September 03, 2025
A Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that determined a Washington tribe fell short of its evidentiary burden to establish that a 19th century treaty included its customary fishing grounds near the Puget Sound after vacating the dispute for further review last year.
August 30, 2024
A Washington federal judge has granted the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe's bid to amend his earlier order questioning whether the Stillaguamish Tribe had ever fished in certain saltwater near Puget Sound, ruling after examining expert testimony in the tribes' fishing rights battle that historical evidence fails to show that Stillaguamish ever caught sea life there.
May 21, 2024
A Ninth Circuit panel said Tuesday that a challenge by a Washington tribe seeking to expand its fishing rights warrants further review, arguing that a lower court's ruling that a 19th century treaty did not include its accustomed grounds should be vacated and remanded to examine evidence of its village, presence and activities in the claimed waters.
February 09, 2024
A Ninth Circuit judge on Friday questioned whether federal courts' 50-year stretch of close supervision of Washington tribal fishing rights was too long, in a case involving the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians' dispute with several other tribes involving fishing territories in coastal waters.