “Indian Women Preparing Fish Feast,” 1953

iii. Photo: “Makah Indian Women Cleaning Fish,” 1890

iv. Photo: “Makah Woman Drying Fish on a Rock,” 1895

v. Photo: “Tribal Leaders Lobby the Legislature on the Steps of the Old Capitol,” 1921

vi. Photo: “Yelm Jim's Fish Trap at Puyallup Indian Reservation,” 1885

vii. Photo: “At the Happy Fishing Grounds,” 1937

viii. Photo: “Homecoming,” 1964

ix. Photo: “Tribal Chiefs with Kate Stevens Bates,” 1921

x. Photo: “From Platforms on the Roaring British Columbia Rivers, Indians Spear Salmon,” 1929

xii. Bibliography

PROSPECTUS

Archival Photos Illuminate Indian Fishing Practices in the Pacific Northwest, ca. 1880-1970

Subject

Since time immemorial, Indian people have integrated fishing along the coasts and rivers of the Pacific Northwest into their lifeways.  Along the Columbia River, for example, Indians built weirs out of tree branches to capture salmon.  Combined with cultural and ritual practices, Indian people were able to sustain themselves year-round with the harvest of salmon from this River.  Likewise, on the coast, platforms were built where thousands of people would gather, affording them ease of access and a place for other tribal members to clean and prepare the catch.  Environmentally sustainable and culturally aware, this natural cycle of generating sustenance for tribes in the Pacific Northwest was integral to their survival for thousands of years.  The first few photos in this collection illustrate the semi-industrial approach that Indians took to preparing salmon at the dawn of the photographic age, evidence of a rich cultural tradition spanning back ages.

Historical Context

By the 1920’s white settlers had begun to encroach on the traditional fishing and hunting grounds of Indians in the Pacific Northwest.  Besides skirmishes between small bands of settlers and tribal fisherman, canneries and industrial fishing activities began to emerge along the rivers and coasts of Washington state, further exacerbating tensions.  Culminating in the 1950’s with activism and engagement by Tribal leaders with local and national governments, pictured in this collection are illustrative of the lengths to which Indians would go to protect the fishing rights guaranteed to them by treaties.

By the 1970’s, after the Washington State Supreme Court intervened, guaranteeing fishing rights for Indians along the rivers and coasts of Washington state, Indian activism was present across the United States.  But rather than work in favor of Indian sovereignty, this decision helped foster even more conflict between small, community-oriented fishing tribes and large, now industrialized tribes and commercial canneries that had gained dominance in the region during the intervening years.  It took actions and sit-ins by such high-profile Indians as Hank Adams and Billy Frank, Jr. of the American Indian Movement, who were arrested in 1971 agitating for the rights of smaller fishing tribes and pictured in this collection around this time.  These small tribes still agitate for expanded fishing rights today.

Methodology

The Washington State Archives holds a digital library of over 2,000 photos and describes the collection as “consisting of various subjects related to Washington's history, people, politics, agriculture, towns, logging, industry, and buildings, 1845-2005.”  However, there is a trove of pictures and documentary evidence that depict the traditional fishing lifeways of Pacific Northwest tribes, including the structures and mechanisms used to capture and clean copious quantities of fish.  These photographs hearken back to a time before Indians across the Americas were introduced to European settlers and help foster an appreciation for the cultural and environmental concerns that animate attitudes about Pacific Northwest Indian fishing today.

 Additional Content

Represented here are some of the archived photographs available online at the Washington State Digital Archives (https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/home) that picture early fishing practices that both sustained healthy communities and had a positive impact on the environment. Images of Tribal elders and activists are also present in the collection and presented here for a more human portrait of the events surrounding fishing rights for Indian people in the Pacific Northwest.

Thompson, John W. "Indian Women Preparing Fish Feast." 1953. Box 17, Native Americans, Yakama Indians. Washington State Archives, Digital Archives (hereafter WSADA). State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990 (hereafter SLPC, 1851-1990).

Women prepare fish for a feast.  Catching salmon and other fish was a vital activity for Indian people in the Pacific Northwest, animating their culture and inhabiting their cosmology. 

Unknown. "Makah Indian Women Cleaning Fish." 1890. Box 16, Native Americans, Tribes. WSADA. SLPC, 1851-1990.

Traditionally Indian women prepared the catch, as seen in this photo of a Makah woman.  Fish were cleaned and either eaten right away or cured on racks. 

McCurdy, James G. "Makah Woman Drying Fish on a Rock." 1895. Box 17, Native Americans, Yakama Indians. WSADA. SLPC, 1851-1990.

A photo of this curing process is also present in the archives.  In this photo another woman cures the fish on wooden racks, presumably to save as a meal or for winter food. 

Jeffers, Vilbert. "Tribal Leaders Lobby the Legislature on the Steps of the Old Capitol." 1921. Box 15, Indians, Portraits G-L. WSADA. SLPC, 1851-1990.

Indians fiercely protect their water and fishing rights, even sending cohorts to the offices of the State capitol to agitate for their treaty and other rights.  Pictured here is one such meeting.

Mitchell. "Yelm Jim's Fish Trap at Puyallup Indian Reservation." 1885. Box 15, Native Americans. WSADA. SLPC, 1851-1990.

To fish sustainably, Indian people did not try to capture as many fish as possible.  Instead, they built infrastructure such as this Fish Trap that allowed the culling of fish in an environmentally responsible way and also acted as a foothold across the river. 

Unknown. "At the Happy Fishing Grounds." 1937. Box 4, Fishing and Hatcheries. WSADA. General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2005 (hereafter GSPC, 1845-2005).

Indians built many structures along Washington state waterways.  Here, at the Happy Fishing Grounds, an Indian has constructed a platform with access back to the roadway. 

 Templeton, Bill. "Homecoming." 1964. Box 4, Fishing Rights. WSADA. GSPC, 1845-2005.

Young men returned home to Washington state to participate in the legal battles and cultural clashes that abrogation of treaty fishing rights brought to the state.  Photographs of these ‘homecoming’ eve

Documents are available in the digital archive.  McKnight Studio. "Tribal Chiefs with Kate Stevens Bates." 1921. Box 15, Indians, Portraits G-L. WSADA. SLPC, 1851-1990.

Kate Stevens Bates was a prominent benefactor that lived in Portland, Oregon during the early 20th century.  Here, tribal chiefs from across the northwest gathered with her. 

Unknown. "From Platforms on the roaring British Columbia Rivers, Indians Spear Salmon." 1929. Box 4, Fishing Rights. WSADA. GSPC, 1845-2005.

The elaborate structures, such as this platform, existed along some Washington waterways as recently as the early 2000’s. 

Unknown. "Hank Adams." 1971. Box 5, Fishing Rights. WSADA. GSPC, 1845-2005.

Hank Adams and the American Indian Movement, known as AIM, agitated for Indian water rights in the Pacific Northwest.  Here is pictured sometime around his arrest for his activism.

References

Washington State Archives, Digital Archives. Collections: “State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990” and “General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2005.” https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/home