USRT Charter [.pdf] USRT Motherhood Document [.pdf]
History
The Upper Snake River Tribes (USRT) Foundation is composed of four Indian tribes of the Upper Snake River region in Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon: the Burns Paiute Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation. In 2007, the USRT Charter was adopted pursuant to the Motherhood Document of 1998. The primary goal of the USRT Charter is to facilitate tribal unity to protect and nurture all compacting tribes’ rights, languages, cultures, and traditions in addressing issues related to the Snake River Basin. The tribes established a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, USRT Foundation, Inc., and opened headquarters in Boise, Idaho. The four tribes have common vested interests to protect rights reserved through the United States Constitution, federal treaties, federal unratified treaties (including but not limited to the Fort Boise Treaty of 1864, Malheur Treaty of 1864, Bruneau Treaty of 1866, and Long Tom Creek Treaty of 1867), executive orders, inherent rights, and aboriginal title to the land, which has never been extinguished by USRT member tribes. USRT works to ensure the protection, enhancement, and preservation of the tribes’ rights, resources, cultural properties, and practices and that they remain secured. These include but are not limited to hunting, fishing, gathering, and subsistence uses.
Mission
“The Compact of the Upper Snake River Tribes will work to ensure the protection, enhancement, and restoration of natural and cultural resources, activities, and rights of the Compacting Tribes that are reserved by Treaties and Executive Orders, protected by federal laws and agreements, or are the subject of aboriginal claims asserted by the Tribes.”
USRT Charter
Restore the Snake River Basin to a natural condition and facilitate tribal unity to protect and nurture all Compacting tribes rights, languages, cultures, and traditions.
USRT Coordination
Through information gathering and dissemination, facilitation of technical and policy meetings, and drafting of technical and policy statements, USRT coordinates and pursues fish, wildlife, land, water, air, Cultural Resource, and federal trust responsibility objectives and strategies to meet the policy and guiding principles of their Compact.
Staff