First Rights of Salmon Case Goes to Tribal Court 

Sauk-Suiattle Tribe v. City of Seattle

Wednesday, March 30

7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific

The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER) and our partner Menīkānaehkem are pleased to present and co-sponsor this webinar on the first “rights of salmon” case to be brought in a tribal court.  

Jack Fiander, Tribal Attorney for the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, and Thomas Linzey, CDER’s Senior Legal Counsel, will present.  

The case, filed by the Tribe on its own behalf and on behalf of Tsuladx (salmon in the Tribe’s language), was filed in Sauk-Suiattle Tribal Court.

The Tribe seeks a ruling from the Tribal Court that salmon have inherent rights to “exist, flourish, regenerate…and restoration,” and that the Tribe possesses the duty to “protect and save” salmon in the face of continued harm and decline, including from Seattle’s dams on the Skagit River.  

This case comes as several tribal nations, as well as communities within the U.S., Canada, and Brazil, and countries including Ecuador and Bangladesh, have recognized the legal rights of nature through lawmaking and court rulings.  In August 2021, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, in Minnesota, became the first tribe to bring a case to enforce the legal rights of nature in a tribal court.

Read our recent press release on the Sauk-Suiattle lawsuit.  

Join us on March 30 to learn more about this case and growing efforts by tribal nations to advance their rights to protect nature and the rights of nature.   

All are welcome.  Tribal attorneys, officials, and members, and anyone interested in this important case, and its possible application in other locations, are encouraged to attend. 

The event is free.  Registration is required.  Register here.

Wednesday, March 30:  7pm Eastern, 4pm Pacific.  

For more information:  info@centerforenvironmentalrights.org

Law Seminars International Presents:

Tribal Use of Rights of Nature Legal Theories in Tribal Courts to Protect Salmon and Other Natural Resources

March 25, 2022

12 PM EST/9 AM PST

Earn CLE credits at Law Seminars International’s latest virtual conference: Tribal Water in the Pacific Northwest: Major new developments affecting Tribal water rights and quality March 24 and 25.

On March 25, a panel, titled - Tribal Use of Rights of Nature Legal Theories in Tribal Courts to Protect Salmon and Other Natural Resources - will feature CDER’s Thomas Linzey, Senior Legal Counsel, along with partners Jack Fiander, Tribal Attorney for the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, and Frank Bibeau, Tribal Attorney of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.

Attendees will learn about the new tribal court case on the rights of salmon, Sauk-Siuattle Indian Tribe vs. the City of Seattle - as well as the August 2021 case filed by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe to protect the rights of manoomin (wild rice), the first tribe to bring a case to enforce the legal rights of nature in a tribal court.

All are welcome. Attorneys, Tribal, local, state, and federal governmental representatives, environmental professionals, business executives, water users, and their representatives will all benefit and are encouraged to attend. 

The event cost is $895 with a group rate of $805 each for two or more registrants from the same group. Government employees are offered a special rate of $670. Discounted pricing for tribal members, public interest NGO's, students, and people in their job for less than a year, is $447.50. All rates include admission to all program sessions and course materials of the conference.  Registration is required.  Register here.

This presentation is virtual.

Friday, March 25:  12 pm Eastern, 9 am Pacific.