USA, et al v. State of Washington, et al

  1. August 28, 2015

    Wash. Tribes Win Contested Fishing Area In Pacific Ocean

    A Washington federal judge has handed a second major victory to two northwestern Native American tribes, granting them the contested fishing zones they had fought for in the Pacific Ocean.

  2. August 25, 2015

    Ancestral Fishing Grounds Didn't Follow Coastline, Court Told

    Three northwest Washington Native American tribes urged a federal judge Monday to back their proposed demarcation of their ancestral fishing ground boundaries, saying that more restrictive boundaries proposed by a neighboring tribe don't take into account certain fishing trips undertaken by their ancestors.

  3. August 18, 2015

    Wash. Tribe Takes Fishing Grounds Dispute To 9th Circ.

    The Lummi Nation plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit after a Washington federal judge shot down its bid to resume fishing in disputed waters near Seattle, teeing up the latest round in a row with a trio of neighboring tribes.

  4. August 14, 2015

    Wash. Tribe Wants Testimony Nixed In Shellfish Harvest Row

    The Squaxin Island Tribe on Thursday urged a Washington federal court to exclude a shellfisher's planned testimony and exhibits from an upcoming hearing, arguing the "nonresponsive and irrelevant" information will not help determine the amount of shellfish owed to the tribe.

  5. July 31, 2015

    Makah Say Neighboring Tribes Exaggerating Fishing Area

    The Makah Indian Tribe told a Washington federal judge Thursday that fishing zones proposed by the Quinault and Quileute tribes in the Pacific Ocean go too far beyond the area adjudicated by the court in keeping with their ancestral fishing grounds.

  6. July 24, 2015

    Judge Reconsiders Officer Liability In Tribe's Shellfish Fight

    A Washington federal judge agreed Thursday to reconsider her order denying a quick victory for the Squaxin Island Tribe over use of tidewaters for shellfish growing, finding that her order had too strictly limited the shellfisher's corporate responsibility, but still denying the tribe's bid for a win on the theory.

  7. July 10, 2015

    Wash. Tribes' Fishing Rights Reach Far Offshore, Judge Says

    A federal judge on Thursday dealt a win to the Quileute and Quinault tribes in a dispute with another northwestern Washington tribe over the extent of their ancestral fishing grounds, ruling that the Quileute and Quinault's fishing grounds extend to where they historically harvested marine mammals.

  8. June 15, 2015

    Wash. Tribe Says Shellfish Co. Owner Is Liable In Harvest Row

    The Squaxin Island Tribe asked a federal judge to rethink her decision not holding the owner of a defunct shellfish company personally responsible for evading notice requirements for harvests conducted on tribal fishing grounds, arguing Friday that her order "provides a road map" for companies to evade notification requirements.

  9. June 12, 2015

    Wash. Tribes Say Lummi Lack Evidence In Fishing Ground Suit

    Two Washington state tribes urged a federal judge Friday to reject the Lummi Nation's bid to allow it to resume fishing near Seattle in waters currently claimed in part by the tribes, saying there's no evidence the Lummi ever fished in the disputed area.

  10. June 03, 2015

    Wash. Judge Bars Tribe From Fishing In Disputed Waters

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked the Suquamish Tribe from fishing in disputed waters off the state's northwestern shore near Seattle, saying the evidence available in a landmark 1975 ruling on the waters didn't support the tribe's attempt to expand its fishing grounds.