Judge OKs Michigan Indian hunting deal

A federal judge signed an agreement between the state of Michigan and five Indian groups on Monday giving the tribes the power to issue their own hunting and fishing licenses and write their own regulations.

U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen's decree was the final step resolving a four-year-old lawsuit rooted in decades of debate over the meaning of tribal rights in modern times. It acknowledges the tribes' rights under an 1836 treaty.

The document says tribal members can hunt, fish and gather plants for subsistence and medicinal purposes on public lands and waters covered by the treaty. They will need owners' permission to use private property.

The proposal affects much of Michigan's western and northern Lower Peninsula and the eastern Upper Peninsula. It establishes a framework for the tribes to regulate members' activities and cooperate with the state to protect resources from overuse.

"We've really got to start earning our keep now," said Jimmie Mitchell, natural resources director for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

Other tribes involved in the agreement are the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and the Bay Mills Indian Community. Altogether, they have about 45,000 members.

The Little River, Grand Traverse and Little Traverse Bay tribes have been operating under the same rules, Mitchell said. The Sault tribe has mostly tracked state rules, while the Bay Mills tribe has its own rules for hunting and is developing fishing regulations.

All five tribes must change their policies to conform with the consent decree, with the goal being a uniform code, Mitchell said.

Many of the regulations will parallel state policies for protecting resources from overharvesting and abuse, limiting size, numbers and species taken. But the tribes will have longer deer hunting seasons and different policies on fishing methods such as spearing and netting.

___

On the Net:

Michigan Department of Natural Resources: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr