Fond du Lac Band plans to spear walleyes in treaty area

[Tom7227]

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/293320/

[leech~~]

"Over the years, the band’s biologists have been active in fisheries research on lakes and rivers across the 1854 ceded territory, closely monitoring walleye populations and sharing that information with DNR biologists."

What's to worry about? Sounds like they have it covered. "Self interest maybe"

[Luke_M]

I wouldn't be to worried about it. I grew up on a lake in northern Wisconsin that is speared every other year and the lake did not suffer at all. The reports that the tribe would put out on how many fish were taken was quite low. I would take more fish out every year . There was also a side benefit because the dnr dropped the bag limit to 2 the lake did not receive much pressure from "white" anglers. The tribe also spears musky on the lake and have only taken 1 in the last 3 years.

[newoodhntr]

Luke that is one lake out of hundreds speared, what about the lakes they over harvested and had zero bag limits for the white anglers. Also what happens to the walleyes that are to big and are speared? There is no catch and release in spearing! Most of the good walleye lakes are speared every year. There are Muskies speared all winter long through the ice also. They even had a Muskie spearing tournament last year.

[Raider4ever]

Works for me. We only slaughtered them to near extinction.

[crestliner61]

Works for me. We only slaughtered them to near extinction.

Them/We? Not sure what your statement is meant to suggest?

[Raider4ever]

Really? I guess I will spell it out for you. It works for me (i.e. I don't mind them spearing fish) because "we" (the non-indigenous people) slaughtered the indigenous people ("them") to the brink of extinction. I used "we" and "them" assuming everybody at least had a hint that the VVVAAASSSTTT majority of the people reading this forum are "we's". Oh by the way, the United States Government said it is OK for them do that (i.e. it is their right. Kinda like "we" have the right to do ALL the stuff it says its OK to do in the Constitution) right after "we" nearly wiped them out. Are "we" good?

[JBMasterAngler]

Really? I guess I will spell it out for you. It works for me (i.e. I don't mind them spearing fish) because "we" (the non-indigenous people) slaughtered the indigenous people ("them") to the brink of extinction. I used "we" and "them" assuming everybody at least had a hint that the VVVAAASSSTTT majority of the people reading this forum are "we's". Oh by the way, the United States Government said it is OK for them do that (i.e. it is their right. Kinda like "we" have the right to do ALL the stuff it says its OK to do in the Constitution) right after "we" nearly wiped them out. Are "we" good?

"we" didn't do anything to anyone! Because "we" weren't alive back then! Just because you have white guilt doesn't mean the rest of us have to!

[delcecchi]

No guilt. But "we" need to abide by the terms of the treaties that our government signed. You may wish it was otherwise, but it is what it is.

[JBMasterAngler]

I could care less if natives can spear, net, hunt, etc. Doesn't effect me one bit! I was just pointing out how idiotic that "we" statement was! That would be the equivalent of me saying my neighbor should go to prison because his great great grandpa murdered my great great grandpa!

[expl]

With the limited amount of spearing/netting going on by a limited amount of people in a very limited season,the year round white angler does far more damage to fish populations then the spearers and netters ever will.

[amateurfishing]

I could care less if natives can spear, net, hunt, etc. Doesn't effect me one bit! I was just pointing out how idiotic that "we" statement was! That would be the equivalent of me saying my neighbor should go to prison because his great great grandpa murdered my great great grandpa!

only if a treaty regarding such issue was "signed" by our government which it is not and only if said incident was ever proven. Until then, its a moot comparison.

[Raider4ever]

"White Guilt". Now THAT's idiotic.

[mrklean]

With the limited amount of spearing/netting going on by a limited amount of people in a very limited season,the year round white angler does far more damage to fish populations then the spearers and netters ever will.

A very simple fact everyone ignores

[crestliner61]

Really? I guess I will spell it out for you. It works for me (i.e. I don't mind them spearing fish) because "we" (the non-indigenous people) slaughtered the indigenous people ("them") to the brink of extinction. I used "we" and "them" assuming everybody at least had a hint that the VVVAAASSSTTT majority of the people reading this forum are "we's". Oh by the way, the United States Government said it is OK for them do that (i.e. it is their right. Kinda like "we" have the right to do ALL the stuff it says its OK to do in the Constitution) right after "we" nearly wiped them out. Are "we" good?

