Five Michigan Indian tribes have decided to challenge the state’s decision to hold a wolf hunt in the western Upper Peninsula this coming fall.
The tribes of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority say the state did not consult with them in a meaningful way before establishing a gray wolf season, and that’s required by a 2007 consent decree.
Aaron Payment, chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, says the wolf is sacred in tribal culture and the hunting season disrespects that.
“The five tribes that are a party to the consent decree are unified that we are going to take some steps, and we’re not exactly sure what that is at this point, but we’re not happy with the outcome,” he says.
Payment says the treaty gives the tribes options including mediating a resolution or going to court.
State officials say the treaty was respected and that the tribes were consulted as part of the process that set up a wolf season.
“The tribes have been involved. They were part of the wolf management plan. They were at the table at that point in time. We greatly respect their authorities within their ceded territories, and we’ll continue to refine the process over time,” says Keith Creigh, the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He says the state’s actions have no effect on tribes’ rights to manage wolves on tribal land.
