Misplaced Pages

#163836

75-580: In the 1950s, the Klamath tribe in Oregon was one of the strongest and wealthiest tribes in the nation. They had created a vigorous economy based on timber resources and imported livestock, which nearly fully supported the entire tribe. The Klamath tribe was not a burden to the Oregon taxpayers, and was the only tribe in the country paying its share of BIA administrative costs. However, despite appearances, 82% of

150-403: A bride price. Especially notable was the cultural norm that allowed wives to leave husbands, as they were "in no sense chattel ... and certainly cannot be disposed of as a possession." The Klamath use Apocynum cannabinum as a fiber and eat the roots of Lomatium canbyi . They use the rootstocks of Sagittaria cuneata as food. They use Carex , weaving the leaves into mats, using the juice of

225-671: A decade later, through the leadership and vision of the Klamath people, and the assistance of a few congressional leaders, the Klamath Restoration Act was adopted into law in 1986, reestablishing the Klamath as a sovereign state. Klamath people The Klamath people are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon and Northern California . Today Klamath people are enrolled in

300-568: A process in which federal recognition of the tribe would be withdrawn and the tribe would no longer be dependent on the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to support them. The Menominee were thought to be a tribe that could be terminated because they were one of the richest tribes in the nation. The federal government thought that termination would allow the tribal members to be assimilated into mainstream American culture, becoming hard-working, tax-paying, productive citizens. In 1954, Congress terminated

375-449: A reserve, they entered into termination with a $ 300,000 deficit. Menominee County was created out of the old reservation boundaries and the tribe immediately had to finance its own police and fire protection. Without federal support and with no tax base, the situation became dire. The tribe closed the hospital, sold its utility company, and contracted those services to neighboring counties. The Menominee Enterprises, Inc., formed to care for

450-709: Is a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Menominee Indian Tribe kept their historical hunting and fishing rights even after the federal government ceased to recognize the tribe. It was a landmark decision in Native American case law. The Menominee Indian Tribe had entered into a series of treaties with the United States that did not specifically state that they had hunting and fishing rights. In 1961, Congress terminated

525-687: Is ambiguous, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found that it must be resolved in favor of the tribe. Since the tribe originally had hunting and fishing rights under the treaty, the Wisconsin Supreme Court then looked to determine whether Congress had removed those rights by enacting the Menominee Termination Act. The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Congress had used its plenary power to abrogate those rights. The Wisconsin Supreme Court placed special emphasis on

600-623: Is now considered a member of the Plateau Penutian language family. Both the Klamath and the Modoc called themselves maqlaqs , maqlags or Maklaks meaning "people". When they wanted to distinguish between themselves they added knii ("people from/of"), the Klamath were called ?ewksiknii , "people of the [Klamath] Lake", and the Modoc were called moowatdal'knii , "people of the south". Menominee Tribe v. United States Menominee Tribe v. United States , 391 U.S. 404 (1968),

675-438: Is that while Congress may terminate tribal and treaty rights, it must show a "specific intent to abrogate them." It is repeatedly cited by cases and law reviews to show that the court will construe laws and treaties, where ambiguous, in favor of the tribes. Judges and legal experts have noted that hunting and fishing rights are valuable property rights, and if the government takes away such rights, it must compensate those who hold

750-698: The Goyatöka Band ("Crayfish Eaters"), direct south their Modoc kin ( Mo'dokni maklaks - "Southern People, i.e. Tule Lake People") with whom they shared the Modoc Plateau , in the southwest were living Shasta peoples ( S[h]asti maklaks ) and the Klamath River further downstream the Karuk and Yurok (both: Skatchpalikni - "People along the Scott River "), in the west and northwest were

