O FFICERS (2019)

O FFICERS

BOARD M EMBERS

C HAIRMAN

ARTHUR LAROSE

R AY AUGINAUSH S R

MONICA H EDSTROM

ALFRED FOX , J R.

ARCHIE L AROSE

R ICHARD R OBINSON

D ALE G REENE , JR .

S ANDRA S KINAWAY

MICHAA AUBID

V ICE -C HAIR

RAY AUGINAUSH SR

S ECRETARY /T REASURER

S ANDRA S KINAWAY

1855 Treaty

Authority

PO BOX 418

WHITE EARTH, MN 56591

1855 TREATY AUTHORITY

EAST L AKE ♦ LEECH LAKE ♦ MILLE LACS ♦ SANDY LAKE ♦ WHITE E ARTH

February 18, 2018

SENT VIA EMAIL ONLY TO:

richard.gitar@fdlrez.com

Richard Gitar

Office of Water Protection

Fond du Lac Reservation

1720 Big Lake Road

Cloquet, MN 55720

Re:

Line 3 project – FDL consents

Dear Mr. Gitar,

I am writing in regards to the protection of Chippewa wetlands and other

lands and water resources, including water quality on the reservation, in regards to

Enbridge’s Line 3R permit application and the required 401 Water Quality

Certification. These comments are directed at legal requirements of consent from

MCT Bands.

When the Chippewas of Mississippi signed the 1854 Treaty with the U.S., it

was as co-owner of the land and water resources, held in common with the Lake

Superior Chippewa bands per the 1842 Treaty. While the Chippewas of the

Mississippi relinquished all payment for the 1854 lands ceded, including the lands

and waters retained within the permanent 1854 Chippewa reservations like FDL,

usufructuary rights were not relinquished.

This concept of commonly held resource division is also included in Article

8 of the 1854 Treaty, whereby “It is agreed, between the Chippewas of Lake

TREATY WITH THE CHIPPEWA, 1855.

Feb. 22, 1855. | 10 Stat., 1165. | Ratified March 3, 1855. | Proclaimed Apr. 7, 1855.

Superior and the Chippewas of the Mississippi, that the former shall be entitled to

two-thirds, and the latter to one-third, of all benefits to be derived from former

treaties existing prior to the year 1847.” As such, in the 1854 ceded territory, the

Chippewa of the Mississippi hold an undivided, half-interest in the natural

resources with the Lake Superior Bands, on and off reservation like FDL, because

ceding land is not the same as Chippewa surrendering rights to hunt, fish and

gather. (See Mn v MLB 1999).

When the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) was created under the Indian

Reorganization Act, from the Consolidated Chippewa, Congress authorized IRA

regulation and management of MCT tribal resources. After adopting the Revised

Constitution, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Land Ordinance #3 provided for band

governments “to manage, lease, permit or otherwise deal with tribal lands, interest

in land or other travel assets, when authorized to do so by the tribal executive

committee.”

Section 102 provides that

Each band of government shall retain the inherent authority to

protect and manage the use of lands, waters and resources with respect

to its reservation so as to secure the political and economic security of

the band and the health and welfare of its members. Where the

conditions imposed by a provision of this ordinance are in conflict

with a statute, ordinance or regulation of the band government, this

ordinance authorizes the band government to follow the provisions of

its own law, in so far as such law is not contrary to the political and

economic welfare of the band and does not directly affect any other

band government without its consent.

(See The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Land Ordinance #3, Ch. 1, Revoking

all prior laws; jurisdiction, duly adopted 8-0-0 at a regular meeting October 22,

1997.)

More recently, the TEC adopted Resolution 72-17, to conduct an

Anishinabe Cumulative Impacts Assessment (ACIA) in response to “planned oil

pipelines, underground and strip mines, and large infrastructure projects” that

impact lands, waters, tribal resources, cultural properties and because the

protection of clean water is high on our [MCT] list of sacred responsibilities as

Anishinabe people, to protect wild rice. We learned from the Nelson Act

settlements that MCT lands (and waters) are held in common, and recently learned

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that the MCT cannot gift the MCT lands between the 6 reservations without an Act

of Congress.

We already know the real threat to our commonly held MCT tribal resources

is Climate Change. White Earth and Red Lake have adopted the ACIA and No

Build option, along with the 1855 Treaty Authority. White Earth and the 1855

Treaty Authority have adopted Rights of Manoomin to protect wild rice from

climate change, increased greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts to

lakes and waters.

We know that Climate change affects lakes, walleye in complex ways1 and

that years later an Ojibwe leader says Mille Lacs walleye have not recovered yet2,

We understand that any increase in tar sands extraction and production will only

speed up climate change and compound environmental and aquatic problems in

Minnesota; and when walleye fishing people can’t fish Mille Lacs, they ultimately

shift further north to Big Sandy, Pokegama, Big Winnie, Cass Lake and Leech

Lake, which are all original 1855 reservations.

As such, the Line 3 agreement FDL has made with Enbridge in regards to

the present water and lands permitting for this pipeline activity is the direct subject

of TEC resolution 72-17, and directly affects other MCT band governments

without their consent. Therefore, the FDL 401 clean water permitting and any use

of MCT lands for the Line 3 project without consent of the other affected

Chippewa bands and Chippewa treaty beneficiaries’ as property rights holders, is

unlawful, under MCT law. (See Article XIII Rights of Members).

As such, the thousands of Chippewa Treaty beneficiaries to the natural

resources impacted by the Line 3 project expansion of crude oil flow respectfully

request Fond du Lac cease and desist until proper consents are obtained.

Sincerely,

/s/ Frank Bibeau

Frank Bibeau

Executive Director

1

See Climate change affects lakes, walleye in complex ways, by Elizabeth Dunbar on

Minnesota Public Radio, Sept. 9, 2015 at

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/09/09/walleye-climate-change

2

See Ojibwe leader says Mille Lacs walleye have not recovered yet by Tony Kennedy

Star Tribune OCTOBER 1, 2017 at http://www.startribune.com/ojibwe-leader-saysmille-lacs-walleye-have-not-recovered-yet/448842053/

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