Satiacum is the son of the late Robert Satiacum Sr., an advocate for Native fishing rights whose arrest resulted in the landmark Boldt Decision. His wife, Elizabeth, served as an elector for Barack Obama in the 2008 election. In 2010, he served as an officer for the Democratic Party for Pierce County. Satiacum was a delegate for Bernie Sanders to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and was nominated as an elector by Patsy Whitefoot. Prior to the election, he publicly stated he might not vote for presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine. He argued that Clinton's stance on the environment was no different than Donald Trump's.