Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S.

404 (1968), was a case in which the S

upreme Court ruled that the Menominee Indian Tribe would keep their historical h
unting and fishing rights even after the federal government ceased to recognize
the tribe. It was a landmark decision in Native American case law. The tribe, le
d by Menominee Nation Chief Oshkosh (pictured), had entered into treaties with t
he United States which did not specifically state that they retained hunting and
fishing rights. In 1961, Congress terminated the tribe's federal recognition, a
nd two years later, three members of the tribe were charged with violating Wisco
nsin's hunting laws on former reservation land. The Indians were acquitted, but
when the state appealed, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the tribe no long
er had hunting and fishing rights due to the termination action. The tribe sued
the United States in the U.S. Court of Claims, which ruled that tribal members r
etained those rights. Opposite rulings by the state and federal courts brought t
he issue to the Supreme Court, which ruled in the tribe's favor.