Sohappy v. Smith

"Sohappy" redirects here. For the similarly titled musical release, see So Happy (album).

Sohappy v. Smith and United States v. Oregon
CourtUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon
Full case name Richard SOHAPPY et al., Plaintiffs, v. McKee A. SMITH, Edward G. Huffschmidt, J. I. Eoff, Commissioners, Oregon Fish Commission; Robert W. Schoning, Director, Oregon Fish Commission, their agents, servants, employees and those persons in active concert or participation with them; John W. McKean, Director, Oregon Game Commission, his agents, servants, employees and those persons in active concert or participation with him, Defendants. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF OREGON, Defendant, and The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; Confederated Tribes & Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; and Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, Intervenors.
DecidedJuly 8, 1969
Citation302 F. Supp. 899
Court membership
Judge sittingRobert C. Belloni

Sohappy v. Smith, 302 F. Supp. 899 (D. Or. 1969),[1] was a federal case heard by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, decided in 1969 and amended in 1975. It began with fourteen members of the Yakama who sued the U.S. state of Oregon over its fishing regulations. The federal court combined the case with another case, United States v. Oregon, in which the U.S. federal government sued the state along with the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes.[2]

The ruling issued by judge Robert C. Belloni in 1969 is known as the "Belloni Decision" or the "Fair Share Doctrine."[3] It is an interpretation of the decision in Puyallup Tribe v. Department of Game of Washington (1968).[4]

Belloni's ruling acknowledged the right of several tribes of Native Americans to fish in the Columbia River with minimal regulation by the government of the United States or by local governments.[5][6]

The rights were further clarified in United States v. Washington in 1974.[4]

  1. ^ Sohappy v. Smith, 302 F. Supp. 899 (D. Or. 1969).
  2. ^ "Fisheries Timeline". CRITFC. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Boxberger, Daniel L. "4.0 A REVIEW OF RELEVANT TREATIES, LAWS AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS CONCERNING PARK-ASSOCIATED NATIVE POPULATIONS". North Cascades National Park: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment of North Cascades National Park Service Complex.
  4. ^ a b Uncommon Controversy; Fishing Rights of the Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Nisqually Indians. A report prepared for the American Friends Service Committee. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1970.
  5. ^ "CRITFC | United States v. Oregon". Archived from the original on October 23, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
  6. ^ U.S. v. Oregon