Historic photo of tribal fishers dipnetting for salmon at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River

The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission: Nearly Five Decades of Treaty Fishing and Salmon Restoration

ByMegan Harlow

Photo: of tribal fishers dipnetting for salmon at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. Photo: OSU Special Collections & Archives : Commons / Wikimedia Commons, No restrictions.

Salmon have been at the center of life on the Columbia River for thousands of years, from the Plateau to the estuary at Astoria. One of the most important organizations working to protect and restore those runs is the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), created in 1977.

Who the commission represents

CRITFC was formed by four tribes whose 1855 treaties with the United States reserved their right to fish at “all usual and accustomed places”:

  • The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  • The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
  • The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon
  • The Nez Perce Tribe

Those treaty rights were reaffirmed in federal court decisions in the 1960s and 1970s, including the 1969 Sohappy v. Smith and United States v. Oregon rulings by Judge Robert Belloni. The courts held that the tribes are entitled to a fair share of the harvest and to take part in managing the fish. The four tribes created CRITFC to give them a coordinated technical and policy voice in that management.

What CRITFC does

  • Science: CRITFC’s biologists, hydrologists and geneticists study salmon, steelhead, lamprey and sturgeon, monitor runs and evaluate hatchery and habitat programs.
  • Policy and negotiation: It represents tribal interests in harvest agreements, hydropower and dam operations, the Pacific Salmon Treaty with Canada and other forums.
  • Enforcement: CRITFC’s fisheries enforcement officers patrol the river’s Zone 6 treaty fishing area between Bonneville and McNary dams, protecting fishers and fish. They also work in-lieu and treaty fishing access sites.
  • Fishing-site services and outreach: CRITFC supports tribal fishers with safety programs and helps with market access for tribal catch.

A “gravel-to-gravel” restoration plan

In 1995 the tribes adopted a salmon restoration plan called Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit, which translates roughly as “Spirit of the Salmon.” The plan calls for managing fish throughout their whole life cycle, from spawning gravels in the headwaters through the river and ocean and back. It also argues that restoring salmon to rivers where they once spawned benefits everyone who fishes, not just the tribes. The plan has been updated since.

Why it matters on the North Coast

The salmon that support fisheries at the river mouth, from Astoria’s commercial and sport fleets to Buoy 10 anglers, depend on the same runs that tribal, state and federal managers share upriver. Tribal work on habitat, lamprey and hatchery programs affects fish that pass through the Columbia estuary. Lower-river fisheries are set in the same management system the tribes help shape.

Learn more

CRITFC publishes reports, run forecasts and educational materials on its website and is headquartered in Portland. The Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria and tribal cultural centers such as the Museum at Warm Springs and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute near Pendleton tell more of the river’s story.

Sources: Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (critfc.org); Treaties of 1855 with the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla and Walla Walla, and Tribes of Middle Oregon; United States v. Oregon; NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region.

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