Tribal members to net, spear on Lake Bemidji in latest treaty protest

Tribal members from the White Earth and Leech Lake reservations plan to go out on Lake Bemidji Friday with spears and gill nets, hoping to force Minnesota to recognize fishing rights they believe were guaranteed by a treaty signed more than 150 years ago.

The strategy, coming the day before Minnesota's fishing opener, is to get cited or arrested then press their fishing rights in a series of court appeals, said White Earth member and attorney Frank Bibeau. "It all comes down to the same thing," he said. "We have to stand up and have a court case that makes the state comply with existing treaties and federal law."

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/05/10/native-fishing-treaty-protests-lake-bemidji-minnesota