Ken Hansen, 53; Activist, Former Tribal Chairman for Washington State’s Samish

Ken Hansen, 53, who spent three decades trying to convince the U.S. government that the Samish Indian Nation wasn’t extinct and deserved treaty fishing rights, died Wednesday in Anacortes, Wash., of complications related to diabetes and heart problems.

Hansen, who was tribal chairman several times, gained attention in the 1980s when he petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing under the Endangered Species Act, noting that his San Juan Islands-area tribe and several others had been dropped from a tribe list prepared by a Bureau of Indian Affairs clerk in 1969.

The Samish, who were federally recognized under the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, were also excluded in a federal judge’s 1974 ruling on allocation of fishing rights.

Three decades later, in January 2005, a federal appeals court panel helped clear the way for the Samish tribe to acquire a share of the state salmon catch.

Hansen grew up in the Seattle area and was elected to the tribal council at age 18. He resigned from his leadership position in October because of declining health.