WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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Okay, what do we know about treaties?

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[Elizabeth Furse] Unfortunately, most people in this country have no knowledge of the constitution

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and of the fact that treaties are in Article VI of the United States Constitution.

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"…and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States

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shall be the supreme Law of the Land;

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and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby…"

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Yeah, so that's not too hard to understand.

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No, it's very simple.

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Only the United States government can make treaties,

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and only with other nations.

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Sir, you should think of treaties as "nation to nation."

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And states, one, cannot make treaties with nations,

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and two, cannot violate treaties made by the United States.

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Now, let's talk about what a nation is.

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I think I know what a nation is.

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Most people think that, but let's just make sure.

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Iowa is a state, the United States is a nation. Okay.

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Canada is a nation. Yeah. Mexico is a nation.

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Sir, I think we know what a nation is.

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So the United States can make treaties with Canada or Mexico

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and has, many, many times.

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But Iowa cannot make a treaty with Canada. Very good.

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And Iowa cannot violate a treaty made by the United States and Canada.

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So what's the problem?

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When you look at a map, especially of the western United States,

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you will see large areas of land that are labeled "Indian reservation."

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I'm with you. Yeah, I've been to an Indian reservation.

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Now maybe you should sit down. No, I'm okay.

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Okay, now change the word "reservation" to "nation."

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Really?

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Yes.

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Are you sure?

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Absolutely sure. Indian reservations are Indian Nations.

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Indian Nations have land.

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American Indian Nations hold more land than:

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the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, combined!

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They hold elections and have elected officials.

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Indian Nations have flags.

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Many Indian Nations have their own law enforcement and courts.

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Indian Nations are recognized by many international organizations as nations.

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Indian Nations are nations.

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And as nations, they have negotiated and signed

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many, many treaties with the United States.

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Okay, okay, give me a minute. I've never heard this before.

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I know.

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So, all those Indian treaties made when the U.S. was just starting out

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where the Indians ceded most of their land were treaties between nations.

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And what else?

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Uh…

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Sir, she wants you to remember Article VI.

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Article VI?

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Yes. "…and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby…"

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Let's revisit—Fish Wars.

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From the early 1900s to the 1970s, there were many clashes,

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sometimes violent, between the Indians, sport fishermen, and others,

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about who could fish, where, and when.

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So the states of Washington and Oregon passed laws

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that limited an Indian's right to fish for salmon.

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Sir, Indian Nations kept their right to fish in treaties.

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And the Washington and Oregon laws violated the Indian Nations' treaties, because,

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"...and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States

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shall be the supreme Law of the Land..."

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So starting in the early 1900s,

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Native Nations asked the United States to sue the State of Washington.

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The courts agreed that Indians had a right to fish

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where they'd always fished before treaties.

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Washington State didn't agree,

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so the Indian nations had to go to court again and again and again.

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And in the 1970s?

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They fought in the courts for 70 years?

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Yes.

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So again the judge agreed with the earlier courts.

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The Indians have a treaty right to fish where they had always fished,

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and that Indian fishers had a right

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to an equal share of the fish harvest in common with non-Indians.

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Equal share?

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50/50, Indian fishers get half of the harvest.

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[Elizabeth Furse] And what Judge Boldt did, and what the Supreme Court did,

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was not give rights in those cases, they affirmed them.

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In other words, they said, "These rights are there, we recognize them."

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That's a very different thing from being given a right.

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The tribes knew they had the rights.

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[John Platt] There's a real tradition in the Pacific Northwest of tribal people going to the courts.

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That the courts were the only real remedy that they were going to find

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and that they did find it over and over and over.

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Elizabeth Furse

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John Platt