Chinook Indian Nation Vows to Continue Fight to Restore Federal Recognition After Supreme Court Setback
Monday, March 23, 2026
Indianz.Com

The following is the text of a March 23, 2026, press release from the Chinook Indian Nation.

BAY CENTER, Washington — The Chinook Indian Nation today expressed profound disappointment with the United States Supreme Court’s decision to deny review in its case seeking judicial restoration of federal recognition under the 1994 List Act.

The following statement can be attributed to Tony A. (naschio) Johnson, Chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation:

“Today’s Supreme Court denial of certiorari just reminds us of the long fight that has brought us to this moment. It is not an end, but instead a beginning of a revitalization of our efforts. We are used to not fitting into the U.S. system that has been built around us, and are not surprised by a lack of justice here. For generations, the sovereign Chinook Indian Nation has fought for the federal recognition that is rightfully ours, and we will not stop now. We remain steadfast and determined, pursuing every remaining path, including through re-petitioning at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, congressional action, and executive order. We will continue until justice is finally served and we are properly seated as the recognized tribe at the mouth of our Great Columbia River.

“Federal recognition is essential for our community. It will finally deliver Indian Health Service health care, educational opportunities, NAGPRA protections for our ancestors, and other vital resources long denied to our citizens. It will fuel economic development, environmental stewardship in our important region, and healing from intergenerational trauma inflicted by the federal boarding school system. Most importantly, federal recognition will ensure our sovereignty is respected by the United States for all generations to come.”

For over a century, the Chinook Indian Nation has looked to the courts to assert their rights as a sovereign nation, hiring their first attorneys in the 1890s. The Chinook obtained partial compensation from Congress in the early twentieth century for the taking of their ancestral lands, and the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) found them entitled to additional compensation in 1970—money that was held in trust by the BIA. They were finally federally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2001 after a decades-long campaign, only to have that recognition outrageously rescinded 18 months later. Since then, they have pursued recognition through every available pathway while continuing to fulfill their responsibilities of governance, culture, and community.

In 2015, the BIA denied the Chinook the ancestral land trust funds adjudicated to them by the ICC, and the Chinook Indian Nation filed this lawsuit in federal court in Tacoma. The court ruled for the Chinook Indian Nation on the trust funds, but decided it had no authority to grant recognition. The tribe appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the district court decision.

On September 15, 2025, the Chinook Indian Nation petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ June 2025 decision dismissing their case for federal recognition under the 1994 List Act. The Tribe argued that the judiciary has the authority under the List Act to confirm recognition when the federal government has previously acknowledged a tribe and later revoked that recognition without justification. The Nation asserted that courts can and must act when administrative or political failures have perpetuated historic injustices, as in the Chinook’s case.

Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court ultimately denied review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in the Chinook case. This refusal represents a deep miscarriage of justice and another failure of our legal system to correct historic wrongs, but the Chinook Indian Nation remains steadfast and determined to continue the fight for rightful federal recognition.

The Chinook Indian Nation comprises the five western-most Chinookan-speaking tribes at the mouth of the Columbia River: the Clatsop and Cathlamet of present-day Oregon, and the Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum, and Willapa of what is now Washington State. Local governments, neighboring tribes, Lewis and Clark descendants, and tens of thousands of supporters nationwide have endorsed restoration.

Updates on the Chinook Indian Nation’s fight for federal recognition and the #ChinookJustice campaign can be found online at chinookjustice.org, on Instagram @everydaychinook, and on X/Twitter at @chinook_nation.