825-703: The Latgawa ("Upland Takelma") (according to Spier: Walumskni - "Enemy" ) and Takelma/Dagelma ("Lowland/River Takelma") (more likely both were called: Wálamsknitumi, Wálamskni maklaks - “Rogue River People”). Beyond the Cascade Range ( Yámakisham Yaina - “mountains of the Northerners”) in the Rogue River Valley ( Wálamsh ) lived the "Rogue "River" Athabascan ( Wálamsknitumi, Wálamskni maklaks - “Rogue River People”) and further south along

SECTION 10

#1732766197164

900-651: The Plateau Indians —the peoples who originally lived on the Columbia River Plateau . They were most closely linked with the Modoc people. The Klamath spoke one dialect of the Klamath–Modoc language - the northern or "fi-ukshikni" dialect, the other - the "southern" dialect being spoken by the Modoc people , who lived south of the Klamath. Once thought to be a language isolate, Klamath–Modoc

975-486: The federally recognized tribes : The Klamath people lived in the area around the Upper Klamath Lake (E-ukshi - “Lake”) and the Klamath , Williamson (Kóke - “River”), Wood River (E-ukalksini Kóke), and Sprague (Plaikni Kóke - “River Uphill”) rivers. They subsisted primarily on fish and gathered roots and seeds. While there was knowledge of their immediate neighbors, apparently the Klamath were unaware of

1050-499: The 2,133 members of the Klamath tribe at the time of termination, 1,660 decided to withdraw from the tribe and accept individual payments for land. Oregon Senator Richard L. Neuberger , and Oregon Representative Albert Ullman , worked together to delay implementation of the Klamath termination law until hearings with the Indians were held and amendments could be made. In spite of testimony from experts, BIA officials and tribe members,

1125-577: The Act would not affect hunting and fishing rights acquired by treaty, but would abrogate any such rights acquired by statute. Additionally, the Court of Claims observed that Congress also amended Public Law 280 so that Indian hunting and fishing rights were protected in Wisconsin. The decision contradicted the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On October 9, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear

1200-464: The Court of Claims ruling should be reversed. The tribe was represented by Charles A. Hobbs of Washington, D.C. The tribe argued that the Menominee Termination Act did not extinguish treaty rights, but instead had two purposes; to terminate federal supervision of the tribe and to transfer to the state general criminal and civil jurisdiction—which had already been accomplished by Public Law 280 and that law expressly preserved hunting and fishing rights. In

1275-830: The Klamath Reservation, in actuality included three distinct but affiliated tribes. The Act defines the members as the "Klamath and Modoc Tribes and the Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians, and of the individual members thereof". A portion of the Modoc Tribe , had been taken as prisoners to Indian Territory in 1873 following the Modoc War in Oregon. Later, they were placed on a reservation in Indian Territory and their lands were allotted as were other tribes to make way for statehood for Oklahoma. In 1909,

1350-582: The Klamath because of their special status as Indians, was ended. The legislation required each tribal member to choose between remaining a member of the tribe, or withdrawing and receiving a monetary payment for the value of the individual share of tribal land. Those who stayed became members of a tribal management plan. This plan became a trust relationship between tribal members and the United States National Bank in Portland, Oregon. Of

1425-528: The Klamath people, and he was trading with them by 1829. The United States frontiersman Kit Carson admired their arrows, which were reported to be able to shoot through a house. The Klamaths, Modocs , and the Yahooskin (Yahuskin) Band of Northern Paiute (in Paiute known as: Goyatöka - "Crayfish eaters"), which was erroneously called Upper Sprague River Snakes believed to be a Band of Snake Indians ,

1500-452: The Klamath to begin only with the acquisition of the horse. These natives made southern Oregon their home for long enough to witness the eruption of Mount Mazama . It was a legendary volcanic mountain who is the creator of Crater Lake ( giˑw ), now considered to be a beautiful natural formation. In 1826, Peter Skene Ogden , an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company , first encountered

