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Every year, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sets an allotment of Walleye for the Mille Lacs Ojibwe, and whether or not they fish all that is allotted, this greatly limits the livelihood of non-Indian fisher people on Lake Mille Lacs, forcing them to throw many of their catches back and creating a great deal of tension and resentment between the Mille Lacs band and non-Indian fisher people. The heated nature of the conflict can be best understood in relation to facts such as the 830,000 walleye that had to be thrown back in the year 2001 over the course of just two months. A nine year legal battle was waged from 1990-1999 regarding the legitimacy of the 1837 treaty, and the hunting and fishing privileges it granted the Mille Lacs band, the historical basis for the yearly quotas and allotments for fish. In 1999, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the privileges of the 1837 treaty. |
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The allotments of fish haven't only created tensions between the Mille Lacs Ojibwe and outsiders, they've also had a major effect on tourism and the local economy. For complex reasons, the number of Walleye in the lake can vary tremendously from year to year, and this is considered a "boom or bust" situation. For example, in 1999 there was an unprecedented number of walleye in the lake, and a Mille Lacs resort owner commented that the resorts were all full while at the same time a year ago there were many, many openings. Many resorts and businesses feel threatened by the economic instability that they believe is fostered by the DNR slot limit regulations, as they are called, and believe it to be in their vested interest that Indians and non-Indians eventually have equal fishing privileges. |
