3D Michigan Treaties in Action Lesson Plan Big Questions Michigan Curriculum Correlations Social Studies I.4.LE.1: Identify problems from the past that divided their local community, the state of Michigan, and the United States and analyze the interests and values of those involved Social Studies III.3.LE.1: Describe what state and federal courts are expected to do Social Studies III.4.LE.2: Explain how law is used to manage conflict in American society Core Democratic Values: Rule of Law Are treaties made with Michigan Indian nations still valid? How have treaty rights been exercised in the past? What do these treaties mean for people today and in the future? Objectives Students will be able to: 1. Explain that American Indian treaties never expire 2. Give examples of reserved rights of American Indian nations 3. Describe the 1971 Albert LeBlanc court case 4. Explain how treaties protect the rights of American Indians today Time needed One 45-minute class period Materials needed Copies of Think It Through worksheets for each student (or group of students) Copies of the Evidence Files A & B resource sheets for each student (or group of students) Vocabulary cede = to give up commercial = something done for the purpose of making money law = a system of rules negotiate = to try to reach an agreement through discussion and compromise reserve = to keep treaty = a formal agreement between sovereign nations valid = still in force 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 89
With the Students 1. Are treaties made a long time ago with American Indians nations still valid? A. Explain that the treaties are still valid (or in force) today Reinforce the fact that although the treaties made with American Indian nations are old, they are still binding agreements between the United States government and the Indian nations that made them. They still have the force of law. The groups who signed the treaties must still honor the agreements found in them. Tell the students that the rights that were reserved in treaties are still reserved by American Indian nations today. Exercising treaty rights is an important part of many Native nations cultures. Tell students that the agreements made long ago in American Indian treaties have not lost their importance. Treaties are key documents that apply to daily life in Michigan and in many other states today. Because of this, the treaties are something that all Americans Indian and non-indian should understand. B. The 1971 Albert LeBlanc Case Ask the students, If the Chippewa nation in Sault Ste. Marie reserved their fishing rights in an 1836 treaty, should they still be able to fish in the places described in the treaty? What if people who are not American Indians feel that they should have the same rights? Take several answers, and allow the students to briefly explain their reasoning. If discussion arises, let it continue for a short time. Tell the students that there was public conflict about Michigan Indians treaty rights in the past and that sometimes conflict still arises today. Relate the following information about the 1971 Albert LeBlanc court case to the students. In 1930, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Michigan Indians had no special hunting or fishing rights. If Indians wanted to fish on the Great Lakes for the purpose of selling the fish and making money, they would have to buy state commercial fishing licenses like everyone else. This meant that Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in Michigan were prevented by law from exercising the treaty rights reserved in the 1836 and 1855 treaties. A man named Albert Big Abe LeBlanc was a commercial fisher from the Bay Mills Indian Community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He believed that he should be allowed to exercise the treaty rights reserved by his tribe in the treaties. In 1971, he decided to challenge the 1930 ruling, not just for himself, but for other Indian people also. Mr. LeBlanc fished without a license and was arrested and found guilty in a local district court. 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 90
C. Tell the students that they will now have the opportunity to look at some of the legal issues that were part of that case. Review the Think It Through worksheet with the students. Explain how they can use the Evidence Sheets to help them make decisions about the worksheet questions. Tell them that they can discuss their opinions as a group when everyone is finished. Allow students to complete the worksheet individually or in groups. D. Have the students discuss their answers from the worksheet. E. Tell the students how the court case was finally resolved in the State of Michigan. Mr. LeBlanc went to the next higher court, the Michigan Court of Appeals to ask that his guilty decision be reversed. The Court of Appeals reversed the District Court s decision and said that Mr. LeBlanc was not guilty. Then the case went all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court, the highest court in Michigan, for a decision to be made. In 1976, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned the 1930 ruling and said that the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians have the right to fish in Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, in the area ceded in the 1836 and 1855 treaties. The Court said that the fishing may not be regulated or restricted by the state. 1 This meant that Mr. LeBlanc and members of the tribes would not be required to have a state commercial license to fish in the treaty areas. The United States District Court (1979) and the United States Court of Appeals (1981) upheld the Michigan courts decisions. When some people wanted the United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States, to rule on the case, they refused to review it. The justices believed the decisions of the lower courts to be right. 3. Treaty rights today A. These court cases helped to resolve the conflict over treaty rights. Because of the cases, people from these tribes are free to exercise their treaty rights today. B. The Indian nations involved did not think that tribal members should fish with no regulations at all, so in 1985, the Chippewa Ottawa Treaty Fishery Management Authority (COTFMA) was founded by the tribes to regulate tribal fishing. The tribes exercised their sovereignty to make a decision about how their natural resources should be managed, and they also cooperated with State of Michigan and United States government authorities to manage natural resources. 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 91
