978 P.2d 1070 (1999) 138 Wash.2d 186

STATE of Washington, Petitioner,
v.
Donald Ray BUCHANAN, Respondent.

No. 66054-9.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued November 18, 1998. Decided June 17, 1999. Reconsideration Denied August 3, 1999. As Amended August 12, 1999.

*1072 Christine Gregoire, Attorney General, Robert Costello, Asst., Olympia, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Joseph Coniff, Jr., Olympia, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Modern Firearm Hunters of Washington.

Ralph Johnson, Seattle, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Professor Ralph Johnson.

Kevin R. Lyon, Ronald J. Whitener, Olympia, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Squaxin Island Tribe.

Mason D. Morissett, Seattle, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Tulalip Tribes.

Bill Tobin, Vashon, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Nisqually Indian Tribe.

Phillip E. Katzen, Allen H. Sanders, Seattle, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Sauk-Suiattle Tribe.

Eisenhower, Carlson, Newlands, Reha, Henriott & Quinn, Kathryn Nelson, Tacoma, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Skokomish Tribe.

Debra S. O'Gara, Tacoma, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Puyallup Tribe.

Mathews, Garlington-Mathews & Chesnin, Harold Chesnin, Seattle, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Upper Skagit Tribe.

Raas, Johnson & Stuen, Daniel A. Raas, Bellingham, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Lummi Tribe.

Alix Foster, Allan E. Olson, LaConner, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

John C. Sledd, Bremerton, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Suquamish Tribe.

Elizabeth Nason, Toppenish, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Bands of Yakima Indian Nation.

Jeffrey J. Bode, Bellingham, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Nooksack Tribe.

Robert L. Otsea, Jr., Seattle, Alan Stay, Auburn, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.

Jeffrey Sullivan, Yakima County Prosecutor, Kenneth L. Ramm, Deputy, Lauri Boyd, Deputy, Yakima, for Petitioner.

*1073 Law Offices of David S. Vogel, David Vogel, Seattle, for Respondent.

*1071 GUY, C.J.

This is a criminal prosecution for illegal hunting of elk in the State-owned Oak Creek Wildlife Area. The defendant, a member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe, claims he has a treaty right to hunt elk in the Oak Creek Area, and that this right may not be restricted by state hunting regulations. The issues presented are (1) whether the geographic scope of the tribe's treaty right to hunt on open and unclaimed lands includes the Oak Creek Wildlife Area, (2) whether the Oak Creek Wildlife Area is open and unclaimed land, and (3) whether the tribe's treaty right to hunt outside the reservation was abrogated by Washington's admission to the Union "on equal footing" with the original states.

We reverse the dismissal of the criminal action and remand for trial. We hold that, on remand, the defendant may raise a treaty right to hunt as a defense to the criminal charges and may offer evidence in support of his position that the Oak Creek Wildlife Area is within the aboriginal hunting grounds of the Nooksack Tribe. We also hold that under the facts presented in this case, the Oak Creek Wildlife Area is "open and unclaimed" land within the meaning of the Nooksack's treaty. We decline, in this case, to reconsider prior case law on whether the equal footing doctrine applies to impliedly abrogate Indian treaty rights in Washington.

FACTS

On January 6, 1995, defendant Donald Buchanan was stopped by Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers while Buchanan was hunting in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area, land which is owned and managed by the State of Washington. The defendant was in possession of two recently killed five-point, branch-antlered bull elks. At the time he was stopped, the defendant's Washington state hunting license had been revoked, and the Washington elk hunting season was closed.

The Oak Creek Wildlife Area, which is near Yakima, is open to the public at specified times each year for hunting, fishing and recreational purposes. During the fall and winter of 1994-95, state regulations permitted elk hunting in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area only from November 5 through 13, 1994. The number of branch-antlered elk that could be killed also was regulated during the hunting season, and only young "spike bulls" could be killed without a special permit. The purposes of the restrictions on elk hunting in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area are to maintain and manage the existing elk population. However, there is not an immediate threat to elk, as a species, in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area.

