Opinion ID: 3065408
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Heading: introduction

Text: This appeal presents one more chapter in the litigation over Indian treaty fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest. The appellant Samish Tribe claims to be a successor to a tribe that entered the Treaty of Point Elliott, 12 Stat. 927 (1855), with the United States. In 1974, the Samish Tribe intervened in the foundational treaty rights case of United States v. Washington, 384 F. Supp. 312 (W.D. Wash. 1974) (“Washington I”), aff’d, 1634 UNITED STATES v. STATE OF WASHINGTON 520 F.2d 676 (9th Cir. 1975), in order to establish its entitlement to treaty fishing rights. At that time, the Samish Tribe had not been recognized by the federal government. The district court rejected the Tribe’s claim to treaty rights, finding that the Samish Tribe had not “lived as a continuous separate, distinct and cohesive Indian cultural or political community” and was not “descended from any of the tribal entities that were signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott.” United States v. Washington, 476 F. Supp. 1101, 1106 (W.D. Wash. 1979) (“Washington II”), aff’d, 641 F.2d 1368 (9th Cir. 1981). Nearly twenty years later, in connection with separate litigation, the Samish Tribe succeeded in obtaining federal recognition.1 See Final Determination for Federal Acknowledgment of the Samish Tribal Organization as an Indian Tribe, 61 Fed. Reg. 15,825 (Apr. 9, 1996) (“Samish Recognition”); Greene v. Babbitt, 943 F. Supp. 1278 (W.D. Wash. 1996) (“Greene III”). The Tulalip Tribes, which possessed treaty fishing rights and feared their dilution, were denied intervention in the Samish recognition proceedings on the ground that recognition could not affect treaty rights. Greene v. United States, 996 F.2d 973 (9th Cir. 1993) (“Greene I”). In 2002, the Samish Tribe returned to the Washington litigation and sought, on the basis of its federal recognition, relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) from the 1979 judgment in Washington II. The district court denied relief. We reversed, holding that the intervening federal recognition was an extraordinary circumstance permitting the reopening of the 1979 decision under Rule 60(b)(6). United States v. Washington, 394 F.3d 1152, 1161 (9th Cir. 2005) (“Washington III”). On remand, the district court again denied Rule 60(b) 1 Federal recognition is now referred to as federal “acknowledgment” under the regulatory scheme of the Department of the Interior. See 25 C.F.R. pt. 83 (2009). For simplicity, we continue to refer to “recognition,” which was the phrase in use at the time of Washington I and II. UNITED STATES v. STATE OF WASHINGTON 1635 relief, and the Samish Tribe again appeals. For reasons we now set forth, we affirm the judgment of the district court. In doing so, we resolve a conflict in our precedent between Washington III, which held that recognition was an extraordinary circumstance justifying the reopening of Washington II, and our cases holding that federal recognition is an independent process that has no effect on treaty rights. See Greene I, 996 F.2d at 977; Greene v. Babbitt, 64 F.3d 1266, 1270-71 (9th Cir. 1995) (“Greene II”). We resolve the conflict in favor of the Greene proposition: recognition proceedings and the fact of recognition have no effect on the establishment of treaty rights at issue in this case. FACTUAL AND LEGAL BACKGROUND 1. Off-Reservation Treaty Fishing Rights During the 1850s Governor Stevens of Washington Territory negotiated a number of treaties with Northwest Indian tribes. The Treaty of Point Elliott was typical of those treaties in guaranteeing the signatory tribes “[t]he right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations . . . in common with all citizens of the Territory.” 12 Stat. at 928. In Washington I, the seminal case construing this clause, the district court held that, with small exceptions, the treaty clause reserved to the Indians the right to take fifty percent of the annual harvestable runs of salmon and steelhead trout.2 384 F. Supp. at 343. It further held that fourteen tribes or bands, not including the present Samish Tribe, were entitled to off-reservation treaty fishing rights as political successors to tribes that had signed treaties guaranteeing tribal fishing rights. Id. at 406. Two of the tribes so entitled, the Stillaguamish and Upper Skagit Tribes, were not federally recognized. Id. at 378-79. 2 This division of the fishery was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court in Washington v. Washington State Comm. Passenger Fishing Vessel Ass’n, 443 U.S. 658 (1979). 