Menominee Tribe v. United States
Case Date: 07/22/1968
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Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S. 404 (1968), was a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the tribal hunting and fishing rights which were retained by treaty were not abrogated by the Menominee Termination Act without a clear and unequivocal statement to that effect by Congress.[1] The Menominee Indian Tribe had entered into a series of treaties with the United States which did not specifically state that they had hunting and fishing rights. In 1961 Congress terminated the tribe's federal recognition, ending the tribe's 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 what had formerly been reservation land for over 100 years. A series of court cases brought the issue to the Supreme Court. The court held that the tribe retained its hunting and fishing rights under the treaties involved. This case has since become recognized as a landmark case in Native American case law.
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