Defendant Buchanan is a resident of Kent, Washington, and a member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe. At the time he was stopped by Wildlife enforcement officers, he possessed both a Nooksack Tribe identification card and hunting tags issued by the Tribe. The Nooksack Tribe's reservation is located in Whatcom County, near Deming. The lands ceded to the United States by the Nooksack Tribe under the provisions of the Treaty of Point Elliott,^[1] which is the treaty involved here, are bordered on the east by the summit of the Cascade range. The Oak Creek Wildlife Area is east of the territory ceded to the United States by the Nooksacks.

Defendant Buchanan was charged with two felony counts of possessing big game during a closed season, former RCW 77.16.020(1)(E), former RCW 77.21.010(1) (second or subsequent violation), and with one misdemeanor count of hunting while license is revoked. Former RCW 77.21.060(2).^[2]

*1074 Defendant Buchanan moved to dismiss the charges on the ground that State hunting regulations do not apply to hunters, like Buchanan, who are members of Indian tribes that have a treaty right to hunt on open and unclaimed lands. He claims the only regulations that govern his hunting on open and unclaimed lands are those of the Nooksack Indian Tribe.

The trial court granted the motion to dismiss the charges, ruling: (1) the language of the Treaty of Point Elliott does not restrict hunting to open and unclaimed lands within the area ceded by the Indians to the United States, but instead gives tribal members a right to hunt anywhere in the "Territory of Washington"; (2) the term "open and unclaimed lands" includes public lands, such as the Oak Creek Wildlife Area, which are put to uses compatible with an Indian hunting privilege; and (3) although Indian hunting privileges may be limited if necessary for conservation, the State, in this case, failed to demonstrate that application of State hunting regulations to treaty tribe hunters is necessary for conservation.

On appeal, the State challenged the trial court's conclusions and, additionally, argued that the Treaty of Point Elliott was abrogated by Congress when Washington was admitted to the Union on equal footing with the original states. The Court of Appeals affirmed and declined to consider the equal footing argument, as that issue was not presented to the trial court and was not asserted to be of constitutional magnitude. State v. Buchanan, 87 Wash.App. 189, 196, 941 P.2d 683 (1997), review granted, 134 Wash.2d 1012, 958 P.2d 316 (1998). This court granted the State's petition for review.

Several treaty tribes, including the Nooksack Tribe, have filed an amicus brief providing an overview of tribal management of off-reservation hunting by tribal members, a description of cooperative agreements governing wildlife management between tribes and between various tribes and the State, and further setting forth the tribes' position on the meaning of "open and unclaimed" lands.^[3] Professor Ralph Johnson of the University of Washington School of Law has filed an amicus brief on the proper interpretation of the treaty language "open and unclaimed" lands. An amicus brief has been filed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife on the issues of the geographical scope of the treaty right involved and on the designation of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area as open and unclaimed lands during the winter months. Modern Firearm Hunters of Washington has filed an amicus brief in support of the State's equal footing argument.

Prior to oral argument in this court, the State filed a motion captioned, "Request for Judicial Notice or to Supplement the Record Under RAP 9.11." In its motion the State argues that defendant Buchanan should not be permitted to raise the defense that he has a treaty right to hunt because the Nooksack Tribe was not a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott. Defendant Buchanan responded to the motion and, additionally, moved for sanctions against the State, arguing the motion was frivolous and made for purposes of delay. Both motions were passed to the merits.

ISSUES

1. What is the geographic scope of the Nooksack Indian Tribe's treaty hunting right?

2. Is the State-owned Oak Creek Wildlife Area "open and unclaimed lands" within the meaning of the Treaty of Point Elliott?

3. Were those provisions of the Treaty of Point Elliott which conflict with the State's right to regulate off-reservation hunting abrogated *1075 by Congress when Washington was admitted to the Union upon "equal footing" with the original states?

