DNR reminds Minnesotans of tribal rights to harvest fish as Ojibwe spring fishing season approaches

ST. PAUL — Each spring, Native American tribal members in Minnesota preserve their cultural heritage while providing a vital food source for tribal communities by harvesting fish through netting and spearing. This legally protected, regulated harvest of fish usually begins at ice-out.

With the tribal spring harvest season getting underway, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recognizes tribal members’ rights to exercise their harvest rights within the 1837 Ceded Territory and within reservation boundaries, officials said in a news release. The 1837 treaty reserves to tribal members the right to hunt and fish in the ceded territory, free of state regulation.

The tribal harvest within the 1837 Ceded Territory is regulated by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Every season, both the state and tribes agree on the amount of fish that can be harvested, based on the long-term health of the resource. Each tribe then declares to the DNR how many of each species of fish they intend to harvest from each lake in the ceded territory, the release said.

Harvest begins shortly after the ice melts, with fishing permits issued by the tribes to their members. Each fish — whether harvested by spear or net — is counted individually and the data are used in fishery management, including lake-by-lake determinations of when the year’s declared harvest is reached and further harvest is closed for the year.

There are also conservation codes of the individual tribal nations for harvest within the reservation boundaries. The regulation of harvesting within the reservation boundaries is an “on-reservation” harvest. Tribal members follow the conservation codes set forth by the governing bodies of their nations. A list of tribal nations and webpages for those seeking more information is available online at mn.gov/portal/government/tribal/mn-indian-tribes.

It is illegal to interfere or attempt to interfere with tribal members who are exercising treaty rights, including the spring harvest of walleye. Prohibited conduct against any tribal member includes but is not limited to stalking, obstructing access to lakes, recklessly operating watercraft, creating hazardous wakes, threatening violence and committing acts of violence, the DNR said.

Anyone who has witnessed or been subject to infringement of tribal rights to hunt, fish and gather that is active and involves harassment or a verbal threat of physical harm is encouraged to report that to local law enforcement immediately by calling 911.

People also may contact their local DNR conservation officer by calling (651) 296-6157 or (888) 646-6367.