Chippewa fishing nets are loose on Lake Mille Lacs

Why don't they ticket them for polluting the lake?
They are going to turn the lake into a "dead sea" just like they did to Red Lake and then they are going to want the DNR to restock it for them.

Obviously the Chippewa members are not responsible enough to tend to their nets. Amend the treaty to say if something like this happens again, they lose their right to net. Or fine them for each dead fish, then take away their netting rights

Yeah, that Red Lake deal was a joke.

When the wind changes it is best to to let the nets go and try to recover them later rather than risk ones safety. Forcast are helpful but the lake has a Spirit of its own. I always notice that the Eagles take care of a lot of the waste that comes from mishaps, and that is a good thing. It is pretty scary when the ice starts shifting around in the night and you are out there manuevering to avoid rocks and nets and ice. The DNR officers work dilligently and are very knowledgabe, they do thier best to regulate the harvest, but even they have no power over the wind. If you are out there and happen to encounter a stray net call the DNR and report it and maybe someone will come pick it up.

I believe they should let them keep all the fish they want, after all before the Europeans came they did that. But they should be only aloud to use spears and canoes just like they used before the Europeans came, only fair.

If my Pitbull in the back yard, breaks his chain and runs around the block eating small children, who's responsible? I AM !! Are you getting this Patty?

Everytime I see the #'s of how many lbs. of fish these people take out of Mille Lacs on a yearly bases by means of gill nets makes me sick! It doesn't even bother me that much they lost a dozen nets. What bothers me is they had a 100 more just like it that were killing fish just fine. You know they taught us in grade school that the Native Americans were people of the land, that they respected nature and the nasty Europeans just pillaged and plundered the landscape. Well if that was ever really the case the tide has completely turned. Another sad spring on Mille Lacs. Thank you supreme court.

Ah Yes, the nobel red men...stewards of the land!

I'm sorry, Nobel invented dynamite.. I meant to say "the Noble Red Man..."

Why are Native Americans allowed to net fish? How about hunting buffalo... is that still legal?

And to think we could have bought out their rights in the mid-nineties for a few million dollars and we wouldn't be having this disaster today. But nope, the dim bulbs in our state (led by Bud Grant) shot that agreement down in the Legislature. They thought there was no way we could lose in the courts, even though every single case like it had been ruled in favor of the Indians.

Fools!

These are the same people who swear they will vote against the Outdoor amendment this fall because it will give some money to the arts, even though the vast majority goes to outdoors-related improvements.

Think about it.

Phil wrote:

Everytime I see the #'s of how many lbs. of fish these people take out of Mille Lacs on a yearly bases by means of gill nets makes me sick! It doesn't even bother me that much they lost a dozen nets. What bothers me is they had a 100 more just like it that were killing fish just fine. You know they taught us in grade school that the Native Americans were people of the land, that they respected nature and the nasty Europeans just pillaged and plundered the landscape. Well if that was ever really the case the tide has completely turned. Another sad spring on Mille Lacs. Thank you supreme court.

Hey you, wasichun...what part of TREATY don't you understand? The Native people exchanged millions or acres of prime land for the right to fish..don't like the deal? Give the land back! Feel free to send the keys to your house to the closed Anishinabeg Trbal council, and don't let the door hit ya' on your way out!

Since 1858, Minnesota State hood, most of the lakes and streams are fouled with E-coli and mercury, PCB and petro-chemical runoff, even lake Mille Lacs is filthy. Lets just break another treaty. Why ruin a perfect record? There are no stewards, only hostages. You can't even catch a sturgeon in a river anymore, let alone eat one. Thanks to the new owners of this country, but don't worry there is a new world order, and pretty soon you will not be able to afford the gas to drive your polluting boats to the lake anyway. And all the walleye will live in peace.

Patty wrote:

It is pretty scary when the ice starts shifting around in the night and you are out there manuevering to avoid rocks and nets and ice.

"...and you are out there manuevering..."

Don't have the privileged lineage.

Speaking of, do you have to take a take an oath, or have a specific amount of native blood to run some nets out there? I'm sure somewhere upstream there was a some mixin' going on in my history. I've been mistaken for native before.

Bars found a way around the smoking ban I think I just found my way to to the big lake with a net.

I feel the spirit of the lake calling. It's telling me I need about 15 pounds of fillets in my freezer. Of course it called collect...

Hey Why Me, Why not you?...Yes, you have to be at least 1/4 Ojibwe, Mille Lacs Band to harvest with nets in the "Ceded Territories" of Mille lacs lake. You must declare your intentions to the DNR and an officer is standing by to document your harvest when you bring the net in. If you do not get it in and lose it you are fined and penalized. It is harsh. No one gets off for free. If you do not declare your net or intentions you are poaching and risk losing your boat, your fish and jail time. Even if you are a Band member. So, if the spirt calls, better check yourself, and read the rules. They apply to all. Harvesting with nets is not fun. It is a lot of work and the fish is processed into food and shared with the elders and handicapped people who cannot hunt and fish for themselves. Thanks for asking.

Patty and A Deal is a Deal, get out there in your birch bark canoes,wooden spears with torches and exercise your treaty rights. Your both full of it!!! WHITE MAN BAN THE CASINO!!!!!!

And they wonder why their is less people interested in fishing!

Jeez, the fishing regulations are like reading the electrical code book...difficult to interpetate.

Actually, I am vegetarian and don't believe in killing anything, ever. I just observe, and respect the rights of others. Even your right to be angry of what you don't understand. May your mind open and may you learn respect, for your own sake. It is not about race, its about culture... it is not about sport. A birch bark canoe goes for about $7000.00 these days, if you can find any suitable trees for makeing them anymore. My husband and brother like to spear from canoe, at night with toches, its a hoot. But we use an old town canoe from Gander Mt. We get more fish spearing than by netting. :)

let them do what they want, the courts said they can...

a deal is a deal wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey you, wasichun...what part of TREATY don't you understand? The Native people exchanged millions or acres of prime land for the right to fish..don't like the deal? Give the land back! Feel free to send the keys to your house to the closed Anishinabeg Trbal council, and don't let the door hit ya' on your way out!

I love the treaty. Don't have a bit of problem with it, but just because natives are allowed to net however many thousands of lbs. doesn't mean they should. Why am I the one defending the the land? Here is another question for you if the bands had free run of the whole lake with no limitations what do you think would happen? I know the answer and so do you.
Mr. Poe you have to get out more and stop reading your enviromentalist magazines. The majority of MN lakes are not filthy they are actually suprisingly clean and the fishing is better then ever. I'm sure you can come up with plenty of exceptions I know there are some filthy waters in this state especially in our Agriculture areas which drives me insane there is no excuse for it, but don't get me started it's an argument for another day. In short there are stewards and it seems to me its the license fee paying sportsman of this state that are leading the way.