Treaty rights

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Violations of Treaties

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Spearfishing in Northern Wisconsin

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Beginning in the 1980’s and extending into the early 1990’s, Northern Wisconsin was rife in protests against Ojibwe spearfishing[1] [2]. The Voigt decision in 1983 (1) had reaffirmed that the treaties made in 1837 and 1842 still stood (2). These treaties gave the Ojibwe the rights to hunt, fish, and gather off-reservation, which was not subject to state regulation[2]. This heralded a backlash of non-Natives, who believed the Ojibwe had been granted special rights. Spearheaded by groups like Stop Treaty Abuse (STA)(2), often violent and racially discriminatory protests against spearfishing covered boat landings across northern Wisconsin (1). This lead to the case Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Stop Treaty Abuse-Wisconsin, which culminated with Judge Barbara Crabb upholding the Voigt decision and many members, donors, and politicians distancing themselves from the STA, which many believed was racist.

  1. ^ Pierson, Brian (2009). "The Spearfishing Civil Rights Case: Lac Du Flambeau Band v. Stop Treaty Abuse-Wisconsin" (PDF). Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  2. ^ a b "Spearfishing Treaty Controversy - Indian Country Wisconsin". www.mpm.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-26.