MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — November 25, 2013 — Indictments against five people accused of poaching walleye and other fish from two northern Minnesota reservations and selling them on the black market were dismissed Monday by a federal judge who said an 1837 treaty with the Chippewa Indians protects their rights to fish on tribal lands.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim wrote that Congress hasn't abolished fishing rights outlined in the treaty, which guarantees hunting and fishing privileges to tribal members on reservations. As a result, he said, prosecuting the defendants would violate treaty rights.
He also said the rights outlined in the treaty preclude prosecution under federal wildlife protection laws.
The five defendants were among 10 people indicted in federal court in April with transporting and selling fish illegally. Of the remaining defendants, one has pleaded guilty and cases against four are pending.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer