The Battle Over Wenatchee Fishing Rights
A treaty-based reservation for indigenous fishing rights sparks a localized protest from settlers and speculators.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs D.M. Browning has appointed a special commission to investigate the matter of the Wenatchee fishery. This is the area where the interest of settlers around the Wenatchee flows. The treaty with the Yakima Indians was signed June 9, 1855, and the commissioner of that treaty set aside a township at the forks of the Wenatchee river as a fishing ground. No sooner was this known than there was a vigorous protest from the people in that vicinity. The interior department and the president have been bombarded with appeals to revoke the order. They declare that there are no fish to be had in the waters of the Wenatchee and that if there were fish, there are no Indians to be benefited. Commissioner Browning now believes it would be more satisfactory to give these Indians a money consideration for the relinquishment of their claims.
“No sooner was this known than there was a vigorous protest from the people in that vicinity.”
This reflects the recurring pattern of colonial dispossession in Washington State, where historical treaties are challenged by settlers prioritizing land speculation over indigenous rights—a conflict that echoes through modern regional water and land usage disputes.
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