1575-628: The Klamath were terminated in 1961 as a result of constant pressure by Republican Senator Arthur V. Watkins . The termination legislation required the land to be sold in 5000 acre increments and the US Government only accepted forestland. The politically-influential Crown-Zellerbach paper corporation of San Francisco obtained 90,000 acres, and the remaining 93% was converted to the Winema and Fremont National Forests. The reservation shrunk from 762,000 acres to 145,000 acres. The termination of

SECTION 20

#1732766197164

1650-667: The Menominee Termination Act did not abolish the tribe or its membership, but merely ended federal supervision of the tribe. Since the Menominee was still a tribe, although not one under federal trusteeship, the tribe had a right to assert a claim arising out of the Wolf River Treaty in accordance with the Indian Claims Commission Act and the Tucker Act . The Court of Claims looked at whether

1725-488: The Menominee Termination Act had taken away that right. If it had, the tribe would have a valid claim for compensation; but if not, then there would be no compensation. On April 14, 1967, the Court of Claims denied the claim, stating that the hunting and fishing rights had not been abrogated by the Termination Act. In arriving at this decision, it said that the legislative history included two witnesses who stated that

1800-422: The Menominee, which was one of the wealthiest tribes prior to termination, became one of the poorest. In 1954, the tribe's timber operations allowed it to be self-sufficient. The tribe, which owned utility companies, paid for a hospital, BIA salaries, local schools, and a stipend to tribal members. The tribe was forced to use its reserve funds to develop a termination plan that they did not want and instead of having

1875-669: The Modoc and Yahooskin, have formed the federally recognized Klamath Tribes confederation. Their tribal government is based in Chiloquin, Oregon . Some Klamath live on the Quartz Valley Indian Community in Siskiyou County, California . Traditionally there were several cultural subdivisions among the Klamath, based on the location of their residency within the Klamath Basin. Despite this,

1950-786: The Pit River ( Moatuashamkshini/Móatni Kóke - "River of the Southern Dwellers") lived the Achomawi and Atsugewi (both called: Móatuash maklaks - "Southern Dweller", or "Southern People"). The Klamath were known to raid neighboring tribes, such as the Achomawi on the Pit River , and occasionally to take prisoners as slaves. They traded with the Wasco-Wishram at The Dalles . However, scholars such as Alfred L. Kroeber and Leslie Spier consider these slaving raids by

2025-575: The US Congress passed an Act allowing those Modocs to return to their traditional home in Oregon and take up residence on the Klamath Reservation. Some returned, and some remained in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, where they had now established homes and ties. In 1965, as a part of the US settlement with the Klamath reservation, a series of hearings were held from April to August. At the hearings, testimony

2100-459: The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the Menominee tribe no longer had hunting and fishing rights because of the termination action by Congress. The tribe sued the United States for compensation in the US Court of Claims , which ruled that tribal members still had hunting and fishing rights and that Congress had not abrogated the rights. The opposite rulings by the state and federal courts brought

2175-473: The Wolf River Treaty unquestionably conferred hunting and fishing rights on the tribe and its members. He stated that the Termination Act subjected the members of the tribe to the same laws that all other citizens of Wisconsin were held to, including hunting and fishing regulations. In Stewart's opinion, Public Law 280 had no bearing on the case and the rights were not protected by the Termination Act, so they were lost. Stewart did note that this would have also made

2250-500: The acts in open court, but claimed that the Wolf River Treaty gave them the right to hunt. The state trial court agreed and acquitted the three. The state was given leave to pursue a writ of error and appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to answer whether the Termination Act canceled those rights retained by treaty. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in State v. Sanapaw held that the treaty rights were terminated by Congress. In analyzing

2325-584: The appeal and granted certiorari (a writ to the lower court to send the case to them for review) to resolve the conflict between the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the federal Court of Claims. In most appeals, the parties argue opposing positions. In this case, both the appellee (the Menominee) and the appellant (the United States) argued that the decision of the Court of Claims should be affirmed. The State of Wisconsin, as amicus curiae , argued that

