Press Release: Tribal Court Rules that Rights of Nature Case Can Move Forward

Rejects State of Minnesota’s Effort to Dismiss Case

Manoomin (wild rice) is lead plaintiff in case to enforce Treaty rights and rights of nature, to stop State’s permitting of 5 billion gallons of water to construct the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline

August 19, 2021

Contact:

Frank Bibeau, Plaintiff’s Attorney, frankbibeau@gmail.com, 218-760-1258

Thomas Linzey, Senior Counsel, Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, tal@pa.net, 509-474-9761

White Earth, MN: On August 4, Manoomin (wild rice), the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, and several tribal members, filed a case in the Tribal Court of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe to enforce the rights of nature and Chippewa treaty rights.

The case, brought against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, asserts that the State’s recently granted five billion gallons of water appropriation to the Enbridge corporation violated the rights of Manoomin as well as treaty rights which guarantee the tribe’s right to gather wild rice on off-reservation lands.

On August 18, the Tribal Court rejected the State of Minnesota’s effort to dismiss the case. In an order released by the Court, the Court noted:

The activity at issue here impacts the ecosystem of Manoomin in that it allows Defendants to control the water quantity and quality on which the plant depends…The possible impact of Defendant's activities has a "direct effect on the political integrity, political security or the health or welfare of the Tribe…"

As explained by the Court, the White Earth Band adopted tribal laws recognizing the rights of Manoomin both on and off the reservation, and in so doing “the Band is exercising its inherent authority to protect a necessary and vital resource.” The court added that protection of Manoomin “predates the U.S. Constitution and is reflected in the numerous treaties made between the United States and the Anishinaabeg peoples.”

In its order, Chief Judge David DeGroat stated that the State’s claims in its Motion to Dismiss “must give way to the Band’s inherent sovereignty” and that “the Band must also be able to exercise the jurisdiction” to enforce its tribal laws protecting wild rice. DeGroat ruled that “to hold otherwise reduces Tribal sovereignty to a cynical legal fiction.”

Frank Bibeau, lawyer for the plaintiffs, stated, “The State of Minnesota is ignoring its treaty obligations and tribal laws in allowing the Enbridge corporation to take five billion gallons of water for the construction of the pipeline. The Court, in rejecting the State’s Motion to Dismiss, is acknowledging Manoomin’s rights, and the sovereign authority of tribes and Minnesota’s legal obligations pursuant to the Treaties signed with the Chippewa. All we are demanding is that those Treaties be honored, and Manoomin recognized as having the sacred status as recognized by tribal law.”

Mari Margil, Executive Director of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER), who assisted with the drafting of the 2018 tribal law recognizing the legally enforceable rights of Manoomin, explained, “As the Court explained, the White Earth Band’s authority to protect Manoomin (wild rice) and other resources predates the U.S. Constitution and is central to its treaties with the federal government. That authority must be recognized and upheld, including the authority of the White Earth Band to protect the rights of wild rice.”

Background

·        This is the first case brought in a tribal court to enforce the rights of nature, and the first rights of nature case brought to enforce Treaty guarantees.

·        In December 2018, the business committee of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe adopted a “rights of manoomin” tribal law, which recognized wild rice as having the rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve, as well as inherent rights to restoration, recovery, and preservation.

·        The rights of manoomin law is the first tribal law to recognize the legally enforceable rights of a plant or animal species.

·        This case was brought to enforce both the rights of manoomin, as well as Treaty rights held by the tribe and tribal members. The Treaty rights, recognized in the 1837, 1854, and 1855 Treaties with the Chippewa and U.S. government, guarantee the rights of the tribe to gather wild rice and other aquatic plants from public waters on Treaty lands.

·        Plaintiffs assert that the diversion of 5 billion gallons of water for the construction of an oil pipeline will interfere with the rights of manoomin, as well as the rights of tribal members to use Treaty lands to hunt, fish, and gather wild rice.

A hearing to decide the merits of the case in Manoomin, et.al. v Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, et.al. is scheduled for August 25 in the Tribal Court.

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