DISCUSSION

We begin by denying both the State's motion for judicial notice or to supplement the record and the defendant's motion for sanctions.

In its motion, the State first argues that this court should take judicial notice that the court lacks "subject matter jurisdiction" over defendant Buchanan's defense because the Nooksack Tribe was not a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott and Buchanan, therefore, has no treaty hunting rights.

The State's motion raises a new issue—that is, whether defendant Buchanan failed to prove a necessary element (the existence of a treaty) of his defense. The court generally will not consider issues which are not set forth in the petition for review, RAP 13.7(b), nor arguments raised for the first time on appeal. See, e.g., Hansen v. Friend, 118 Wash.2d 476, 485, 824 P.2d 483 (1992). However, this rule does not apply when the issue raised affects the right to maintain an action. Jones v. Stebbins, 122 Wash.2d 471, 479, 860 P.2d 1009 (1993). In this case, the State claims that defendant Buchanan does not have a right to maintain his defense and, therefore, the court should take judicial notice that it is without jurisdiction to consider it.

The issue raised by the State does not present a jurisdictional question. Jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear and determine the class of action to which a case belongs. State v. Werner, 129 Wash.2d 485, 493, 918 P.2d 916 (1996); Bour v. Johnson, 80 Wash.App. 643, 647, 910 P.2d 548 (1996). This is a criminal felony action brought by the State. The trial court had authority to determine the legal and factual issues involved. RCW 2.08.010; Werner, 129 Wash.2d at 493, 918 P.2d 916. This court has the power to determine the appeal. RCW 2.04.010.

Alternatively, the State asks to supplement the record with documents showing that the Nooksack Indian Tribe has previously taken the position that it was not a party to the treaty. This issue was resolved in 1978 in an action in which the State of Washington was a defendant, and in which the trial court ruled that the Nooksack Indian Tribe was included in the Treaty of Point Elliott. United States v. Washington, 459 F.Supp. 1020, 1040-41 (W.D.Wash.1978) (posttrial substantive orders following the initial Boldt decision^[4]), aff'd, 645 F.2d 749 (9th Cir.1981) (the appeal does not challenge the trial court's ruling relating to the Nooksack's status as a treaty tribe).

The State argues that this court need not consider the federal court decision because it is "a lower federal court case which is non-binding precedent on this court." Request for Judicial Notice at 6. However, the State was a party to the federal court case and is bound by its ruling. Puget Sound Gillnetters Ass'n v. Moos, 92 Wash.2d 939, 953, 603 P.2d 819 (1979) (all parties, and all those who are in privity with parties, must comply with the federal court orders entered in United States v. Washington). See also Nielson v. Spanaway Gen. Med. Clinic, Inc., 135 Wash.2d 255, 262, 956 P.2d 312 (1998) (the doctrine of collateral estoppel prevents relitigation of an issue, in state court, after the party against whom the doctrine is applied has had a full and fair opportunity to litigate his or her case in federal court). The State claims the federal trial court's decision on the issue is erroneous, but it did not appeal the trial court's findings and conclusion with respect to the Nooksack Tribe. Recourse from an erroneous federal court decision is through the federal system. Puget Sound Gillnetters, 92 Wash.2d at 952, 603 P.2d 819. Accordingly, we deny the motion to supplement.

*1076 Although we deny the State's motion, we decline to impose sanctions against it. We are satisfied that the motion was filed in good faith.

We turn now to the substantive issues in this appeal.

Defendant Buchanan's defense to the criminal charges brought against him is that he is not subject to State hunting laws because he has a treaty right to hunt on any open and unclaimed lands in "Washington Territory," and that this treaty right is superior to the right of the State to regulate hunting.