Klamath Termination Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

2400-414: The case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court first had to determine whether the tribe had hunting and fishing rights under treaties with the United States. It found that although the Wolf River Treaty did not specifically mention hunting and fishing rights, the term "to be held as Indian lands are held" was clear. Indians have always been able to hunt and fish on their own land, and if a term in a treaty with Indians

2475-504: The claim for compensation valid under Shoshone Tribe v. United States , regardless of whether Congress intended it or not. He would have reversed the decision of the Court of Claims. Menominee Tribe v. United States is a landmark case in Native American law, primarily in the area of reserved tribal rights. It has been used in college courses to explain tribal sovereignty rights and that tribes retain some rights even if

2550-666: The collective name given to the Northern Paiute, Bannock, and Shoshone Native American tribes, signed a treaty with the United States in 1864, establishing the Klamath Reservation to the northeast of Upper Klamath Lake. This area was largely part of the traditional territory controlled by the ă′ukuckni Klamath band. The treaty required the tribes to cede the land in the Klamath Basin , bounded on

2625-411: The court called for reargument and requested that Wisconsin present an oral argument in addition to the brief it had filed with the court. Justice Marshall recused himself from the case, as he had been the U.S. Solicitor General the previous year and had participated in the government's preparation of the case. On April 25, 1968, the case was reargued. The tribe was again represented by Hobbs, who made

2700-413: The event that the court would decide that the hunting and fishing rights were extinguished, then the tribe should receive compensation for the loss of the rights. The United States was represented by Louis F. Claiborne, assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General . The United States also argued that the Menominee Termination Act did not extinguish hunting and fishing rights under the 1854 treaty and therefore

2775-527: The existence of the Pacific Ocean . Gatschet has described this position as leaving the Klamath living in a "protracted isolation" from outside cultures. North of their tribal territory lived the Molala ( Kuikni maklaks ), in the northeast and east in the desert-like plains were various Northern Paiute bands ( Shá'ttumi , collective term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and Northern Shoshone) - among them

2850-521: The federal government. The treaty did not mention hunting or fishing rights. In 1848, the tribe entered into another treaty with the United States, the Treaty of Lake Poygan , which ceded the tribe's remaining approximately 4,000,000 acres (1,600,000 ha) in exchange for 600,000 acres (240,000 ha) west of the Mississippi River in present-day Minnesota . This treaty was contingent on

2925-509: The federally recognized status of the tribe with the Menominee Indian Termination Act . According to the terms of the Termination Act, the federally recognized status was to end in 1958. The tribe and the state of Wisconsin successfully lobbied for a delay in the implementation of termination until 1961. The tribe was opposed to termination for a number of reasons; their concerns included the loss of tribal culture,

3000-685: The five recognized "tribelets" (the Klamath Tribes count six) mutually considered each other the same ethnic group, about 1,200 people in total. Like many Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest, the Klamath lived a semi-sedentary life. Winter settlements were in permanent locations that were reoccupied annually. Construction of the earth-lodges would begin in Autumn, with materials salvaged from abandoned, dilapidated buildings made in previous years. Leslie Spier has detailed some of

3075-454: The following account for their usage: The septum of the nose is pierced and the ear lobes, the latter twice or even more frequently. Both sexes insert dentalium shells horizontally through the septum ... Ear pendants are a group of four dentalia hung in a bunch by their tips. The use of dentalium in septum piercings, in addition to other means of ornamentation, was common among the Wasco-Wishram as well. The Klamath people are grouped with

Klamath Termination Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

3150-682: The hearing made it clear that many western Modoc had not registered for the final roll, were unaware that the Klamath termination applied to them, and felt that they should not be excluded from claim reparations due by the United States to the tribe as a whole for historic breaches. The hearings concluded without allowing the Oklahoma Modoc to be included in the rolls of the Klamath Tribe. Termination led to lawsuits, as individual Klamath Natives struggled to preserve treaty hunting and fishing rights. Five Klamath Natives who had withdrawn from

