THE question whether an Indian has a right to hunt and 

 fish, regardless of the state game laws, is about to be 

 tested by John W. Carl, in the courts at Fergus Falls, 

 and the case will eventually go to the supreme court of the 

 state and possibly the United States supreme court. 



Carl is an Indian attorney of Mahnomen. His mother, 

 whose name is May-zhuc-ke-kaush-e-quay, which means "A 

 woman coming from above," is a member of the Chippewa 

 tribe, now located on the White Earth reservation. He took 

 his mother to the scenes of her girlhood and she set nets 

 and caught some pike. 



Some of the people living about the lake failed to appre- 

 ciate the poetry in the situation, and notified the deputy game 

 warden, J. H. Jones, that a party from the reservation was 

 netting fish. The state law is strict on this subject, and a 

 warrant was sworn out for Carl. He appeared in justice court, 

 was found guilty and fined $20 and costs, amounting in all to 

 nearly $80. 



Carl says he proposes to test the right of the Indians to 

 hunt and fish regardless of the game laws, and that he will 

 carry this case to the highest courts in order to secure a 

 decision. 



"The land about Otter Tail and Battle Lake," said he, "was 

 originally Chippewa territory. Owing to the incessant fight- 

 ing between the Sioux and Chippewas there, the United States 

 government leased it from the Chippewas, intending to locate 

 the Menominees upon it. The Menominees were Wisconsin 

 Indians, and were friendly to both the Sioux, and Chippewas. 

 For some reason, the transfer was never made, and, in the 

 course of time, the government threw the land open to white 

 settlement. In its treaty with^ the Chippewas, it provided 

 that they should have the right to hunt, fish and gather wild 

 rice on any part of the ceded land at pleasure. Up around 

 the Indian reservation, the right of the Indians to hunt and 

 fish regardless of the game laws is not questioned, and I 

 believe that under this treaty, we have the same right here." 



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