The State makes essentially three arguments. First, it argues that any treaty hunting right that exists in the Nooksack Tribe should be interpreted to permit hunting only on open and unclaimed land within the area ceded to the United States by the tribe, or upon land which the tribe has traditionally hunted. Second, the State argues that even if the treaty affords a right to hunt outside the ceded area, the Oak Creek Wildlife Area is not "open and unclaimed" land. Finally, it urges this court to hold that no treaty right to hunt or fish in violation of State regulations survived Washington's admission to the Union on "equal footing" with the original states.

Our initial inquiry is to determine the geographic scope of the Nooksack Tribe's treaty hunting right.

In 1854 and 1855 Isaac Stevens, who was the first Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Washington Territory, negotiated several treaties between the United States and the various tribes and bands of Indians who lived in the Territory.^[5]See generally United States v. Washington, 384 F.Supp. 312, 353-57 (W.D.Wash.1974); Seufert Bros. Co. v. United States, 249 U.S. 194, 39 S.Ct. 203, 63 L.Ed. 555 (1919).

At the time the treaties were negotiated, approximately three-fourths of Western Washington's 10,000 or so inhabitants were Indians. Washington v. Washington State Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Ass'n, 443 U.S. 658, 664, 99 S.Ct. 3055, 61 L.Ed.2d 823 (1979) (hereafter Fishing Vessel). The natural resources appeared to the parties to be inexhaustible. Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 669, 99 S.Ct. 3055.

In the treaties, the Indians relinquished their interest in most of the Territory in exchange for monetary payments. Additionally, certain relatively small parcels of land were reserved for the exclusive use of particular tribes or bands, and the Indians were afforded other guarantees, such as certain rights of fishing and hunting. Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 662, 99 S.Ct. 3055.

The Treaty of Point Elliott was made in January 1855 and ratified March 8, 1859. As noted above, the Nooksack Indian Tribe was judicially determined to be a party to the treaty in United States v. Washington, 459 F.Supp. 1020. The first article of the treaty includes a description of lands ceded to the United States by the Indians. The treaty provides, in article 1, that the "said tribes and bands of Indians hereby cede, relinquish, and convey to the United States all their right, title, and interest in and to the lands and country occupied by them, bounded and described as follows: Commencing at [the inlets and bays of western Washington Territory] to the summit of the Cascade range of mountains." Treaty of Point Elliott at 927.

Article 5 of the treaty provides:

The right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purpose of curing, together with the privilege of hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed lands. Provided, however, that they shall not take shell-fish from any beds staked or cultivated by citizens.

Treaty of Point Elliott at 928.

This paragraph was substantially the same in all of the Stevens Treaties,^[6] and its *1077 language has been the subject of extensive litigation in both state and federal court during much of the last century. See, e.g., United States v. Winans, 198 U.S. 371, 25 S.Ct. 662, 49 L.Ed. 1089 (1905); Seufert Bros., 249 U.S. 194, 39 S.Ct. 203, 63 L.Ed. 555; Tulee v. Washington, 315 U.S. 681, 62 S.Ct. 862, 86 L.Ed. 1115 (1942); State v. Towessnute, 89 Wash. 478, 154 P. 805 (1916); State v. Wallahee, 143 Wash. 117, 255 P. 94 (1927); State v. McCoy, 63 Wash.2d 421, 387 P.2d 942 (1963); State v. Chambers, 81 Wash.2d 929, 506 P.2d 311 (1973); State v. Petit, 88 Wash.2d 267, 558 P.2d 796 (1977); State v. Miller, 102 Wash.2d 678, 689 P.2d 81 (1984); Atwood v. Shanks, 91 Wash.App. 404, 958 P.2d 332 (1998); United States v. Alaska Packers' Ass'n, 79 F. 152 (N.D.Wash.1897); United States v. Hicks, 587 F.Supp. 1162 (W.D.Wash.1984); United States v. Washington, 384 F.Supp. 312; United States v. Washington, 157 F.3d 630 (9th Cir.1998); State v. Arthur, 74 Idaho 251, 261 P.2d 135 (1953). See also Wilkinson, supra, at 447-48; Dana Johnson, Native American Treaty Rights to Scarce Natural Resources, 43 U.C.L.A. L. REV. 547, 552 (1995); Bradley I. Nye, Where Do the Buffalo Roam? Determining the Scope of American Indian Off-Reservation Hunting Rights in the Pacific Northwest, 67 WASH. L. REV. 175 (1992); Laurie Reynolds, Indian Hunting and Fishing Rights: The Role of Tribal Sovereignty and Preemption, 62 N.C. L. REV. 743 (1984).

