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engage in acts that would
otherwise be crimes.

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>> All right, Professor
Schweber, thanks for your

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time today.
>> Another battle between

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property owners in the Lac
du Flambeau band of Lake

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Superior Chippewa is in
court. The tribe recently

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declared non-Native peoples
could not fish for walleye

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and muskie in lakes within
tribal territory. And

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they're now facing a
federal lawsuit. “Here&

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Now” reporter Erica Ayisi
traveled to the Northwoods

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to hear how tribal members
feel about their

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sovereignty being
challenged in court. This

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report is in collaboration
with Eich T, formerly

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Indian Country, today.
>> I feel strongly that

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everyone needs to take care
of what we have on earth.

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That means our water, our
land, and everyone's

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well-being.
>> Bagwajikwe Madosh is a

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citizen of the Lac du
Flambeau band of Lake

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Superior Chippewa Indians,
and she says she believes

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in preserving Ojibwe
traditions, which the Lac

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du Flambeau tribe is
defending in federal court.

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>> Let us do what we know
best replenish our lakes,

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keep our grounds clean, our
forests long.

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>> Interlaken Lake is one
of 19 lakes within the Lac

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du Flambeau Reservation
that a federal judge

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temporarily blocked the
tribe from, banning

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nonmembers from fishing
walleye and muskellunge in

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fish.
>> We replenish the fish,

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we replenish, we take.
>> DOGE says their fish

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hatchery helps to maintain
their stock, but says

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there's concern about the
fish population.

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>> It's not what you use it
and then go on with life

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without knowing what's
going to come next.

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>> The state of Wisconsin
sued the tribe for blocking

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nonmembers from fishing in
certain lakes. Tribal

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President John Johnson said
the fish population is

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declining but needed to
feed their 4000 tribal

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members.
change, a lot of it's

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logging structure,
infrastructure, everything

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that goes on in our
territory. We're here to

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protect it.
>> Madhosh says. There's

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overfishing on their lakes
and rivers.

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>> We need to all limit
what we take, you know, and

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many people are taking what
many people can have as

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well.
>> Flambeau Lake is also

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mentioned in the lawsuit
against the tribe.

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>> Walz, which is Lake of
the Flaming Torches.

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>> Adrian King grew up here
and has seen new neighbors

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over the years.
>> A lot of these are

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non-native houses, as far
as I know.

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>> He says he supports the
tribe in responding to a

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second federal lawsuit
involving the tribe, this

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one filed by the White Sand
Lake Association, a group

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of non-Native homeowners
who are suing the tribe for

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access to use a boat launch
on a private property on

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the shoreline of White Sand
Lake that's within the

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reservation.
>> At least, are

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experimenting, are flexing
their sovereignty a little

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bit more.
>> The tribe says the lake

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is threatened by documented
environmental concerns,

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including the presence of
Eurasian watermilfoil, an

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invasive species under
Wisconsin law, saying it

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threatens their cultural
resources along the

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shoreline.
>> However, the information

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and data came from whether
it was our own or the

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state's, we, we. We pay
attention to that.

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>> According to the lawsuit,
the association is asking

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the Federal court to decide
whether a tribal government

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may regulate the activities
of nonmembers on a fee.

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Simple, privately owned
land and navigable waters

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in the state of Wisconsin.
Tory Dolan, assistant

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professor of law at the
University of Wisconsin and

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citizen of the Choctaw
Nation of Oklahoma, says

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the United States
recognizes Indian tribes as

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sovereign nations who have
the right to govern

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themselves, their members,
and their territories.

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>> It means that they're
exercising their ability to

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have a say over what
happens in their territory

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and in their community.
>> When we talk about, they

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can govern themselves. What
does that mean for the

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communities that are around
them?

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>> Generally, just being in
tribal territory, you are

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going to interact with
tribal law in some capacity.

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>> Dolan says the Lac du
Flambeau reservation is

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checkerboarded with
non-tribal members

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purchasing property there
because of the Dawes Act or

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00:04:24,865 --> 00:04:27,768
General Allotment Act of
1887.

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>> Congress created the
Dawes Act, which authorized

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Indian agents to go into
tribal communities, parcel

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00:04:34,541 --> 00:04:37,945
out the communal land, sell
the surplus.

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>> In a different federal
case. Last year, a judge

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00:04:41,048 --> 00:04:43,917
sided with non-tribal
homeowners in a dispute

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over access to four tribal
roads that led to private

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properties on the Lac du
Flambeau reservation.

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>> The Bureau of Indian
Affairs approved these

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easements, and once they
expired, the tribe sought

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00:04:55,929 --> 00:04:58,332
to assert their property
rights by closing these

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roads.
was motivated by a belief

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00:05:01,568 --> 00:05:04,905
that Native American
Indians would die out,

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00:05:04,972 --> 00:05:07,975
assimilate or be
indistinguishable from

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non-Indian populations.
>> That's why we have so

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many legal and political
issues today, because they

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really didn't expect tribes
and tribal people to endure.

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>> Dolan says. She believes
it's important.

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>> Their ability to enforce
their own laws means their

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ability to continue to
exist as a people, to

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continue to exist in their
territory and to protect

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the area.
>> King says. In times like

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00:05:33,700 --> 00:05:36,803
these, the different tribes
in Wisconsin come together.

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>> They feel a part of the
tribe or a tribe, and they

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want to do their part to
protect it.

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>> We as a people want to
keep our earth as clean as

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possible.
>> Meadows says the pending

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00:05:50,217 --> 00:05:53,053
federal lawsuits involving
the Lac du Flambeau are

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about keeping their tribal
sovereignty.

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00:05:55,956 --> 00:05:59,193
>> That's the main one that
we need to keep for

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ourselves.
>> And maintaining their

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culture.
>> And for our children for

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times coming in.
times coming in.