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PANEL CONSISTING OF HON. NELSON WALLULATUM, CHIEF, 

 WASCO TRIBE, AND MEMBER, TRIBAL COUNCIL, THE CON- 

 FEDERATED TRIBES OF THE WARM SPRINGS RESERVATION, 

 OR, ACCOMPANIED BY HOWARD ARNETT, ESQ., TRIBAL AT- 

 TORNEY; BILLY FRANK, CHAIRMAN, NORTHWEST INDIAN 

 FISHERIES COMMISSION, OLYMPIA, WA, ACCOMPANIED BY 

 JAMES R. ANDERSON, DIRECTOR; AND JIM HARP, FISHERIES 

 MANAGER AND ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE, QUINAULT IN- 

 DIAN NATION, TAKOLAH, WA 



STATEMENT OF HON. NELSON WALLULATUM 



Mr. WALLULATUM. Good moming, Mr. Chairman and the mem- 

 bers of the Committee. 



My name is Nelson Wallulatum, and I am Chief of the Wasco 

 Tribe and a Hfetime member of the Tribal Council of The Confed- 

 erated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. 



Accompanying me is our tribal attorney, Mr. Howard Amett. 



I am here today to testify on behalf of the Warm Springs Tribal 

 Council concerning the proposal to enact national Indian fish and 

 wildlife legislation. 



In our views, there are several things that national Indian fish 

 and wildlife legislation should do, and several things it should not 

 do. 



Let me first tell you what the legislation should not do. 



The legislation should not try to define or interpret treaty-re- 

 served fishing and hunting rights. The circumstances of each tribe 

 and each treaty are imique. 



Few legal principles can be applied across the board to aU tribes 

 and all Indian treaties. 



Broad legislative characterizations about the nature of all Indian 

 treaty rights are very likely to misconstrue some treaty rights. 



The danger of misinterpretation is especially great for tribes such 

 as Warm Springs whose treaty fishing and hunting rights have 

 been carefully defined by numerous federal court decisions over the 

 years. 



In our view, it would be a mistake to try to codify these coiul; 

 rulings in national Indian fish and wildlife legislation. 



Now let me discuss what the legislation should do. 



First and foremost, the legislation should assist the tribes in ex- 

 ercising their fish and wildlife management authority. 



Current federal assistance to tribal governments to carry out this 

 most important function of their sovereign authority is inadequate. 

 This inadequacy is so great that it brings into question whether the 

 United States Government is fulfilling its solemn trust responsibil- 

 ity to protect Indian rights and resources. 



The circumstances of the Warm Springs Confederated Tribes il- 

 lustrates the problem. 



Our tribe faces a huge and complex task in trying to protect our 

 off-reservation treaty rights, as well as manage our on-reservation 

 fish and wildlife resources. 



The 640,000 acres of the Warm Springs Reservation is almost en- 

 tirely tribal trust land and contains priceless habitat for deer, elk, 

 eagles, salmon, and numerous other fish and wildlife species. 



