Indian Band Plans to Spearfish in 13 NE Minnesota Lakes

CLOQUET, Minn. (AP) — The Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa has named 13 northeastern Minnesota lakes where members intend to exercise their treaty rights to spear walleyes this spring.

The tribe worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to set quotas and select the lakes, which are smaller bodies in territory where the band has rights under an 1854 treaty. According to a declaration on the tribe's website, the band intends to take up to 1,949 walleyes from the 13 lakes.

The quotas for individual lakes range from 304 walleyes from Tait Lake north of Lutsen in Cook County to 59 for Cadotte Lake southeast of Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County.

This will be the first time the tribe has spearfished in northeastern Minnesota since it began reasserting its treaty rights.