3225-510: The issue to the Supreme Court. In 1968, the Supreme Court held that the tribe retained its hunting and fishing rights under the treaties involved and the rights were not lost after federal recognition was ended by the Menominee Indian Termination Act without a clear and unequivocal statement by Congress removing the rights. Ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe may have lived in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan for

3300-401: The last 10,000 years. Their traditional territory was about 10 million acres (4 million hectares). They first acknowledged that they were under the protection of the United States in the Treaty of St. Louis (1817) . In 1825 and 1827, the treaties of Prairie du Chien and Butte des Morts answered boundary questions. None of the early treaties addressed hunting and fishing rights. In 1831,

3375-432: The loss of land due to tax liens , the possibility of bankruptcy and loss of the tribal timber industry, and the lack of tribal members who were trained to run a county government. The state of Wisconsin was concerned that with no industry for the tribe to tax, the state would be responsible for the large financial outlay that would be required to maintain governmental operations for the former reservation. On termination,

3450-495: The mainstream society, the occupants of the reservation had no concept of rent, utility payments, taxes, banking or even how they would meet their dietary needs. In spite of testimony and evidence given, the Klamath tribe was terminated under the Klamath Termination Act , or Public Law 587, enacted on August 13, 1954. Under this act, all federal supervision over Klamath lands, as well as federal aid provided to

3525-433: The north by the 44th parallel , to the United States. In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $ 35,000, and annual payments totalling $ 80,000 over 15 years, as well as providing infrastructure and staff for the reservation. The treaty provided that, if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld; the United States could also locate additional tribes on

3600-411: The phrase "all statutes of the United States which affect Indians because of their status as Indians shall no longer be applicable to the members of the tribe, and the laws of the several States shall apply to the tribe and its members in the same manner as they apply to other citizens or persons within their jurisdiction ." The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the latter section was controlling, despite

3675-616: The pith as a beverage, eating the fresh stems for food and using the tuberous base of the stem for food. Dentalium shells were common among the Klamath prior to colonization. Compared to other native cultures, dentalium didn't hold as much financial use among the Klamath. However, longer shells were generally held to be more valuable. Nonetheless these shells were esteemed primarily for as jewelry and personal adornment. Septum piercings were commonly given to younger members of Klamath families to allow inserting dentalium. Some individuals wouldn't however use any shells in their septum. Spier gives

3750-597: The poorest region in Wisconsin was better than the Crow Wing." The tribe had been living in an area near the Wolf River . They entered into the Treaty of Wolf River with the United States in 1854. The United States set aside 276,480 acres (111,890 ha) of land for a reservation in present-day Menominee County , Wisconsin. In return, the tribe ceded the land in Minnesota back to the federal government. None of

3825-477: The previous treaties except the Treaty of Washington addressed the tribe's retained hunting and fishing rights, but stated that the reservation was "to be held as Indian lands are held". Since the Treaty of Wolf River, this area has been the tribe's home, and they were free from state taxation, regulation and court jurisdiction. Of the original land, 230,000 acres (93,000 ha) of prime timberland remained under

SECTION 50

#1732766197164

3900-480: The reservation in the future. The tribes requested Lindsay Applegate as the agent to represent the United States to them. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed. Since termination of recognition of their tribal sovereignty in 1954 (with federal payments not disbursed until 1961), the Klamath and neighboring tribes have reorganized their government and revived tribal identity. The Klamath, along with

3975-500: The rights for their loss. Courts must also construe treaty rights and statutes liberally in favor of the Indians, even when the treaty does not specifically speak of hunting and fishing. In 1973, Congress repealed termination and restored federal recognition of the Menominee tribe. The Menominee Restoration Act was signed by Richard Nixon ; it repealed the Menominee Indian Termination Act, reopened

4050-465: The same basic argument that the hunting and fishing rights were not extinguished. The state of Wisconsin was represented by Bronson La Follette , the Attorney General of Wisconsin. La Follette argued that the plain language of the termination act not only ended federal supervision of the tribe, but extinguished the tribe and with it all treaty rights. He argued that the Court of Claims ruling

