Ojibwe Group To Harvest Wild Rice In Treaty Rights Test

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A group of Ojibwe Native Americans has put the Dayton administration on notice that it plans to harvest wild rice without state licenses later this month to try to assert rights they believe they hold under an 1855 treaty.

They plan to gather wild rice on Hole-in-the-Day Lake in Nisswa on Aug. 27 and are urging conservation officers not to issue citations or seize their wild rice or harvesting equipment.

The harvest is being organized by the 1855 Treaty Authority, which is independent of the state's tribal governments. Its chairman is Arthur "Archie" LaRose, secretary-treasurer of the Leech Lake Band, who wrote to Gov. Mark Dayton earlier this month to notify him.

Dayton spokeswoman Cambray Crozier says the governor will respond after he's had a chance to review the letter.