Indian Country

Portland, Oregon (AP) 7-09

Nez Perce tribal member Rebecca Miles is the new chairwoman of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission for 2009-2010.

She is a former chair of the Nez Perce Tribe General Council and member of the tribe’s executive committee.

Miles is the third consecutive female chair in a position long dominated by men and succeeds Kathryn Brigham of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation.

Brigham’s year in office saw the restoration of Pacific Salmon Treaty funds and a more unified approach to protecting tribal treaty rights.

The fish commission is the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management for the Columbia River Basin’s four tribes, which are guaranteed perpetual fishing rights under an 1855 treaty.