4125-472: The same time. When we consider that these earth-lodges may have housed several families, there is strong suggestion of a considerable population. Marriage was a unique practice for the Klamath, compared to neighboring cultures found in the borderlands of modern Oregon , California , Nevada and Idaho . For example, unlike the Hupa , Karok , and Yurok , the Klamath didn't hold formal talks between families for

4200-495: The stipulation in Public Law 280, providing that no state could deprive a Native tribe (or individual members) of hunting and fishing rights guaranteed to them by federal treaty. Within the tribe, termination had been supported only by a few who were loyal to Sen. Watkins. After being terminated, the tribe was cut off from services for education, health care, housing and related resources. Termination directly caused decay within

4275-413: The termination act and that the tribal members were subject to state hunting and fishing regulations. With the poverty in the former reservation, the loss of hunting rights meant the loss of one of their last remaining means of survival. In 1962, tribal members Joseph L. Sanapaw, William J. Grignon, and Francis Basina were charged with violating state hunting and fishing regulations. All three admitted to

4350-510: The treaty. Douglas noted that Public Law 280 had been enacted and was fully in force for approximately seven years before the Termination Act became effective. The section of that law that dealt with Wisconsin provided that hunting and fishing rights in "Indian Country" were protected from state regulation and action. Thus from 1954 until termination in 1961, the Menominee's hunting and fishing rights were not interfered with by Wisconsin. The Termination Act stated that all federal statutes dealing with

4425-446: The tribal members' argument that hunting rights were retained by treaty rather than by statute. The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the tribe had lost their hunting and fishing rights. The tribal members appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the appeal. The Menominee sued in the U.S. Court of Claims to recover compensation for the loss of their hunting and fishing rights. The Court of Claims first clarified that

4500-738: The tribe after Public Law 587 claimed they retained hunting and fishing rights guaranteed to the Klamath tribe in the Treaty of October 16, 1854. After a U.S. district court ruled against them, they filed an appeal under Kimball v. Callahan . Based on reasoning similar to that in Menominee Tribe v. United States , the U.S. District Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit found that, since the Klamath Termination Act did not specifically abrogate Klamath hunting and fishing rights, these rights remained. The court looked at

4575-489: The tribe entered into the Treaty of Washington , which ceded about 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) to the federal government. These two treaties reserved hunting and fishing rights for the tribe on the ceded land until the President of the United States ordered the land surveyed and sold to settlers. In 1836, the tribe entered into the Treaty of Cedar Point , under which 4,184,000 acres (1,693,000 ha) were ceded to

SECTION 60

#1732766197164

4650-521: The tribe examining the land proposed for them and accepting it as suitable. In 1850, Chief Oshkosh led a delegation to the Crow Wing area and determined that the land was not suitable for the tribe, mainly because the proposed reservation was located between two warring tribes, the Dakota and Ojibwe . Oshkosh then pressed for a new treaty, stating that he "preferred a home somewhere in Wisconsin, for

4725-619: The tribe had hunting and fishing rights and drew the same conclusion as the Wisconsin Supreme Court—that the terms of the treaty had to be resolved in the favor of the tribe, citing The Menominee Tribe of Indians v. United States , 95 Ct.Cl. 232 (Ct.Cl., 1941). In that decision, the Court of Claims had observed that the reason the tribe had agreed to the site of the reservation was that it was well suited for hunting, with plenty of game. The hunting rights by treaty were therefore confirmed. The Court of Claims had to determine whether

4800-496: The tribe has been terminated, as the Menominee tribe was. The decision in the case has affected subsequent legislation, such as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act , in which Congress expressly extinguished all aboriginal rights. The case has been discussed internationally, for example in Australia regarding the relevance of indigenous or aboriginal title . The case has been cited in over 300 law review articles as of October 2013 . A consistent point made in numerous articles

