Return of the Red Lake Walleye: A Model of Tribal and State Partnership

Yeah. Going to be a fun day. It's always fun fishing. It's always fun fishing. >> You ready to fish? >> Ready to fish. >> Good.

>> [snorts]

>> For centuries, the Red [music] Lake Band of Chipua, located in northern Minnesota, depended on its namesake [music] lake, known in initi Chinab as Msquagami Wisaga Aening for its cultural [music] lifeblood. Considering it a sacred gift from their creator, the people relied on the lake and its plentiful [music] bounty of fish, including their prized walleye as

their food warehouse. Thus, the Red Lake people have always struggled to protect the lake and its life for future generations. In 1889, Red Lake chiefs resisted the General Allotment Act on the grounds that preserving the band's lands and waters for its sole communal use was critical to the survival of their people and

culture. They had the foresight to look forward and say we have to seed something. But we need to hang on to uh a land for our people, resources for our people if we're going to sustain for the future. It might not benefit us, but in the future it's going to benefit those generations yet to come.

>> The chief's stand led to Red Lake becoming one of only two closed Indian reservations in the United States. enabling the band to maintain complete jurisdiction over its lands and waters. The chiefs at the time believed this meant all of Red Lake. But due to what some have called a cgraphers's error, the easternmost portion of Upper Red