Alison Bridges Gottfriedson an Indian rights advocate who worked on land claims, treaty and taxation issues, is being laid to rest in Washington today.

Gottfriedson died unexpectedly last Saturday at the age of 57. Fellow activists remembered her as a someone who refused to back down when it came to disputes with the state or the federal government.

"Alison has been the stone to hold us together,” said her uncle, Billy Frank Jr., who serves as chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, The Tacoma News Tribune reported.

Gottfriedson grew up during the fishing wars of the 1960s and 1970s. She grew up at Frank’s Landing Indian Community, which was at the center of a treaty rights battle that ended with Washington tribes securing their right to fish.

Gottfriedson, who was a member of the Puyallup Tribe for most of her life, more recently was locked in a dispute with state and federal authorities over a smoke shop at Frank's Landing. She pleaded guilty in a case that some say contributed to her passing.

“May 15, 2007, killed her,” Henry Adams told The Tacoma News Tribune, referring to the date of a state and federal raid on the smoke shop.

Get the Story:
Native American activist mourned (The Tacoma News Tribune 7/23)

Related Stories:
Suzan Harjo: Warrior women pass to spirit world (7/22)
Judge rejects Nisqually claim over Frank's Landing (7/10)
Indian smokeshop to pay $9.2M in taxation case (3/4)
Frank's Landing smokeshop owners enter pleas (8/14)
Owners of Frank's Landing smokeshop plead guilty (7/4)
Judge refuses to close Frank's Landing smoke shop (5/9)
Editorial: Incursion on Nisqually Tribe's sovereignty (4/29)
Nisqually Tribe seeks control of Frank's Landing (4/28)