50 years ago, election ushered in new era for US tribes MARK TRAHANT, Indian Country Today May 8, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail 8 1of8Linda Desautel, center in white, looks skyward and cheers with friends and Colville Confederated Tribe members as they rally in support of her husband Rick Desautel, whose case in the Canadian Supreme court arguing for the Sinixt peoples' right to hunt traditional lands in Canada was first heard, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, near Kettle Falls, Wash. It's been 50 years since the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation voted against termination, effectively ending the federal government's experiment in abrogating treaties, eliminating funding and "freeing the Indians" from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. More than 100 tribes were terminated by the United States — but not one after the 12 bands that make up the reservation in Washington state crushed the idea at the ballot box. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review via AP)Tyler Tjomsland/APShow MoreShow Less