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der=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 width=100%> Tribes will sell salmon
MAY 4, 2000

Thanks to high numbers of chinook salmon in the Columbia River, area tribes will start selling spring chinook salmon on Sunday. Among the tribes to sell are the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation.

The sale, the first since 1977, will last until May 28. A panel of state, federal, and tribal approved the commercial season.

The spring chinook are the first to return to the river and hold significant religious and cultural importance to the tribes. Tribal members have long caught the fish for ceremonial purposes, although low runs have made it difficult in the past.

Along with the Yakama, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce tribes, the Umatilla secured the right to fish in a set of treaties with the US government signed in 1855.

Relevant Links:
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation: www.umatilla.nsn.us
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission - Representing the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce
Treaties with the Four Tribes by the CRITFC.

Staff and news wires contributed to this report.