Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation Inc

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
• 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.