O FFICERS BOARD M EMBERS
CHAIRMAN RAY A UGINAUSH S R
A RTHUR L AROSE M ONICA HEDSTROM
A LFRED FOX, J R .
V ICE -CHAIR A RCHIE L AROSE
RAY AUGINAUSH SR
RICHARD ROBINSON PO B OX 418
S ECRETARY /TREASURER DALE G REENE, J R . 1855 Treaty
WHITE EARTH, MN
Authority
S ANDRA S KINAWAY S ANDRA S KINAWAY
M ICHAA A UBID 56591
L EONARD THOMPSON
W ALLY S TORBAKKEN
J EAN S KINAWAY
1855 TREATY AUTHORITY
EAST L AKE ♦ LEECH LAKE ♦ MILLE LACS ♦ SANDY LAKE ♦ WHITE E ARTH
June 28, 2021
SENT VIA EMAIL ONLY
Sheriff Cory Aukes
[email protected] Hubbard County
301 Court Ave.
Park Rapids, Minnesota 56470
Re: Treaty protected uses of public lands,
Public waters and existing public roadways
Dear Sheriff Aukes:
Previously, I sent NOTICE to your office via email on June 2nd to you and the
Northern Lights Task Force Sheriffs regarding NOTICE of White Earth off reservation
tribal court (treaty territories) and Chippewa treaty protected uses of public lands. I am
now attaching a copy of 1855 Treaty Authority email correspondence to Aitkin County
Sheriff Dan Guida dated June 25 to give some guidance on Chippewa treaty protected
uses of public lands, waters and roads.
From a federal treaty rights perspective, the Chippewas have rights in common
across northern Minnesota roughly north of I-94. It does not matter which reservation or
tribe. The primary place for Chippewa to exercise off-reservation treaty rights and
usufructuary activities are public lands and public waters, using public roads, which is
where most of the east-west pipeline corridor is located in Minnesota. Essentially, the
Chippewa have a superior, federal, perpetual, conservation easement and usufructuary
rights across public lands and public waters, using public roads.
It appears that the undated NOTICE from you and Hubbard County Land
Commissioner Lohmeier, (attached) hand delivered by deputies this morning with a
TREATY WITH THE CHIPPEWA, 1855.
Feb. 22, 1855. | 10 Stat., 1165. | Ratified March 3, 1855. | Proclaimed Apr. 7, 1855.
10:00 AM threat to barricade vehicle access today, intentionally violates Chippewa treaty
rights and simple due process of law. Normally a governing body would give notice with
opportunity to be heard about closing access to what has been open and public, sole road
access since the easement dated May 22, 2018 RE: parcel 25.35.01070, which clearly
provides that “for valuable consideration, the County of Hubbard, a municipal
corporation, hereby conveys and quitclaims to Winona LaDuke, Grantee and heirs and
assigns, a non-exclusive easement for access, ingress and egress . . .” with responsibility
of construction and maintenance and revert from non-use. (see-attached Easement)
Here, it appears that the Sheriff is unilaterally taking actions to violate people’s
civil rights like abrupt closure of an open, public roadway that has been used
continuously for years, (See Sheriff seeks parcel closure ahead of Line 3 protests PR
Enterprise 6-17-21 attached) and which action has a disproportionate and disparate
impact on the public’s and tribal member’s rights to travel, use and occupy public lands,
waters and roadways. Access to land that is held by the State of Minnesota, whether
DNR or Tax Forfeit Lands, are the primary, public and open places for the Chippewa to
exercise our treaty and other tribal rights under Minn. v. Mille Lacs, 1999. Enbridge and
the PUC decided to route Line 3 pipeline through state forest, public lands and waters.
Re: Treaty protected uses of public lands and roads
June 28, 2021, page 2.
Please consider the disproportionate and disparate impacts on federally-protected,
tribal member’s rights to access privately held, fee owned property, by existing road to
that land, where people are exercising free speech and freedom of religion. Tribal
members have right to travel, use and occupy the public roadways until a lawful NOTICE
and opportunity to be heard is provided. Ask yourselves, are you blocking or barricading
anyone else’s only, and sole, existing roadway access to the privately-held, fee lands? Is
the normal Hubbard practice to send a Sheriff with a 4 hour notice for private land owner
disputes, which are usually civil in nature, without any direction from the Hubbard
County governing body or court order?
If you have any other questions or need of assistance with this matter please call
on me at by phone or email at the above contacts. Mii gwitch!
Sincerely,
/s/ Frank Bibeau
Frank Bibeau
Executive Director
Attachments
cc: W. Anders Folk, Acting United States Attorney Minnesota by Justin Lock
Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General by Keaon Dousti
Michael Fairbanks, Chairman, White Earth
Alan Roy, Secretary/Treasurer, White Earth
Ray Auginaush, Sr., District 1 White Earth
Kathy Goodwin, District 2, White Earth
Cheryl ‘Annie’ Jackson, District 3, White Earth
Leonard Fairbanks, Legal Director, White Earth
Jaime Arsenault, Tribal Historic Preservation Office, White Earth
Alfred Fox, Chief Conservation Officer, White Earth
Winona LaDuke, White Earth (Ojibwe) Chippewa
Sarah Strommen, Commissioner, MN/DNR
Hubbard County Attorney Jonathan Frieden, [email protected]
Hubbard County Land Commissioner Mark Lohmeier
Re: Treaty protected uses of public lands and roads
June 28, 2021, page 3.
