We re all Gonna Die Right Here : the Klama Salmon Wars

Susan Masten, Raymond Mattz, and Diane Bowers are members of the Yurok Tribe who experienced first-hand the government crackdown on tribal salmon fishing rights now known as either the Fish Wars or the Salmon Wars. KCET spoke with Masten, Mattz, and Bowers in Yurok country along the Klamath River.

How important is salmon to the Yurok?

Susan Masten: Salmon is as essential to the Yurok people as the air they breathe. Fishing is who we are. Were a fishing people, so the health of that river and its resources is the health of our people, and so if the rivers sick, the people are going to be sick because our ceremonies, everything, our spirituality, our strength and health, is all connected to the river. Were all one.

Our heart and our soul is here, who we are as a people, spiritually, is connected here. Were from here, we havent left here, well be here tomorrow. The river is a place thats sacred to us because it was given to us by the creator to protect, preserve, and ensure that it stays healthy. The river is our highway, its how we get from one place to another, and it's where we get our sustenance. Weve always depended on the fishery, ocean, and the resources where we live. So were always going to be good stewards and always be advocating for the health of the place we live, and the place we depend on.

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When did the government take away fishing rights for Native peoples?

Susan Masten: In the 1930s, the state of California started its jurisdiction on the river, and closed the river for Indian gill net fishing. But didnt prohibit my family, who believed that we have the inherent right to fish. My uncles kept fishing, but they fished at night, and they continued to fish. Eventually, they did get caught, and that resulted in the Supreme Court case that reaffirmed our rights in 1976.

Raymond Mattz: I started out when I was 12 years old, me and my brother. We were fishing and [Fish and Game wardens] were chasing us up and down the river. They were chasing us every night. Wed go upriver and fish, then wed come down, and just have them all confused. My brother said, Im tired of this. And I said, I am too.

They pull out their billy clubs. So youre thinking in your head, Im gonna die. Were all gonna die right here and nobody will ever know the truth about the story.

The game wardens came that day and picked our nets up. So we sat there and they asked, Well whose nets [are] they? Everybody looked around, nobody wanted to claim them. I said, Well, I aint going to let my net go...I claim all five of them.

Susan Masten: We had our case go to the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court, and the [1976] decision reaffirmed our rights.

What was it like in the weeks before the fish wars in 1978?

Susan Masten: The theme of the day here was Can an Indian and save a salmon. So there was a lot of animosity because there were a lot of fishermen here on the river. When we started to fish with nets, they were very unhappy because they claimed ownership to the river at that point. There was a decline in the fish, so everyone wanted to blame the Indian fishery. There was rumors about hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish leaving the reservation. Which werent true. And, because [Raymond] was the one that took that court case, he was a target. They would stop him all the time.

They came in the middle of the night and they woke up him and his family. Got them all out of bed with their guns because they wanted to find fish at his house. Just the things that [they] had to go through because he stood up for our fishing rights. Its not okay.

Raymond Mattz: It was bad, because my kids weren't even teenagers when this all started. They're still bitter about the cops and stuff, and I cant blame them, but its over with. It was crazy how they treated us.

Diane Bowers | Photo: KCET

Diane Bowers: During 1978 and 79, something happened every day. It was constant. We were afraid to ride in our cars alone. Whenever we planned a trip to the store more than one person had to go. We were just scared all of the time. There was an elderly gentleman who had a birthday, [and] we took some time off from protesting and we had salmon on the sticks down there. Hed brought his drum. There was probably an even seven children, seven women, and seven men. He was singing; he had a beautiful singing voice. Right in the middle of the singing, this big flash came up the top of the hill. We knew something was going to happen. It was immediate. Everyone [thought], Oh my God, whats going to happen now?

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[The agents] pulled out their billy clubs. So youre thinking in your head Im gonna die. Were all gonna die right here and nobody will ever know the truth about the story. They came to shore and we were surrounded. The elderly gentleman started drumming and he started singing. We all sang. We didnt know the song but we all knew it all of a sudden. The children sang, everyone sang the song. They sang and they got louder and louder. They said, Lets get the hell out of here.

There was a fear of our spirituality, so they left. What happened when they left was that the people had wet their pants, people had thrown up. We were left frightened. Yes, they left us but when we walked from that beach, they took from us something that we never got back.

They took away something that I always say that before the salmon wars, the Yurok tribe, the Yurok people used to be this community. Although we were the poorest tribe in the United States, you wouldve never known it. We had the salmon, we had the crab, we had the eel, we had all of the fish and the seaweed and everything. We had each other. After the

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