Robert Satiacum

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.

Early life Satiacum was a 1947 graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, where he was a star athlete. His son, Robert Satiacum, Jr., was a faithless elector in 2016.

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; Satiacum would not be detained during the incident, but would be issued a summons to appear in court the following week.

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.

Criminal convictions By the early 1980s, Satiacum had "amassed a fortune" which ultimately led to an investigation by the U.S. government. He was separately convicted of conspiracy to murder his former girlfriend. After fleeing Canadian authorities, he was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1991 and held for deportation to the United States.

Death He died of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1991 while being held pending extradition to the U.S.