mand a trial in the nearest
justice court the Bureau of Fish
ery official jointly with the
representative of the Depart
ment of Justice invariably re
fuses a demand except on con
dition that the accused person
agrees to plead guilty and pay
a stated fine; that with this
condition is coupled a threat
that if the accused doe ; not
agree to plead guilty, that the
vessel and ctbc.i goar vi'.i be
seized in admiral !y proceedings,
the arresting officer or his su
perior adding further explana
tion that even if the accused
wins his case, the lime involved
to say nothing of the expense
will use up the remainder of
the fishing season. That these
innocent persons under such
compulsion invariably p!eaci
guilty not because such person
is in fact guilty, but because the
penalty of asserting and proving
such persons innocent is many
times greater than the penalty
of pleading guilty.
We affirm that this practice
is general and not any different
from the practice of England of
trying the colonists accused of
crime, in England, a practice
that is denounced in the De
claration of Independence.
We, the Natives of Southeast
ern Alaska, through the Grand
Convention of the Alaska Native
Brotherhood, sitting at Ketchi
kan, Alaska, on 14th day of Nov
ember, 1930 respectfully petition
the Attorney General of the
United States to stop the prac
tice complained of and then
join with the Delegate from A
laska in so changing the Fishery
Laws relating to seizure that no
gear can be seized before the
person accused of operating the
same has been proven guilty.
Adopted this 14th day of Nov
ember, 1930 at Ketchikan, Alas
ka.
Louis Shotridge,
Grand President.
Attest: Eli Katanook,
OPPOSITION TO FISH WEIRS
——x
Whereas, in recent years it
has been the policy of the United
States Bureau ox Fisheries to
maintain fish weirs at me mouth
of various epu.vamg x.icams in
Alaska and particularly in Kla
wock stream, situated near the
village of Klawock on the West
L/Ucioi ui x'inice ^ iiion xsiana,
iiiasKa, ancl,
Whereas, the natives of Alas
ka, linoughoui their entire resi
dence in said Territory, have ob
served and become familiar with
the habits and instinct of salm
on and as a result of their ob
servations and study of salmon
have learned that it is natural
for salmon to go into the streams
a certain distance and there
after return to the mouth of the
streams to salt water 'a great
many times back and forth be
fore actually spawning; that
said process seems to be nature’s
way of regulating the spawning
of salmon; that particularly
when the dr" season occurs and
the water in the streams gets
low, salmon naturally return to
the mouth of the streams before
spawning in order to get to
deep watr and to protect them
selves against smothering; that
during the 1930 season at Kla
woclc Stream, it was established
that a great many salmon enter
ed the stream and before spawn
ing, endeavored to return to
deep water and were prevented
from doing so on account of the
fish weir maintained at the
mouth of the stream; that as a
result of being trapped in the
stream, thousands and thou
sands of fish actually smother
ed and died before spawning;
that this condition became so
bad that it was necessary for the
weir attendant to hire help to
pitch the dead salmon from the
stream over the weir back into
salt water or the mouth of the
stream; that these salmon were
cut open by a a committee of
natives from Klawock and it
was found to be a fact that none
of them had spawned as all the
eggs were intact and,
Whereas, for the first time in
history, scckeyes have appeared
at the mouth of Klawock Stream
in September and as well as
other smaller streams nearby, in
September; that these salmon
were discolored, showing they
had endeavored to reach their
spawning beds a long time prior
thereto and that the artificial
barrier or obstruction known as
a weir in the K7n,wock Stream
undoubtedly prevented cockeyes
from going into the stream to
spawn, and upon encountering
said barrier the soekeyes,
through natural instinct, post
poned the period; that the peo
ple of Klawock are all natives
and dependent upon the sock
eyes for winter food and are be
ing deprived from getting such
supply on account of the weir in
the mouth of the stream.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it, re
solved, that it is an established
fact known to the natives of
Alaska and to the inhabitants of
Klawock that anv artificial ob
struction or barrier, such as a
fish weir, is extremely deteri
mental to the propagation of
salmon and prevents the salmon
from following their natural
habits and instincts in spawning
and is a menace to the propaga
tion and wellfare of salmon dur
ing the spawning season.
Whereas, the Alaska Native
Brotherhood, in Convention as
sembled, respectfully petition
the Secretary of Commerce and
the Commissioner of Fisheries
to investigate the facts herein
before recited and to remove, in
the future, all fish weirs from
the mouth of the streams, and
particularly the one in Klawock
stream.
Adopted at Ketchikan, Alaska,