Treaty Rights

The agreement provides funding for activities and programs, with three main areas where White Earth will take over responsibility — water and wild rice management, forestry and visitor services.

Leanna Goose and Annie Humphrey from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and Emma Needham from the Red Lake Nation advocated for uncultivated wild rice beds left in the state.

The Red Lake Nation is one of the few tribes in the country that continues a tradition of hereditary chiefs. As a chief, Loud will serve in an advisory capacity to the council for life.

Plus: The Minnesota DNR set a five-fish bag limit for Upper Red Lake walleye this summer; and a state watchdog says bipartisan fraud control efforts at the Minnesota Capitol appear promising.

The Minnesota DNR reminds residents not to interfere with tribal members' inherent rights to spear and net for fish in the ceded territory of the 1837 Treaty of St. Peter.

Plus: Megan Buffington recaps a candidate forum for the special Itasca County Board elecion.

Todd Thompson's charge of illegal equipment while wild ricing was dismissed for the second time. Thompson, a White Earth band member, describes the state's actions on ceded lands as harassment.

Attorneys general in a dozen states — including North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa — filed the lawsuit challenging the EPA rule requiring states to consider the rights of tribal members for water management decisions on ceded lands.

The memorandum of agreement between White Earth and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't transfer ownership, but it does formalize a co-stewardship agreement.

Darren Vogt and Marne Kaeske from the 1854 Treaty Authority will speak about the cultural importance and biology of wild rice at the June 6 webinar.