season, the family wiped their hands 
on cedar bark but did not wash them. 
Any bones and leftovers were thrown 
into the sea, along with the new mats 
used as a table, to insure a repetition 
of the run the following year. 
These days, no one practices these 
rituals, but the Indians of our North- 
west Coast have found new ways to 
foster and control the life cycle of 
the salmon. The Lummis, for example, 
manage a modern program of aqua- 
culture. And like other Indians in the 
area, they have benefited from a fed- 
eral court decision handed down by 
Judge George H. Boldt in 1974. Boldt 
ruled that treaties between Indians 
and the federal government signed in 
1854, which guaranteed Indians the 
right to fish “in common” with non- 
Indian fishermen, had in fact reserved 
50 percent of the catch to the tribal 
signatories. 
Overnight, the relatively small 
tribal fishing fleet, which before the 
decision had only been able to catch 
10 percent of the commercial salmon 
in the area, now had a positive right 
to half. Higher courts have upheld 
Boldt, and today salmon fishing in 
Puget Sound is so strictly regulated 
that every salmon caught must be of- 
ficially tagged as Indian or non-Indian. 
Since there are fewer Indian fisher- 
men than white, the season for Indians 
is substantially longer. To maintain 
as fair a balance as possible, careful 
records of the progress of the catch 
are stored in a computer at the Uni- 
versity of Washington. The Boldt de- 
cision also secured Indians an equal 
role in the administration of the new 
regulations, and at the fishery school 
on Lummi Island, Lummis are learn- 
ing to run computer terminals that 
have access to the salmon records at 
the university. They are also learning 
other dry-land skills that will help 
them play a complete role in the brave 
new world of equal salmon opportu- 
nity. But even Indians suddenly in full 
enjoyment of their treaty rights must 
face the fundamental problem of ex- 
ploiting a fragile and diminished fish 
population with intelligence. Even if 
they approach each year’s run with 
their traditional reverence and spiri- 
tuality, tljey can never restore the bal- 
ance of supply and demand that once 
obtained on the precolonial, sparsely 
populated shores of Puget Sound. 
Raymond Sokolov, a writer with an 
interest in the history and preparation 
of food, is editor of Book Digest. 
Two Recipes from The Market Note- 
book, a collection of recipes from the 
Pike Place Market in Seattle, com- 
piled by Pamela Sovold, Margaret 
Wherrette, and Eilisha Dermont 
(Madrona Publishers, Seattle) 
Baked Salmon with Vegetables 
The fish is covered with a thick 
layer of vegetables and baked in 
tightly closed foil (really steamed). 
Good straight from the oven, it is even 
better the next day, served cold. 
Buy a whole fish and have your 
fishmonger book-fillet it, leaving in 
the backbone. To book-fillet means 
to cut the fish in such a way that 
the fish opens like a book on both 
sides of the spine. In this recipe the 
combination of the backbone and the 
wine makes an amber gelatin that sets 
when refrigerated and tastes sensa- 
tional. Serve the fish and gelatin with 
fresh mayonnaise. Superb! 
To prepare, mix together chopped 
celery tops, chopped onion, minced 
garlic, chopped green and red peppers, 
parsley, and jalapeno pepper. How 
much of each ingredient depends on 
the size of your fish; you want to put 
a one-half inch covering on it. Lay 
your fish on a large piece of foil in 
a baking pan. Cover with the chopped 
vegetables. Squeeze the juice of one 
lemon over the top and sprinkle with 
a tablespoon each of dillweed and 
sweet basil. Top with one-half cup of 
white wine. Seal the foil tightly. Bake 
at 375 degrees until fish flakes. 
Fish with Rhubarb Sauce 
2 cups rhubarb, cut in small pieces 
Vi cup tomato sauce 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
2 teaspoons sugar 
Vi cup water 
Salt 
1 pound salmon, cut in pieces 
Wash rhubarb well. Peel off hard 
skin, if any. Cook all ingredients (ex- 
cept fish) together for about thirty 
minutes. When rhubarb is cooked 
thoroughly, add cut up pieces of fish 
and simmer until fish is done. 
Yield: 3-4 servings 
104 
