Wild rice showdown looms in northern Minnesota

A wooded lake just south of Nisswa, Minn., could become the site of an unprecedented wild rice showdown this week when some Chippewa band members attempt to conduct a harvest without obtaining state-issued licenses.

Frank Bibeau, attorney for the 1855 Treaty Authority, said the planned act of civil disobedience is meant to actively challenge Minnesota’s position that band members have no off-reservation hunting, fishing or gathering rights on northern lands that were ceded in the 1855 Treaty with the federal government.

http://www.startribune.com/wild-rice-showdown-looms-in-northern-minnesota/322642951/