Dispute between tribe, state over night hunting still ongoing

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Night-time deer hunting was to begin last night for Chippewa Indians in much of northern Wisconsin. But the Great Lakes Indian Fish-and-Wildlife Commission said it did not issue any permits, while the state challenges the commission’s decision from last week to allow the shooting after dark.

Sue Erickson of the Fish-and-Wildlife agency said 74 members of five Chippewa tribes have completed proficiency tests. She also said her agency was expected to file a response either last night or this morning to a legal request by the state DNR to reject the night-time hunt. Chippewa tribes first sought the after-dark hunting in 1989 under their centuries-old treaty rights. But Federal Judge Barbara Crabb shot it down back then. She agreed with the DNR that it poses a safety risk – and the state’s ban on night-time deer hunting also applied to the tribes.

New tensions have emerged between the state and its Indian tribes over wolf hunting and looser regulations so new mines could be created – both of which tribal leaders opposed.

Tags: outdoors