C. Treaty rights include many other things besides hunting, fishing, and gathering rights. In some treaties, American Indians negotiated the right of tribal education, health care, and other services in exchange for the land they ceded. Just like the fishing rights, the right to these services has not ended because the treaties are old. The students may have heard about tribal members receiving college tuition waivers or health care services from the government. These things are not given to Indians because they are a minority in the United States. They are rights that were negotiated by the tribes in treaties. Assessment Answers on the Think It Through worksheet Participation in class discussion ENDNOTE 1. Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority. The Tribal Fishery. Sault Ste. Marie, MI: Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, 2006 <http://www.1836cora.org/tribalfishery.html>. 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 92
THINK IT THROUGH Directions: Imagine you are the lawyer who was asked to represent Mr. Albert LeBlanc when he decided to challenge the 1930 Michigan Supreme Court decision in 1971. Use the Evidence Sheet to help you answer the questions. COURT CASE 1971 Should Mr. LeBlanc and other members of his tribe be allowed to fish in Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron without a state commercial license? Question 1: Did the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians give up the right to fish in Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron in the Treaties of 1820, 1836, or 1855? Question 2: Do the treaties say that the Chippewa and Ottawa people need a license from the United States government or the State of Michigan to fish? Question 3: Is the Bay Mills Tribe of Chippewa Indians located within the treaty boundaries? Question 4: Are the treaties old and expired, according to United States act of law? 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 93
Question 5: Is Mr. LeBlanc a member of the Bay Mills Tribe of Chippewa Indians? MY DECISION Should Mr. LeBlanc and other members of his tribe be allowed to fish in Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron without a state commercial license? What makes you answer this way? Write what you think about the evidence. 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 94
Evidence File A Primary Source Client: Mr. Albert LeBlanc Mr. Albert Big Abe LeBlanc is a member of the Bay Mills Tribe of Chippewa Indians. He has his tribal membership card to prove it. Treaties June 16, 1820 Sault Ste. Marie with the Chippewa ARTICLE 3. The United States will secure to the Indians a perpetual right of fishing at the falls of St. Mary's, and also a place of encampment upon the tract hereby ceded, convenient to the fishing ground, which place shall not interfere with the defences of any military work which may be erected, nor with any private rights. 1836 Washington with the Ottawa and Chippewa ARTICLE 13. The Indians stipulate for the right of hunting on the lands ceded, with the other usual privileges of occupancy [including fishing], until the land is required for settlement. 1855 Detroit with the Ottawa and Chippewa ARTICLE 3. The Ottawa and Chippewa Indians hereby release and discharge the United States from all liability on account of former treaty stipulations, it being distinctly understood and agreed that the grants and payments hereinbefore provided for are in lieu and satisfaction of all claims, legal and equitable on the part of said Indians jointly and severally against the United States, for land, money or other thing guaranteed to said tribes or either of them by the stipulations of any former treaty or treaties; excepting, however, the right of fishing and encampment secured to the Chippewas of Sault Ste. Marie by the treaty of June 16, 1820. Other Law United States Government Act of March 3, 1871, 16 Stat. 566 No Indian nation or tribe within the territory of the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty; but no obligation of any treaty lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe prior to March 3, 1871, shall be hereby invalidated or impaired. 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 95
Understanding Michigan Indian Sovereignthy and Treaties Evidence File B Treaty Boundaries of Michigan L a k e S u p e r i o r C A N A D A Bay Mills Reservation 1842 La Pointe 1836 Washington 1820 Sault Sainte Marie & 1855 Detroit 1798 Treaty No. 11 Cedar Point 1836 L a k e W i s c o n s i n L a k e M i c h i g a n 1836 Washington 1819 Saginaw Saginaw Bay Thunder Bay H u r o n I l l i n o i s 1828 Carey Mission 1821 Chicago 1833 Chicago I n d i a n a Lansing Okemos 1817 Rapids of the Miami 1795 Greenville Ohio 1807 Detroit Detroit Lake Lake St. Clair Erie north Scale of Miles 0 50 100 150 Treaty Boundary State boundary` City Source: Treaty boundaries derived from Royce 1896 2006 Nokomis Learning Center 96