The mouth of the Klamath River. | Outpost file photo

Yurok Tribe press release:

Ninth Circuit Appeals Court Rules in Favor of the Yurok Tribe: Fishing Dispute Against Resighini Rancheria Member Can Continue

Re: Yurok Tribe v. Resighini Rancheria et al., case number 18-15309, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

On December 12, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the district court erred in dismissing the Yurok Tribe’s claim against Resighini Rancheria member Gary Dowd for illegal fishing within the Yurok Reservation. The Court remanded back the case to the district court for further proceedings. Importantly, the Court did not decide whether the Yurok Tribe has an exclusive fishing right on the Yurok Reservation, as the Rancheria’s recent press release incorrectly asserts.

Instead, the Court stated it would not decide whether Yurok had an exclusive tribal fishing right within the Yurok Reservation without the full participation of the Rancheria. The Rancheria chose, at a late hour, to not pursue resolution of that claim by asserting sovereign immunity in the district court. Interestingly, at the oral argument, the Appeals Court judges questioned why the Rancheria did not want to pursue its fishing rights claim—or, the exclusive fishing rights of the Yurok Tribe—before the Court, noting it was the proper venue for resolution of the claims the Rancheria was asserting as a defense. Yurok agrees the time was ripe for resolution of this issue.

In ruling for Yurok, the Court stated: “We vacate the [district court] judgment and hold that the district court abused its discretion in dismissing the Yurok Tribe’s [Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act (HYSA)] claim against Dowd in his individual capacity and remand for further proceedings.” The case will proceed against Dowd in the district court to decide whether Dowd terminated any rights he may have had to the Yurok Reservation by electing to receive $15,000 in the HYSA.

“The Appeals Court made the right ruling and we are eager to get to the merits of this case,” Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James commented. “Illegal fishing within the Yurok Reservation is a threat to the health of the fishery and an infringement on Yurok’s exercise of sovereignty over our lands and our waters. We are confident that resolution of this case in the district court will uphold our sovereignty.”

Dowd has been cited repeatedly for fishing on the Yurok Reservation without a state permit or other regulation. Dowd refuses to appear in Yurok Tribal Court, claiming he has a right to fish.

The issue in this case is narrow: whether Dowd gave up all rights—including fishing rights—to resources in the Yurok Reservation when he chose to take a $15,000 buy-out in the HYSA rather than electing to become a Yurok tribal member, as the statute allowed. Under the HYSA, individuals choosing the buy-out option would:

[N]ot thereafter have any interest or right whatsoever in the tribal, communal, or unallotted land, property, resources, or rights within, or appertaining to, … the Yurok Reservation, or the Yurok Tribe.”

The Rancheria tribal government was also given the opportunity to merge with the Yurok Tribe through the HYSA. Yet, the Rancheria elected not to merge with Yurok and chose to remain a separate tribe.

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