Commission of Public Safety and sanctioned by 

 the Legislature in order that some employment 

 might be provided for the Red Lake Indians and 

 for the white settlers on Upper Red Lake outside 

 of the boundaries of the reservation (Klancke, 

 1929) . 



The Minnesota State Fisheries of the 

 Red Lakes was established with a revolving fund 

 to be used for state fishing operations, and from 

 1920 to 1928 inclusive, the State of Minnesota, 

 through its Commissioner of Game and Fish, 

 acted as a distributor and wholesaler of the fish 

 produced. The State continued to fish pound- 

 nets, however, except in certain years as, for 

 example, 1923 and 1924; usually six were in 

 operation but as many as eigjit or ten had been 

 used. Toward the close of the period of the 

 State's operation and management of the fisher- 

 ies only four pound-nets were used. The catch- 

 ing of fish by State pound-net crews in 

 competition with the Indian gill -net fishermen 

 was a source of controversy and dissatisfaction. 



The Indians fished under a contract be- 

 tween the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, U.S. 

 Department of the Interior, and the State of 

 Minnesota . The first contract, dated April 28, 

 1921, was renewed June 26, 1923, and January 

 25, 1924 (for a period of 5 years until January 

 25, 19-29) . The 1924 renewal stipulated among 

 other items that the fish should be taken by gill- 

 nets and hook and line, and that the Red Lake 

 Tribe should be paid royalties on all fish pur- 

 chased from the Indians, and larger amounts for 

 all fish taken by State crews. Each Indian fam- 

 ily was limited to 1,500 feet of gill-nets with a 

 mesh of not less than 4 inches, stretched 

 measure, and the annual production from the 

 Red Lakes was limited to 650,000 pounds, ex- 

 clusive of rough fish (sheepshead, goldeyes, and 

 suckers) . (Under the terms of the contract re- 

 newal of 1924 the maximum was reduced from 

 750,000 pounds despite the fact that the Indians 

 had requested an increase of 100,000 pounds in 

 the annual production limit. The reduction re- 

 portedly was made because the lake level was 

 14 inches lower in 1923 than it was in 1922, and 

 it was feared that the walleye population would 

 decrease because of the inability of the spawn - 

 ers to enter the tributary streams) . Under 



this contract fishing was carried on to 1929 . 



In 1924 a fish hatchery building, a dam 

 and concrete spillway in Mud Creek to provide a 

 water supply for the hatchery, and three cottages 

 for state employees were erected. The total 

 initial cost of these structures was reported to 

 be $40,394.92, all financed by profits from the 

 sale of fish caugjit in the Red Lakes (typewritten 

 report of Minnesota State Fisheries for the per- 

 iod July 7 to November 15, 1924, dated January 

 1, 1925). Boats and equipment purchased at the 

 time increased the assets by $7,021.04. No 

 state appropriations were involved in the im- 

 provements and purchases . 



Although the fishing operations were 

 covered by a contract, there nevertheless de- 

 veloped a number of unsatisfactory features . 

 Not only did the Indians object to the competition 

 of the State pound-net crews, but dissatisfaction 

 also arose concerning the wholesaling operations 

 conducted by the State -appointed manager. The 

 Red Lake Tribal Council passed a resolution on 

 November 20, 1922, which asserted that the 

 State was wantonly wasting the resources of the 

 Red Lakes by refusing to accept and market 

 "rough fish"; that the weighing in of fish caught 

 by the Indians was inaccurate; and that the 

 Indians were not being paid a fair price for their 

 catches . The resolution embodied a plea that 

 the Superintendent of the Red Lake Indian Agen- 

 cy endeavor to find a better market for the 

 Indians' fish, and that he appoint a qualified in- 

 dividual to check the weights of all fish caught 

 by the Indians and delivered to the fishery plant 

 at Redby. EXssatisfaction was also expressed 

 with respect to the late opening (July 1) of the 

 fishing season which forced the Indians to oper- 

 ate at a time when fish were least available . 



A check-wei^er was appointed by the 

 Superintendent of the Red Lake Agency and a 

 provision for a check-weigher was written into 

 the contract renewal of January 25, 1924 . "ITie 

 completion of a cold storage plant and smoke 

 house in 1924 enabled the State to handle the 

 rough fish which formerly were wasted. On 

 May 20, 1925, the Agency Superintendent re- 

 ported to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

 that an investigation of prices paid by private 