Really, that's your perception? We "slaughtered" them? The demise of native American population had nothing to do with war. They perished do to disease. Whit man killed more white men in the civil war then they killed fighting native American's. So I am "we" are good, you "them" seem to have the problem.

[crestliner61]

Just so you are clear Raider4ever....my opinion of Natives spearing/netting. I respect their right to do so. I do not respect the few the abuse and are irresponsible of it. i.e. wasting fish they don't won't, (i.e. throwing fish (dead) they don't won't back into the lakes) and (i.e. dumping the gut piles of fish they have harvested in someone's back yard).

[wall_eye_assasin]

[thatoneguy]

Quote:

Really, that's your perception? We "slaughtered" them? The demise of native American population had nothing to do with war. They perished do to disease.

How do you s'pose those microbes made it from Europe to Nort America?

[crestliner61]

How do you s'pose those microbes made it from Europe to Nort America?

[delcecchi]

How do you s'pose those microbes made it from Europe to Nort America?

Not saying white man did not bring the disease with them. It may have been brought with the Mayflower??? Certainly was not intentional.

I have read that stuff like smallpox came with the Spanish in 1500's, and spread through the Indian population, killing many who had never had contact with the Europeans. But don't think that there weren't a lot of "whites" that wanted the Indians gone. Dead, or confined to worthless pieces of land didn't much matter to them. I think there wasn't a deliberate spread of disease, since people didn't figure out cause of disease until the mid to late 1800's.

[crestliner61]

But don't think that there weren't a lot of "whites" that wanted the Indians gone. Dead or confined to worthless pieces of land didn't much matter to them.

Never said there were not people that persecuted Natives back then. Fortunately there were some with a conscious, thus a treaty. But, for someone to say that they were “slaughtered” is an exaggeration and to use that as some justification for spearing and netting is wrong. There is a treaty that allows them to do so, nothing more.

[delcecchi]

But don't think that there weren't a lot of "whites" that wanted the Indians gone. Dead or confined to worthless pieces of land didn't much matter to them.

Never said there were not people that persecuted Natives back then. Fortunately there were some with a conscious, thus a treaty. But, for someone to say that they were “slaughtered” is an exaggeration and to use that as some justification for spearing and netting is wrong. There is a treaty that allows them to do so, nothing more.

They did a heck of a lot more than "persecute" them. The Indians were ethnically cleansed from large parts of the country. Read up on "trail of tears".

And even up to the present day, the BIA was mismanaging the Indian trust resources and misplacing the money. Besides, what is the big deal with spearing walleye? The non-Indians spear Northern Pike and call it a tradition.

[SkunkedAgain]

Read up about how Minnesotans rounded up the natives, stuck them on boats near Fort Snelling and left them there to starve and die. Read about how our government snookered all of their land, continuously disregarded our treaties, and stuck them on land that we had wiped clean of wildlife. Read about how our government allowed traders to take most of the annuity payments from them, and rarely delivered any of the food or provisions outlined in the treaties. There are many books out there that document what our government and the people of Minnesota did to the tribes. It's not anything that can be disputed and should not be downplayed.

I don't have any "white guilt" but absolutely believe that the native tribes deserve just about anything positive they can get out of our society. A few fish here and there and some tax-free casinos is the least our government can do to remedy the past.

[Raider4ever]

...absolutely believe that the native tribes deserve just about anything positive they can get out of our society. A few fish here and there and some tax-free casinos is the least our government can do to remedy the past.

+1 Especially to that last line. Also, to the poster who brought up the Northern spearing...BRILLIANT. Thank you. Did not even think of that.

P.S. SMALLPOX BLANKETS!!

[ozzie]

Can someone answer me this...Do tribal members have the ability to vote for elected officials in local, state, and national government? Just curious