{{Short description|Puyallup tribal leader (1929–1991)}} {{for|his son|Robert Satiacum Jr.}} {{infobox criminal |birth_date = 1929 |birth_place = Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |charge = Murder, child molestation |occupation = Tribal leader |death_date = {{death date and age|1991|3|25|1929}} |death_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada }} '''Robert "Bob" Satiacum''' (1929–March 25, 1991) was a Puyallup tribal leader and an advocate of native treaty fishing rights in the United States. He was convicted in 1982 of attempted murder, embezzlement of tribal funds, and other charges but fled to Canada to avoid a prison term. He was convicted of child molestation in Canada in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19910323&id=fqIpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sPADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7109,1585157|title=The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search|accessdate=20 December 2016}}</ref>
==Early life== Satiacum was a 1947 graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, where he was a star athlete.<ref>Reyes 2006, p. 62.</ref> His son, Robert Satiacum, Jr., was a faithless elector in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-12-19 |title=Electoral college's 'faithless electors' fail to stop Trump but land democratic blow |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/19/electoral-college-revolt-faithless-electors-analysis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250131020953/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/19/electoral-college-revolt-faithless-electors-analysis |archive-date=2025-01-31 |access-date=2026-01-19 |work=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
==Fishing rights activism== He first came to the public attention in 1954, when he was arrested for illegally fishing in the Puyallup River in Tacoma, Washington. Satiacum was convicted, but the Washington State Supreme Court overturned the conviction. This led to years of legal wranglings over the issue, as well as to "fish-ins" by Satiacum and his cadre of celebrity supporters, most notably Marlon Brando, who was arrested while protesting with him on March 2, 1964;<ref name=bradnobeforeoscar>{{cite web|url=https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/9805/|title=Marlon Brando and Bob Satiacum on Puyallup River, March 2, 1964|publisher=Washington Museum of History and Industry|accessdate=October 3, 2022}}</ref> Satiacum would not be detained during the incident, but would be issued a summons to appear in court the following week.<ref name=bradnobeforeoscar />
This ultimately culminated in the historic Boldt Decision, which held that treaties signed with native tribes and the federal government in the 1850s entitled the tribes to fifty percent of the total fish harvest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/file/21084|title=Boldt Decision: United States v. State of Washington|first=Phil|last=Dougherty|publisher=History Link|date=August 24, 2020|accessdate=October 3, 2022}}</ref>
Satiacum was prominent the 1970 action at Seattle's Fort Lawton that resulted in the creation of United Indians of All Tribes and ultimately of the Daybreak Star Cultural Center.<ref>Reyes 2006, ''passim'', especially p. 103.</ref>
==Criminal convictions== By the early 1980s, Satiacum had "amassed a fortune" which ultimately led to an investigation by the U.S. government.<ref name="lat"/><ref name="upi">{{cite news|title=Robert Satiacum, a former Puyallup Indian tribal leader who...|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/07/14/Robert-Satiacum-a-former-Puyallup-Indian-tribal-leader-who/2324553233600/|work=UPI}}</ref><ref name="spokesman"/>
In 1982 a jury convicted him under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) for selling cigarettes illegally, for embezzlement of tribal health care funds, and for illegally attempting to control competing businesses through an arson campaign.<ref name="st"/><ref name="nyt">{{cite news|title=AROUND THE NATION; Former Tribal Chief Captured in Canada|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/10/us/around-the-nation-former-tribal-chief-captured-in-canada.html|work=New York Times|date=10 November 1983 }}</ref> He was separately convicted of conspiracy to murder his former girlfriend.<ref name="lat"/>
Satiacum fled to Canada before he could be sent to prison.<ref name="lat"/> He was re-arrested in Canada but in 1987, he became the first U.S. citizen to be granted refugee status in Canada.<ref name="lat"/> Satiacum was later found to have molested a 10-year-old girl in Canada and the refugee status decision was subsequently reversed by the Federal Court of Canada.<ref name="spokesman"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Satiacum, 62, Fugitive Tribal Figure|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/27/obituaries/robert-satiacum-62-fugitive-tribal-figure.html|work=New York Times|date=27 March 1991 }}</ref> After fleeing Canadian authorities, he was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1991 and held for deportation to the United States.<ref name="st">{{cite news|title=Mounties Get Their Man: Satiacum -- Ex-Puyallup Tribal Leader Arrested In B.C.|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19910320/1272742/mounties-get-their-man-satiacum----ex-puyallup-tribal-leader-arrested-in-bc|work=Seattle Times}}</ref><ref name="nyt"/><ref name="lat"/><ref name="spokesman">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19910323&id=fqIpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sPADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7109,1585157|title=The Spokesman-Review|accessdate=December 20, 2016}}</ref>
==Death== He died of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1991 while being held pending extradition to the U.S.<ref name="lat">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-30-mn-885-story.html|title=* Robert Satiacum; Indian Activist Became Fugitive|date=1991-03-30|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|access-date=2016-11-06}}</ref>
==See also== *National Indian Youth Council
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== * [https://www.historylink.org/File/5332 History Link article on Satiacum] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040703163105/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5355109/ Indians fondly recall 'caring,' loyal Brando] * [http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/legal/boldt.htm The Boldt Decision]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Satiacum, Robert}} Category:1929 births Category:1991 deaths Category:American refugees Category:Native American history of Washington (state) Category:Indigenous politics in Canada Category:Puyallup Tribe people Category:American people convicted of attempted murder Category:American people convicted of child sexual abuse Category:20th-century Native American leaders Category:Lincoln High School (Tacoma, Washington) alumni Category:Activists from Tacoma, Washington Category:Criminals from Tacoma, Washington