A Look at Tribal Hunting and Fishing Regulations

Tribal Hunting and Fishing

What - Where - Why?

It is a well-known fact that Native Americans were (and still are) proficient hunters, gatherers and fishers.  To some tribes, a young boy's first kill is considered a rite of passage of sorts -- a transition from childhood to becoming a man.  In the Supreme Court case of United States v. Winans, the Court stated, "Fish and wildlife played a central role in the spiritual and cultural framework of Native American life, not much less necessary to the existence of the Indians than the atmosphere they breathed."

Today due to treaties signed by tribal nations between the United States and tribes during allotment, Native Americans enjoy the right of hunting and fishing under tribal law and are exempt from the laws and regulations that non-tribal members have to obey, including open seasons and catch and bag limits.

Many people (myself included) that losing lands and receiving hunting and fishing privileges, but I also feel as if the Native Americans were trying to hold onto something -- anything -- that personified their culture and identity.  So much had already been stolen from them because of the boarding schools, assimilation, and being forced to "Americanize", and I believe that this one small thing, the right to hunt and fish, was something small to hold on to so that they could teach their future generations the "old way".

A video depicting Native American fishing culture in Alaska