FISHING AND HUNTING RIGHTS
Hunting, fishing and gathering are ways of life and integral
traditions of the
Anishinabe, aka Ojibwe or Chippewa. The Anishinabe have always
held the
practices of hunting, fishing and gathering as spiritual and
sacred, not only for
survival, but as the observance of a way of life which the
Creator, Gichi
Manitou, bestowed upon the people.
There is always an offering of tobacco when Anishinabe take
something from
Creation. Through this offering, the people give thanks for the
many blessings
that the Creator has provided.
When Gichi Manitou made the Anishinabe, he had already instructed
the rest of
Creation on how they were to take care of us. When we were
created, we were
instructed about the many sacrifices made on our behalf by our
brothers and
sisters in the animal,fish and plant worlds. We are to hold all
Creation as
sacred.
In brief, as this way of life became endangered, our ancestors
were forced to
sign treaties with the US government. These treaties did not
give rights to the
Anishinabe but are in place to protect their inherent rights.
The land and
resources outlined in the treaties are what our ancestors
struggled and died to
preserve for us today.
The 1837 Treaty with the Chippewa reserved the right for the
Chippewa to hunt,
fish and gather on ceded territory. This view has been affirmed
in federal
district court in Wisconsin in the 1983 Voight decision, LCO vs
WI (LCO I), 700
F 2nd 341 (7th Cir.1983). A 1990 ruling on this case has left
the Lake Superior
Bands of Chippewa with the right to one_half of all the harvested
natural
resources in the ceded territory, LCO vs. WI (LCO VII),740 F
Supp. 1400 (W.D.
Wis. 1990). The May, 1991, deadline has passed for either party
to appeal. The
six bands of Lake Superior Chippewa announced their decision not
to appeal with
the following message:
The six bands of Lake Superior Chippewa, allied for many years in
litigation
against the state of Wisconsinin order to confirm and uphold
their treaty rights
to hunt, fish and gather, and now secure in the conviction that
they have
preserved these rights for the future generations to come, have
this day foregone
their right to further their appeal and dispute adverse rulings
in this case,
including a district court ruling barring them from damages.
They do this
knowing that the subject of the later ruling is before the US
Supreme Court of
Appeals and other federal courts. They do this as a gesture of
peace and
friendship toward the people of Wisconsin, in a spirit they hope
may someday be
reciprocated on the part of the general citizenry and officials
of this state."
This decision and concession came on the heels of years of
violent and extremely
racist anti-treaty protest by northern Wisconsin sports fishing
groups. The
tactics used by the groups were derived from contact with the Ku
Klux Klan.
In Minnesota, the same Treaty of 1847 is in federal district
court in that state.
This case stems from the Mlle Lacs Band of Ojibwe filing suit
against the state
of Minnesota in 1990 to allow the band to hunt, fish and gather
in ceded
territory without state regulation. The case, as of July 6,
1994, is nearing
final arguments. The state is contending that the rights to
hunt, fish and
gather were revoked by a presidential order of 1850 by Zachary
Taylor and by the
signing of later treaties.
WE URGE THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM OF THE US TO UPHOLD, AFFIRM AND
ENFORCE ALL
TREATY RIGHTS WITH NATIVE PEOPLE TO HUNT, FISH AND GATHER ON
CEDED TERRITORY,
INCLUDING THE RIGHTS TO CLEAN AIR, LAND AND WATER. TO UPHOLD
TREATY RIGHTS MEANS
TO IMPLEMENT AND ENFORCE THE STRICTEST ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.
THROUGH THE
ENFORCEMENT OF TREATY, THE FEDERAL COURT MUST HALT ANYAND ALL
MINING ON
RESERVATION AND CEDED TERRITORY. MINING INTERESTS HAVE CAUSED AND
THREATEN TO
CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE TO THE CHIPPEWA PEOPLE AND THE NATURAL
RESOURCES THEY DEPEND
ON TO HAVE THEIR WAY OF LIFE REMAIN AS INTACT AS POSSIBLE.
BECAUSE THE STRUGGLE OF THE ANISHINABE IS BUT ONE EXAMPLE OF A
LONG LASTING
DISPUTE BETWEEN NATIVE PEOPLE AND STATE AND FEDERAL
GOVERNMENTS, WE URGE THAT
THE US RECOGNIZE THE PRIOR AND INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF ALL NATIVE
PEOPLE IN ALL
HUNTING, FISHING AND GATHERING DISPUTES WITH NATIVE PEOPLE.
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