May 2005

by Ann Rogers and Lois Danks

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the treaty negotiated by Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens and Northwest Indian tribes. The tribes traded 64 million acres of land for the right to fish and keep reservation lands.

Does that mean relations between whites and Indians have mellowed into mutual respect? Yes and no. When disputes over sovereignty and Native rights arise, the public generally responds 4-to-1 in favor of Indians. But those who stand to profit by stealing Native resources fight sovereignty with all the power they can muster.