A federal judge has said no, to allowing Chippewa tribal members to hunt deer at night in the Ceded Territories of northern Wisconsin. Judge Barbara Crabb said Monday that the Great Lakes Indian Fish-and-Wildlife Commission over-stepped its authority when it created a special night-time deer hunt.
The night hunt was supposed to get underway the Monday night after Thanksgiving in the ceded territories where Chippewa have exercised hunting-and-fishing treaty rights under the terms of 19th century treaties. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources filed suit to prevent it.
DNR officials said the use of lights to take deer at night would cause safety problems, as well as violating Crabb’s 1989 order, which allowed the state to ban night hunting statewide. GLIFWC argued that the issue had become moot after the DNR allowed wolf hunters to shoot at night. A tribal attorney has not commented.
READ: Judge Crabb’s Opinion and Order
