Lightning Boldt: Judge George H. Boldt and a defining moment in tribal sovereignty

by John C. Hughes

Lightning Judge George H. Boldt and a defining moment in tribal sovereignty

277 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

A lifelong resident of Grays Harbor on Washington State's Pacific coast, John C. Hughes has written widely about Northwest history. While attending the University of Puget Sound in the 1960's he found a mentor and friend in Northwest historian Murray Morgan. An Air Force veteran, Hughes also attended the University of Maryland, with a major in English Literature. He joined The Daily World in Aberdeen as a reporter and photographer in 1966 and moved through the chairs to managing editor 10 years later. Hughes became the newspaper's editor and publisher in 2003. He received the "Distinguished Service to Journalism" award of the Western Washington Chapter of the Society of Professional Jouranlists in 2004. He also received a C.B. Blethen Memorial Award for distinguished investigative reporting. Hughes is a trustee of the Washington State Historical Society and former president of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judge George Boldt was a good soldier, a good public servant, and a good judge. He presided over one of the most consequential trials in Washington State History: United States v. Washington. That case determined that many of the local tribes had a treaty right to up to half the harvestable salmon in Washington and Washington State had a treaty obligation to comply with that. Fifty years later, “derivative” litigation on that is still being litigated.

I had a hazy sense that Judge Boldt was an old white guy in a bowtie. He was. But he was also a man who, from working at the elbow of the governor in a position of enormous influence, volunteered to serve in World War II. Before he went, he supported the Japanese Internment. There, he served with Japanese soldiers. He came back an implacable foe of internment. He recognized his country had done wrong and spoke about it frequently.

He also presided over the trial of the Seattle 7, which in ways I don’t completely understand, gave us The Big Lebowski. The Seattle 7, like the Chicago 7, were anti-Vietnam war protestors. The trial was theater and Judge Boldt did not like his part in it. They were charged with conspiracy to start a riot. Ultimately, the defendants served time for contempt but nothing else.

Not long after, the same federal attorney who filed and later dismissed the charges against the Seattle 7 brought United States v. Washington. The critical witness was Dr. Barbara Savadkin Lane, an anthropologist who had done significant research into the Northwest tribal nations. She blew the state’s expert out of the water.

Hughes does not shy away from the claims Judge Boldt stayed on the bench after dementia had set in. Maybe he did. Hard questions.

A fine book. So glad it was written.