Beginning with treaties in 1854 and 1855, Indigenous tribes of Washington ceded their land to the United States but had reserved the right to fish as they had always done, including fishing at traditional locations that were off the designated reservations. Over time, the state of Washington had infringed on the treaty rights of the tribes despite losing a series of court cases on the issue. In 1974 United States District Judge George Boldt ruled that Indigenous tribes in the State of Washington had the right to harvest salmon and other fish in accordance with the treaties. The decision caused an immediate negative reaction from some citizens of Washington and evoked strong emotions. Non-Indigenous commercial fishermen ignored the ruling and the state attempted to undermine Boldt's ruling by challenging it in court with similar cases, but the US Supreme Court upheld the Boldt decision in 1979.

In this image, a crowd of approximately 700 non-Indigenous fishers protests against the Boldt decision outside the Federal Building in Tacoma.

Caption information source: "Boldt Decision: United States v. State of Washington," by Phil Dougherty, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://historylink.org/File/21084
Caption information source: "Compromise on Indian fishing seen," by Jack Mayne, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 6, 1974, page A3.

Written on signs: "More than a privilege", "Fish Now, elk and deer next", "Boldt's decision needs revision", "the Sportsmen pay for the steelhead - we demand the right to fish for them!!!", "1/2 % get 50+%??", "Fish now, elk this fall", "Shame on Boldt!", "This is 1974, not [1854]", "We paid for them, you can't give them away", "Give Indians all citizens rights, fishing with pole in common with citizens", "Judge Boldt: what treaty were you reading?", "Boldt arithmetic: give over 50% of the fish to 1% of the people"