United States v. Washington was a case heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. It reaffirmed the right of American Indian tribes in the State of Washington to act with the state as co-managers of salmon and other fish in line with treaties signed by the U.S. with the tribes. The tribes of Washington had ceded their land, but reserved the right to fish using traditional methods (example pictured), including at traditional locations off the designated reservations. A 1974 decision by federal judge George Boldt held that the tribes were entitled to half the catch each year. In 1975 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this ruling, and in 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. When the state refused to enforce the court order, Boldt ordered the Coast Guard to enforce his rulings. In a later case, Justice John Paul Stevens summarized: "Both sides have a right, secured by treaty, to take a fair share of the available fish." (Full article...)