The Palmer and Stevens “Usual and Accustomed Places” treaties in the opinions of the courts

One hundred fifty years ago, Joel Palmer, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Oregon Territory, and Isaac I. Stevens, as Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs of the Washington Territory, negotiated a series of treaties with tribes of the Pacific Northwest. These 10 instruments have affected the gathering rights of tribes and of others in this area and throughout the United States and have generated a substantial amount of litigation. This article reports on the 512 citations to these specific documents in 354 opinions, between the years 1874 and 2005, in various jurisdictions ranging from territorial courts to the U.S. Supreme Court.