4875-460: The tribe including poverty, alcoholism, high suicide rates, low educational achievement, disintegration of the family, poor housing, high dropout rates from school, disproportionate numbers in penal institutions, increased infant mortality, decreased life expectancy, and loss of identity. Ironically, the western Modoc were restored to tribal status 15 May 1978, in an Act which reinstated the Modoc, Wyandotte, Peoria and Ottawa Tribes of Oklahoma. Almost

4950-431: The tribe members living "on" the reservation had no jobs and most still engaged in hunting and fishing for subsistence. As for acculturation, although Klamath students were enrolled in public high schools, only 10 graduated between 1934 and 1947 and in the mid-1950s more than half of the Klamath students enrolled did not pass to the next grade. Though the Klamath who lived "off" the reservation were more prepared for living in

5025-418: The tribe was not due compensation from the United States. Claiborne also argued that whatever regulatory rights which were held by the federal government were transferred to the state of Wisconsin by the termination act. The case was originally argued on January 22, 1968. During oral argument, some of the justices were concerned that the state of Wisconsin was not a party to the case. Following oral arguments,

5100-407: The tribe were no longer in force, but Douglas noted that it was silent with regard to treaties. The act did not specifically address the hunting and fishing rights, and Douglas stated that the U.S. Supreme Court would "decline to construe the Termination Act as a backhanded way of abrogating the hunting and fishing rights of these Indians." He noted that in a similar bill for the Klamath Tribe , there

5175-404: The tribe's federal recognition , ending its right to govern itself, federal support of health care and education programs, police and fire protection, and tribal rights to land. In 1963, three members of the tribe were charged with violating Wisconsin 's hunting and fishing laws on land which had been a reservation for over 100 years. The tribe members were acquitted, but when the state appealed,

5250-425: The tribe's control, while the remaining land was transferred to the Mahican and Lenape (the latter also known as the Delaware or Munsee) tribes. During this period, the Menominee enjoyed complete freedom to regulate hunting and fishing on the reservation, with the acquiescence of Wisconsin. In the mid- to late-1940s, the Menominee tribe was considered by a government survey to identify tribes for termination ,

5325-409: The tribe's needs after termination, was unable to pay property taxes and began to consider selling off tribal property. Many Menominee tribal members believed that the sponsor of the termination bill, Senator Arthur Wilkins of Utah , intended to force the loss of rich tribal lands to non-Indians. In 1962, the state of Wisconsin took the position that the hunting and fishing rights were abrogated by

5400-486: The winter settlement patterns for Klamath as follows: The towns are not isolated, compact groups of houses, but stretch along the banks for half a mile or more. In fact, the settlements on Williamson river below the Sprague river junction form a practically continuous string of houses for five or six miles, the house pits being, in many spots, crowded close together. Informants insisted that many of these were occupied at

5475-490: Was a discussion on paying the tribe to buy out their hunting and fishing rights, a clear indication that Congress was aware of the implications. Douglas found it hard to believe that Congress would subject the United States to a claim for compensation without an explicit statement to that effect. He found that without a specific abrogation of those rights, the tribe retained those rights. Justice Potter Stewart , joined by Justice Hugo Black , dissented. Stewart acknowledged that

5550-481: Was heard regarding the notice given to the western Modoc at the time of the termination of the Klamath Reservation. William Randall, Representative from Missouri's 5th District, observed on 13 May 1965 that he had reviewed notices that appeared in the Federal Register between 14 January 1955 and 12 August 1961 regarding the Klamath termination and none mentioned the Modoc. His and other testimony presented at

5625-405: Was incorrect and should be reversed, and that the tribe was due compensation from the federal government. The United States was again represented by Claiborne, who reiterated his earlier argument. Justice William O. Douglas delivered the opinion of the court. In a 6-2 decision, the ruling of the U.S. Court of Claims was affirmed, ruling that the tribe retained its hunting and fishing rights under

#163836