1636 UNITED STATES v. STATE OF WASHINGTON 2. Initial Denial of Samish Tribe Treaty Status Shortly thereafter, the Samish Tribe intervened in the Washington litigation and sought to establish its entitlement to treaty fishing rights. At that time, the Samish Tribe was not federally recognized.3 The district court denied relief. Washington II, 476 F. Supp. at 1106. The district court found that the Samish Indians, then numbering between 98 and 150 persons, were a party to the Treaty of Point Elliott. Id. at 110506. They were not named in the Treaty, but were signed for by the Lummi Tribe representative. Id. at 1106. The court further found: Pursuant to the treaty most of the Samish people initially moved to the Lummi Reservation. Later others moved to the Swinomish Reservation. The present- day Lummi and Swinomish Reservation tribes include descendants of the 1855 Samish Indians. Id. The court held, however, that “[t]he Intervenor Samish Tribe is not an entity that is descended from any of the tribal entities that were signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott.” Id. The court noted the Samish’s lack of federal recognition and further stated: The Intervenor’s membership roll contains 549 persons many of whom are of only 1/16th degree Indian blood. Two have only 1/32nd Samish blood. The tribe does not prohibit dual membership and at least one member is an officer of the Lummi Tribe. [ ] The members of the Intervenor Samish Tribe and their ancestors do not and have not lived as a contin- 3 Four other federally unrecognized tribes intervened along with the Samish Tribe: the Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, and Steilacoom Tribes. All were unsuccessful in establishing entitlement to treaty fishing rights. Washington II, 476 F. Supp. at 1111. UNITED STATES v. STATE OF WASHINGTON 1637 uous separate, distinct and cohesive Indian cultural or political community. The present members have no common bond of residence or association other than such association as is attributable to the fact of their voluntary affiliation with the Intervenor entity. Id. (internal citations omitted). The court accordingly concluded that the Samish Tribe was not “at this time a treaty tribe in the political sense” within the meaning of Washington I and did not “presently hold[ ] for itself or its members fishing rights secured by any of the Stevens treaties identified in [Washington I].” Id. at 1111. The district court also concluded that “[o]nly tribes recognized as Indian political bodies by the United States may possess and exercise the tribal fishing rights secured and protected by the treaties of the United States.” Id. This last conclusion was surprising because it was wholly inconsistent with the district court’s ruling in Washington I that two unrecognized tribes were entitled to treaty fishing rights. 384 F. Supp. at 378-79, 406. On appeal, we affirmed the denial of treaty rights. United States v. Washington, 641 F.2d 1368 (9th Cir. 1981). We pointed out the district court’s error in stating that federal recognition is a prerequisite to the enjoyment of treaty rights: “[t]his conclusion is clearly contrary to our prior holding [affirming Washington I] and is foreclosed by well-settled precedent.” Id. at 1371. We nevertheless held that the district court’s factual findings supported the denial of relief: [T]he district court specifically found that the appellants had not functioned since treaty times as “continuous separate, distinct and cohesive Indian cultural or political communit[ies].” After close scrutiny, we conclude that the evidence supports this finding of fact. Although the appellants now have constitutions and formal governments, the governments have not controlled the lives of the 1638 UNITED STATES v. STATE OF WASHINGTON members. Nor have the appellants clearly established the continuous informal cultural influence they concede is required. Id. at 1373 (internal citation omitted) (second alteration in original).4 3. Federal Recognition of the Samish Tribe; Treaty Tribes Denied Intervention to Oppose Recognition The Samish Tribe first sought federal recognition in 1972, but no action was taken on the application. In 1978, the Department of the Interior adopted rules establishing a process for tribes to achieve federal recognition, known in the regulations as federal “acknowledgment.” Procedures for Establishing That an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe, 43 Fed. Reg. 39,361, 39,363 (Sept. 5, 1978).5 The Samish Tribe then filed a revised application. On February 5, 1987, the Department of the Interior published a “Final Determination That the Samish Indian Tribe Does Not Exist as an Indian Tribe.” 52 Fed. Reg. 3709. A major reason for the denial was that the Tribe had failed to meet two mandatory requirements for recognition: (1) “that a substantial portion of the petitioning group inhabits a specific area or lives in a community viewed as American Indian and distinct from other populations in the area, and that its members are descendants of an Indian tribe which historically inhabited a specific area”; and (2) “that the petitioner has maintained tribal political influence or other authority over its members as an autonomous entity throughout history until the 4