These authorities and others provide a framework for judicial examination of the treaty language involved here.

Like any treaty between the United States and another sovereign nation, a treaty with Indians is the supreme law of the land and is binding on the State until Congress limits or abrogates the treaty. U.S. Const. art. VI; Antoine v. Washington, 420 U.S. 194, 201, 95 S.Ct. 944, 43 L.Ed.2d 129 (1975); State v. McCormack, 117 Wash.2d 141, 143, 812 P.2d 483 (1991).

A treaty, including one between the United States and an Indian tribe, is essentially a contract between two sovereigns. Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 675, 99 S.Ct. 3055; State v. Courville, 36 Wash.App. 615, 619, 676 P.2d 1011 (1983). When the signatory nations are not at war and neither is the vanquished, it is reasonable to assume the parties bargained at arm's length. Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 675, 99 S.Ct. 3055. In discussing the negotiations involved in another Stevens Treaty, that with the Nez Perce, Professor Wilkinson states:

[T]he stereotype of Indian leaders at treaty talks as being passive and overmatched intellectually is wrong.

The negotiators for the Nez Perce, and for the other tribes as well, had a complete understanding of the situation. The white people wanted their land, and had the population and technology to take it. The tribes, on the other hand, had considerable leverage: in time they would lose a military campaign, but they could exact great costs in terms of human life and monetary expenditures to fight a war on the fragile, far edge of American territory.

The calculus was about power, and the tribes could make the calculations as well as the white people. The tribal negotiators were sophisticated and they used *1078 every technique and device available to them.... They made their arguments precisely and ably.

Wilkinson, supra, at 438 (footnotes omitted).

The goal of treaty interpretation is the same as the goal of contract interpretation —to determine the intent of the parties. Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 675, 99 S.Ct. 3055; United States v. Washington, 157 F.3d at 642. The analysis of the parties' intention begins with the language of the treaty and the context in which the written words are used. United States v. Washington, 157 F.3d at 642. In interpreting a treaty between the United States and an Indian tribe, the treaty must "`be construed, not according to the technical meaning of its words to learned lawyers, but in the sense in which they would naturally be understood by the Indians.'" Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 676, 99 S.Ct. 3055 (quoting Jones v. Meehan, 175 U.S. 1, 11, 20 S.Ct. 1, 5, 44 L.Ed. 49 (1899)); Miller, 102 Wash.2d at 683, 689 P.2d 81.

Where there is ambiguity in the language of a treaty, it must not be construed to the prejudice of the Indians. Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 1187, 143 L.Ed.2d 270 (1999); Antoine, 420 U.S. at 199, 95 S.Ct. 944; Miller, 102 Wash.2d at 683, 689 P.2d 81. However, courts may not ignore treaty language that, viewed in its historical context and given a fair appraisal, clearly runs counter to the tribe's claims. Oregon Dep't of Fish & Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe, 473 U.S. 753, 774, 105 S.Ct. 3420, 87 L.Ed.2d 542 (1985); Department of Ecology v. Yakima Reservation Irrigation Dist., 121 Wash.2d 257, 277, 850 P.2d 1306 (1993). Additionally, treaties must be construed liberally in favor of Indians. Ecology, 121 Wash.2d at 277, 850 P.2d 1306; State v. Price, 87 Wash.App. 424, 429, 942 P.2d 377 (1997).

