Chippewa Indian Women Courtesy smithsonian institute

4. the bands may self regulate under there own conservation codes that are enforceable into the Bands' courts; and

5. state regulation can be imposed on treaty harvest only as reasonable and necessary conservation, public safety or public health

In Phase II the District Court confronts the allotment and regulatory issues. In 1997 a judgement was made in this second Phase, according to GLIFWC, and it state the following:

1. approved the Bands' proposed Minnesota 1837 Ceded Territory Conservation Code and accompanying the fish and wildlife management plans:

2. ordered the state of Minnesota not to take action that would interfere with the exercise of these rights;

3. refuse to allocate natural resources between treaty and non-treaty harvest until it can be demonstrated that either the Bands' or the State are being deprived of there "fare share" of the resources

4. held that State harvestable surplus determinations are reviewable by the Court;

5. ruled that the Bands may fish throughout Mille Lacs Lake;

6. ruled that, at this time, the only private land open to treaty hunting is land enrolled in the Minnesota tree growth tax program; and

7. retained continuing jurisdiction over the case so that any unresolved disputes in the future could be addressed by the court.

Just as things look good for the Chippewa tribes, the landowners, the State, and the counties appeal the judgement and terms of these Phases. They were hoping that the Appeals 8th Circuit would overturn this final
judgement or at least put the effects of it on hold until late May of 1997 in the duration of the appeal. Their request was denied by the Court. The non-Indians were unsuccessful in their attempt to extinguish the rights of
the Bands.

 

 

Native American Indian Festival

Under these right and restriction Bands have started to exercise their power by and setting their own limitation voluntarily. The have cut back the harvest of walleye below 50% in the Mille Lacs Lake.
Permits and things of that nature have been created as a requirement to fish at as well as being monitored. Special fishing gear was made to help in conservation of different species. A committee was created to help open
line of communication having to do with the management of resources that's consisted of Band and State representatives.

No law, policy or act can accommodate all that are involved. Whenever laws are created to govern a group of people, there will always be pros and cons. Usually the cons are in favor of the ruling class and many times
to the detriment of the other parties involved. In the case of the treaty of 1837 the pros and cons proved to have had both effects. To understand this treaty and how it came about, it is necessary to review the circumstances that brought it into effect. ----Expound on this!!!!!!!!

The 1960's a time of racial tension exuding from many
different ethnic groups made you question the judicial system. Rights being the big issue surrounding this Controversy, we saw a lot of civil unrest all over the country. The Chippewa Indians felt the rage of injustice that was protested against

. The Indigenous Government power began to increase in 1964 to the point where they were competing with federal and state governments for land ownership, hunting, fishing, social welfare rights etc. The Chippewa Tribes continuously look to the Court
System for recognition that they are a sovereign nation that has the right to exercise power that is within the boundaries of their land.

Indigenous people rights have been affirmed in most case that have been taken up with the State Court and the Supreme Court since 1887. This exercise of power by the Chippewa and other tribes has triggered negative feelings in the non-Indians. They are taking matters into there own hands by holding demonstration that end in violent confrontations. There was an Incident where Chippewa spearfishers were the victims of a violent protest where non-Indians were throwing rock shouting derogatory names and racial slurs.

The women in support of the fishers sang religious songs while hearing not Indians shout sexual slurs and threats directed toward them. The Chippewa children also feeling the tension with talk of one school receiving a bomb
threat. Even thought the Chippewa and other Indians are receiving justice through the judicial system now they have to win the vote of the people they must live side by side with.

In the struggle to determine issues of resources and fishing
rights between Chippewa Indians and non -Indians in ---- some positive effects took place. Even though the enforcement of the treaty invoked the opposition to rear its ugly head, positive environmental effects have
resulted from its enforcement. The enforcement of this treaty has served ironically to be an alliance that is helping to protect the environment from the outside threat of big businesses seeking to exploit the environment and that are supported by the federal government.

These businesses infringe upon lands with the purpose of extracting natural resources and in turn pollute other resources that are vital to living. An example of this is a project conducted by Exxon. Exxon was thin about opening a zinc-copper mine upstream from the Mole Lake Chippewa Reservation' wild rice beds and Wolf River. The Native American environmentalist and sport fishing groups came together to put an end to this. (Using the Treaty of 1837 as a resource to back them up)

With the support system of the federal government, big business have been aided in the creation of Nuclear mine facilities by changing regulation to allow "low-level" radioactive waste to be dumped in landfills. The weakening of mining pollution laws is a way to justify the allowance of these companies to come in and pollute without being in violation of existing laws Nuclear waste is now being allowed to be stored on mine sites.

The residents of Wisconsin, which include the Chippewa Indians, will feel the wrath of this toxic waste if the talk of second phase high-level nuclear waste sites are realized in that area. This brings into play another positive aspect of the treaty which is the last defense those residents have to protect these waters. The treaty guarantees access to the off reservation fish, game and wild rice-which are the resources that would suffer from mining in this area. The treaty also protects endangered species whose extinction would be due to the contamination of the water.

One such species is the rare clams found in Flambeau. Because this treaty and treaties like this have standing in federal court, the Chippewa Indians have a valid case, which will prove beneficial to both Indians and non-Indians. Chippewa in other states like Michigan have looked to these treaties to help them fight against low-level nuclear waste projects. The DNR secretary has agreed that the Chippewa Indians do have a valid case. This has resulted in the slowing or the actual blocking of projects that could have proven to be detrimental to the environment.

The concern of the Chippewa Indians does not stop at the environmental issue. It also extends to job opportunities. As result of Wisconsin becoming a mining district, a major concern of the non Indians has developed. Due to these companies, Wisconsin will be seeing an abundance
of new residents as well as other people seeking jobs, putting a burden on the social services provided by this community. Promises of new jobs have been made by these mining companies being one of the cause of a population increase. At the same time, the state has offered them a tax break to relocate their own workers.

The end result of all of this is that the areas occupied by the companies when vacated will be economically depressed and there will be an inability to regenerate forestry and farms due to the damage done to the ecology. Proposals have been made, such as
the one by Walt Bressette from the Red Cliff Chippewa Tribe, stating that the ceded territory of Northern Wisconsin can be cleaned up and can profit from recreation and tourism.

The creation of small and diversified businesses, small-scale logging by industries is healthy for the environment and will be in compliance with treaties as well. These suggestions and solutions continue to be a positive effect of the Treaty of 1837 due to the vigilance of the Chippewa community.