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Portland, Oregon
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Columbia River tribal leaders expressed concern today over the
discovery of dumped and wasted steelhead and Pacific lamprey at
Celilo Park on the Columbia River. The tribes are offering Oregon
State Police the full cooperation and assistance of Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fisheries Enforcement in any and all aspects of the
investigation.
The Oregon State Police report that on Wednesday, August 6, an
individual discovered 37 steelhead and 181 Pacific lamprey that
had been disposed of at Celilo Park, a park operated by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers on the Columbia River. Dumping and/or wasting
of salmon, steelhead or lamprey are violations of both tribal and
state laws.
“Tribes have long honored salmon and lamprey as an important
part of our culture,” said N. Kathryn Brigham, chairwoman
of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “The Columbia
Basin’s four treaty tribes (Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs
and Yakama tribes) are working diligently to restore steelhead,
lamprey, and salmon to the region. We, like the State of Oregon,
have laws to protect these resources. Our laws are meant to ensure
the availability of our treaty resources for the next seven generations
and prohibit the illegal harvesting and wasting of the resources.”
Wasting fish has always been a serious crime in tribal society.
A Yakima tribal legend recounts how the salmon disappeared after
a single wasted salmon was found lying on the bank of a river. Only
after a significant ceremony and sacrifice did they atone for the
crime against the salmon.
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About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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