By Eric Stone
KRBD radio, Ketchikan 

Court says Metlakatla tribe can fish outside reserve boundaries

 

September 21, 2022



A federal appeals court has ruled that Metlakatla tribal members shouldn’t need state permits to fish in waters they’ve traditionally relied on — even outside their reservation’s boundaries. The decision is a major victory in the tribe’s decades-long fight for fishing rights.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 28-page opinion on Sept. 8 is broad and unambiguous: The 1891 law that created Metlakatla’s reservation gives tribal members the right to fish in areas near Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island, outside the boundaries of the Annette Islands Reserve.

“We hold that t...



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