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CHAPTER 14 



THE INDIAN HSHERY 



The fishery has been of such importance that 

 it is at the very roots of our cultures; our lives 

 have revolved around the yearly arrival of the 

 river's bounty. And so we cannot talk of the 

 fishery without talking of our cultures 

 because in many ways they are one in the 

 same. 



GITKSAN-CARRIER TRIBAL COUNCIL' 



The Indian fishery puts relatively hght demands on the 

 fish resources in the Pacific region but it involves issues of 

 profound social, political and economic consequence. It 

 is a complicated and often contentious aspect of fisheries 

 policy. This is reflected in the remarkable amount of tes- 

 timony this Commission has received on the question of 

 Indian fishing, from Indian bands, tribal councils and 

 individuals, and also from commercial fishermen, sport 

 fishermen and others. Present policies are obviously 

 unsatisfactory in many respects, and most groups stress 

 the urgent need for reform. 



The Indian fishery has presented a major challenge for 

 this Commission. The legal underpinnings of Indian 

 fishing rights are subtle and complicated. Neither these 

 nor the traditions upon which they are based are widely 

 understood. Few non-Indians have been exposed, as I 

 have, to the extensive testimony of Indian leaders about 

 their traditional fishing, their economic and cultural 

 dependence upon fish and the problems they have 

 encountered in exercising what they regard as their his- 

 torical rights to fish. Moreover, because the rich cultural 

 heritage unique to the Indians of this region is not widely 

 appreciated, the task of formulating appropriate policies 

 to accommodate it in relation to other users of the 

 resource is even more difficult. 



Furthermore, the Commission's terms of reference 

 restrict me to consider only Indian rights to fish and their 

 implications for resource management. Yet Indian fishing 

 rights are a part of the much larger and more controver- 

 sial issues of aboriginal rights and land claims, which 

 have yet to be resolved. 



A number of stimulating presentations by Indian 

 organizations at the Commission's public hearings have 



helped to identify means of alleviating the present 

 deficiencies of Indian fisheries policy and for deepening 

 Indians' involvement in resource management. Certainly 

 some fundamental changes are called for. I perceive 

 promising opportunities for Indians and for improve- 

 ments in management through a bold new approach to 

 this question. 



To bring these issues and opportunities into focus, in 

 this chapter I sketch the historical background of tradi- 

 tional Indian fisheries and examine the available infor- 

 mation about the dimensions of this fishery and its 

 impact on the resource. Then I trace the development of 

 regulatory policy and identify the most pressing policy 

 issues. The legal character of the Indian fishery and asso- 

 ciated issues were raised repeatedly in the public hear- 

 ings, so I will review these as well before turmng to policy 

 objectives and recommendations. 



INDIAN nSHERIES AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT 



The present Indian fishery, or the Indian food fishery 

 as it is commonly called, is a continuation of traditional 

 native fishing practices.- The traditional importance of 

 fish extended well beyond its food value, however. Fish 

 were also a major commodity of trade among Indian 

 bands and tribal groups. The pattern of Indian settlement 

 can be traced in large part to the accessibility offish both 

 on the coast, where permanent villages and seasonal 

 camps were located near fishing grounds, and in the inte- 

 rior, where villages and fishing stations were established 

 on nvers and streams near places where salmon could be 

 easily caught. Today, this pattern of Indian settlement 

 remains in large part unchanged. Seasonal fishing estab- 

 lished the annual routine of life, and the runs and catches 

 of salmon were viewed with reverence since fish were the 

 primary means of survival. The great social and cultural 

 significance of fish, especially salmon, is reflected in the 

 important role they play in elaborate traditions of feasts, 

 ceremonies, myths and art. 



Indian people devised a wide variety of methods for 

 harvesting fish, adapting their technology to the varying 

 species sought and their physical circimistances. Hooks 

 were fashioned from bone or hardwood and attached to 

 lines made of cedar bark or nettle fibre. Spears, harpoons, 

 dipnets and gillnets were common. Weirs and traps were 

 especially effective in catching salmon migrating 

 upstream to their spawning grounds. 



Salmon were usually abundant, but in low-cycle years 

 they were sometimes insufficient for winter food supplies. 

 At such times coastal tribes could turn to groundfish and 

 shellfish to meet their needs, but interior tribes occasion- 

 ally suffered hunger and starvation. And even in years of 

 abundance, tribal wars sometimes prevented harvests of 

 available stocks. 



