David Sohappy (1925-1991) was a Wanapum fisher and activist for Indigenous fishing rights. In the mid-1960s, Sohappy and his family moved to Cook’s Landing in Skamania County at the mouth of the Little White Salmon River. There, Sohappy became a fisher full-time and took only as many fish as needed for his community, in line with traditional Wanapum beliefs and practices. David’s wife Myra (1926-2005) dried, smoked, and canned the fish that he caught. Even before Sohappy’s lifetime, runs of fish in the Columbia were endangered by the construction of hydroelectric dams and increasing commercial fishing by non-Indigenous fishers.

In 1968 David Sohappy and 12 other Wanapum people were arrested by Oregon officials for violating state fishing regulations. The case escalated to involve the federal government and in 1969 a federal judge ruled in favor of Indigenous fishers, deciding that they were entitled by treaty to a “fair and equitable share” of salmon runs. The Boldt decision in 1974 clarified this share to be half the yearly catch. In 1982, David and his son David, Jr. were among 75 people arrested for illegal fishing in a federal sting operation called Salmon Scam. The Sohappys were sentenced to five years in prison in 1983. They were released in 1988 after pressure from activists and several US Senators, including all four from Washington and Oregon. After they returned to Cook’s Landing, the Sohappys had to fight for their homes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs viewed the inhabitants of Cook’s Landing as squatters and attempted to evict them. In 1991, the case resolved in favor of the people of Cook’s Landing, but David, Sr. had unfortunately passed away five months earlier as a result of health issues developed during his time in prison.

This image shows David Sohappy, Sr. during his time in prison, several months before his release.

Caption information source: “Sohappy, David (1925-1991), by Paul Lindholdt, HistoryLink essay #20725, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/File/20725.