Hunting & Fishing on Kalispel Tribal Property

It has come to the Kalispel Tribe of Indians attention that there has been some confusion regarding hunting and fishing on the Tribe’s lands and issues regarding poaching and waste.

In 1988 the Business Committee passed Kalispel Resolution No. 1988-62 which resolved that:

The Kalispel Indian reservation trust lands are closed for hunting and fishing purposes until further notice for non-tribal members unless the non-tribal member is specifically exempted from this rule by a Tribal Council Resolution.

The Tribe subsequently passed the Hunting and Fishing Code for hunting on the Tribe’s trust lands located in Pend Oreille County.

The Tribe has been actively acquiring fee land for the benefit of Kalispel Members. Only enrolled Kalispel Tribal Members have permission to hunt or fish on the Tribe’s fee lands and they must also be in compliance with the applicable state (Washington or Idaho) laws.

The Tribe is in the process of revising the Hunting and Fishing Code, but the following applies under the current laws of the Tribe:

• No hunting or fishing may take place without a license. Enrolled Kalispel Tribal Members can use their Tribal ID as a license.
• Community Members may hunt only on trust land if they have been issued a license from the Kalispel Natural Resources Department.
• A Community Member is an “Indian person 18 years of age and older living on the Reservation for longer than one year and is supporting an Indian family.” KLOC 12-2.01(9)
• The license to hunt must be on your person at all times.
• Hunting on fee land is only for enrolled Kalispel Tribal Members and hunters must also comply with all state hunting regulations.
• In no case are non-Indians authorized to hunt on either trust or fee lands – this includes non-Indian spouses of Kalispel Tribal Members. Indian spouses must comply with the Community Member requirements.

Until the new Hunting and Fishing Code is implemented, these are some guidelines for how the current law functions. If you have any questions or concerns, those can be directed to the Kalispel Natural Resources Department, who currently governs hunting and fishing regulations.