A key principle of treaty interpretation is known as the "reservation of rights doctrine." First announced in United States v. Winans, 198 U.S. 371, 25 S.Ct. 662, 49 L.Ed. 1089, a case involving interpretation of a Stevens Treaty made with the Yakama Indians,^[7] the reservation of rights doctrine holds that a treaty between the federal government and an Indian tribe is not a grant of rights to the Indians but, rather, a grant from them. In other words, the Indians ceded certain rights possessed by them at the time of making the treaty but reserved whatever rights were not expressly granted to the United States. Winans, 198 U.S. at 381, 25 S.Ct. 662. See also Seufert Bros., 249 U.S. at 199, 39 S.Ct. 203; Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 679-81, 99 S.Ct. 3055; Wilkinson, supra, at 454-55.

Under the reservation of rights doctrine, tribal members have possessed certain rights, such as hunting and fishing rights, from time immemorial. A treaty between a tribe and the United States documents a grant of some rights from the tribe to the federal government. However, those rights not expressly ceded in the treaty, as well as those expressly reserved, remain with the tribe. Johnson, supra, at 553.

The reservation of rights doctrine has consistently been applied to the fishing and hunting provisions of the Stevens Treaties. See, e.g., Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 679-81, 99 S.Ct. 3055; Seufert Bros., 249 U.S. at 196, 39 S.Ct. 203.

The treaty language at issue here is the following:

The right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians ... together with the privilege of hunting ... on open and unclaimed lands.

This court has interpreted the words "privilege" and "right," as used in the treaty, to be synonymous. Miller, 102 Wash.2d at 683, 689 P.2d 81. The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the treaty language "securing" or "secured" rights to be synonymous with "reserving" rights previously exercised. *1079 Fishing Vessel, 443 U.S. at 678, 99 S.Ct. 3055.

The State argues that the hunting right reserved by the treaty was limited to the right previously exercised—that is to the ceded lands or to lands upon which the Nooksack Tribe traditionally hunted. We agree.

The scope of a tribe's off-reservation hunting rights is generally found in an Indian tribe's aboriginal use of or title to land and its reservation of the right in a treaty, or by agreement, executive order or statute. See generally FELIX S. COHEN'S HANDBOOK OF FEDERAL INDIAN LAW 441-46 (Rennard Strickland & Charles F. Wilkinson eds., 1982). Mr. Nye explains the origin of the right as follows:

Though hunting rights can arise from various sources, most existing off-reservation hunting rights in the Pacific Northwest were reserved by tribes in treaties signed with the federal government between 1853 and 1871. Treaties were the primary means by which the federal government sought to provide for the orderly westward expansion of non-native society. In the typical treaty, the signatory Indians relinquished their rights to aboriginal lands in exchange for money and confinement to a reservation with distinct boundaries.

The reservation system, in addition to minimizing confrontations between encroaching settlers and the resident Indians, was also intended to transform Indians into "a pastoral and civilized people." As a result, game populations were not one of the primary factors considered in the federal government's choice of reservation lands, and many tribes were removed to reservations located far from their traditional hunting grounds. In response to a strong desire on the part of tribes to retain access to these areas, treaties with Northwest Indians provided for ... "the privilege of hunting ... on open and unclaimed lands[.]" In essence, these treaty provisions preserved a portion of the aboriginal rights exercised by the signatory tribes.

Nye, supra, at 177-78 (footnotes omitted). See also Reynolds, supra, at 752 (because the tribes could have reserved their aboriginal hunting and fishing rights only on lands which they actually hunted and fished at the time of the treaty, the primary inquiry must determine whether the area allegedly protected by the treaty formed part of the tribe's aboriginal territory).

To determine the existence of original Indian title to land, and the right to hunt and fish following from that title, courts have generally required a showing of actual use and occupancy over an extended period of time. In Mitchel v. United States [