Leo Aleck, a respected elder of the Yakama Nation of Washington, died on Thursday. He was 80.

Aleck, a medicine man, fought to preserve the tribe's treaty rights. He opposed a tobacco tax compact with the state and initiated lawsuits to seek compensation for the loss of fish to The Dalles Dam.

"He had a real strong stance of the treaty as far as the tribal government protecting treaty rights," Rudy Maldonado told The Yakima Herald-Republic. "It's like a fading and dying ambition in our tribal leadership."

Aleck served on the tribal council and the general council.

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Yakama treaty rights champion Aleck dies (The Yakima Herald-Republic 8/1)