Dakota plan to net fish in Minneapolis lake

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A group of Dakota Indians plans to net fish in Cedar Lake in Minneapolis to assert what they say are rights guaranteed by an 1805 treaty.

Friday’s protest comes one day ahead of the state’s walleye season opener. One organizer, Chris Mato Nunpa, a retired professor from Southwest State University, says they want to be charged so they can take the case to court.

Maj. Rod Smith of the Department of Natural Resources tells the Star Tribune conservation officers will be there but it’s unlikely violators will get ticketed. He says they’ll just gather information and refer it to the county attorney.

The protest comes one year after some Ojibwe Indians in northern Minnesota set nets on Lake Bemidji to assert rights under a different treaty. None have been charged.