I was searching for an up-to-date account of the events and issues surrounding Boldt Decision on the 50th anniversary of that momentous court case, and Treaty Justice was just the ticket. While I learned what I had hoped to about the so-called “fish wars,” I found the book to offer an outstanding overall account of the campaigns for tribal recognition in the Pacific Northwest.
This book begins with the treaties themselves, followed by a thorough account of the intervening century plus of their misunderstanding and violation before the legal and grassroots action that set the stage for the confrontations in the courts during the 1970s. Judge George Boldt explicitly asked the lawyers to “put together the most extensive factual record on Indian culture ever produced in litigation” and saw that this was (rather incredibly) accomplished, while forging a far-sighted legal and regulatory plan to alter the interactions of the tribal, state, and federal governments here forever.
I learned a ton about the history of this place, about land management, and about the civil rights struggle of the tribes. Fascinating and essential.
—Steven, Port Book and News, Port Angeles, WA
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