February 13, 2025 — Tŝilhqot’in chiefs are calling on the Alaskan District 104 Fishery to stop intercepting vulnerable salmon stocks bound for their territory, stating the fishery’s harvesting is infringing on Tŝilhqot’in Aboriginal rights.
“Our people depend on the salmon run every year to ensure that our families do not go hungry,” Nits’ilʔin (Chief) Joe Alphonse said in a Feb. 11 press release issued by the Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG).
The chiefs are making their call at the Pacific Salmon Commission’s fortieth annual meeting in Portland, Ore. The commission works to implement the Pacific Salmon Treaty which authorizes the Alaskan Salmon Fishery.