United States v. Washington was a 1974 case heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It reaffirmed the reserved right of American Indian tribes in the State of Washington to act alongside the state as co-managers of salmon and other fish, and to continue harvesting them in accordance with the various treaties that the United States had signed with the tribes. The tribes of Washington had ceded their land to the United States but had reserved the right to fish as they always had (pictured), including fishing at their traditional locations that were off the designated reservations. After a long trial, the decision of federal judge George Hugo Boldt held that the tribes were entitled to half the fish harvest each year. In 1975 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Boldt's ruling and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. After 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...)