Native hunting rights

[the nikster]

Keep it classy please....

I have seen posted on several sites that Native Americans (whom I have always called Indians) are "killing all the big bucks and bulls in their wintering areas".
I do not know nor understand the details of such a remark.
Do natives retain certain inalienable rights pertaining to hunting?
If so, is it allowed both on and off 'The Res'?
Do native have to remain 50% or more blood to qualify?
Are there any bag limits?
Why would a subsistance type person harvest a post rut buck instead of a dry cow?
What figure do states use to quantify/qualify big game management if an unknown number of animals are being harvested?
Does the state have the authority to end such practices if a herd is deemed to be 'in danger'?
I have dozens of ???'s

 

[jlmatthew]

Dont know hardly anything about the rules as they apply to Indians. I know Colorado recently made some deal with the Ute's that allows them to hunt outside the Reservation in the Southwest part of the State

I have no problem with it as long as they can only use Bow & Arrows that they themselves made.

 

[sneakem]

Dont know hardly anything about the rules as they apply to Indians. I know Colorado recently made some deal with the Ute's that allows them to hunt outside the Reservation in the Southwest part of the State

Brunot agreement 1874....not so recent...

Some reservations have strict management.... others don't...often quite liberal seasons...most all reservations have some sort of game and fish, so yes there are rules...

 

[nageezihunter]

i'm a native american (NAVAJO) who lives in NM. as far as i know the Navajo Nation has hunting regulations just like any other states. as a tribal member.... I still have to put in an application for all big game hunting on tribal lands. nothing is free. I submit hunting applications to both NM and Navajo big game hunts. I know other tribes give out free tags for each species and number of tags for person. Every nation has different rules.

 

[highground34]

"Hunting with only the bow and arrow that they made" might be fun for all of us to do. That or the next time you go golfing put your set of Ping clubs in the trunk and use a twig with a hunk of peuter stuck on the end of it with pine tar and post your scores in the club house. Good laughs. The lack of knowledge always seems to breed lots of ideas, the problem is those ideas are usually bad ones. It might be nice for all of us to go all natural for one season to see what it is like as a group.

 

[the nikster]

... go all natural for one season to see what it is like as a group.

you mean sleep with no undies?

 

[belly-deep]

"Hunting with only the bow and arrow that they made" might be fun for all of us to do. That or the next time you go golfing put your set of Ping clubs in the trunk and use a twig with a hunk of peuter stuck on the end of it with pine tar and post your scores in the club house. Good laughs. The lack of knowledge always seems to breed lots of ideas, the problem is those ideas are usually bad ones. It might be nice for all of us to go all natural for one season to see what it is like as a group.

I think you missed the point...

 

[TheTone]

Depends a ton on the reservation, tribe and treaty. I'm fairly familiar with a couple in Idaho, one has different seasons for on and off reservation hunting, very generous tags allocation and pricing, and does have some enforcement over its members. The other one I'm familiar with has very, very little in the way of seasons or management, essentially from what I can gather it is a free for all. I also know Idaho has some sort of agreements with them to report harvest but that essentially never happens.

 

[jlmatthew]

I think you missed the point...

Thats a big 10-4

Here's the article I saw a couple of years ago. Why do I remember this stuff LOL!

State Signs MOU with Southern Ute Indian Tribe Concerning Brunot Agreement


The Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Colorado Wildlife Commission, Governor Ritter and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) concerning wildlife management and enforcement in an area known as the Brunot area.

In 1874, Congress approved an agreement between the United States and certain Ute Indians in Colorado, known as the "Brunot Agreement". Under this agreement, the Utes ceded certain land to the United States but reserved a right to hunt on those lands for "so long as the game lasts and the Indians are at peace with the white people." The Brunot Agreement covers land now known as the Brunot Area, which roughly extends from U.S. Highway 160 on the south to the southern boundaries of Montrose and Gunnison counties on the north and from the middle of Mineral County on the east to just west of Cortez on the west.

Since 1972, the Tribe has refrained from exercising its rights in the Brunot area but, after a recent decision of the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council, the Tribe now plans to allow tribal members to exercise their rights under the Brunot Agreement. Prior to exercising those rights, however, the Tribe and the Division of Wildlife worked together to develop an MOU in recognition of the parties’ shared responsibility for the well-being and perpetuation of the wildlife resources and habitat of the area. In addition, both parties sought to ensure communication and cooperation in the use of the area by their respective constituents. Therefore, the parties have agreed in the MOU to maintain a strong and cooperative dialog regarding wildlife, especially related to the harvest of game species and management within the Brunot area. The Tribe and the State also agreed to recognize and respect the jurisdiction of each other and to work cooperatively in the conduct of law enforcement operations of mutual interest.

"The MOU will help foster sound wildlife management between the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe," said Tom Remington, Director of the Division of Wildlife. "We are pleased that in seeking to hunt and fish under the Brunot Agreement, the Tribe has chosen to work with the state in order to protect wildlife in the Brunot area into the future. It clearly demonstrates the Tribe intends to hunt and fish under the agreement in a cooperative and responsible way."

The Tribe has managed and operated a professional wildlife management program on its reservation in southwest Colorado for a number of years and will adopt rules for hunting and fishing by tribal members within the Brunot area in a manner consistent with its existing practices. These rules will set forth the seasons for tribal member hunting, methods of take, species to be harvested and other regulations. The MOU includes agreement regarding the types of species to be taken and a process by which allocation of rare game species such as moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats will be equitably allocated between tribal hunters and hunters licensed by the Division of Wildlife. There are currently 1,431 members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe but, on average, only 225 members obtain deer or elk licenses annually for hunting on the Reservation. Importantly, the Brunot Agreement does not give members of the tribe any rights to hunt on private land in the Brunot area without first obtaining landowner permission and Brunot hunting rights are not transferable to other hunters who do not belong to Ute tribes.

Tom Spezze, Southwest Regional Manager for the Division of Wildlife said “We have had a very good working relationship with the Southern Utes for many years, and we look forward to working closely with the Tribe to accomplish our mutual goal of protecting our shared wildlife resource in the Brunot Area."

Division of Wildlife staff and Southern Ute Indian Tribe staff will host several open house events to answer any questions concerning the agreement and provide copies of the MOU and maps of the Brunot area. The public may come and go as they choose. The open house events are scheduled for:

Durango, Oct. 14, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the County Extension Offices, Animas room, 2500 Main Ave.

Montrose, Oct. 21, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 1391 South Townsend Ave.

Denver, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hunter Education Building, Division of Wildlife Headquarters, 6060 Broadway

 

[Khunter]

Dont know hardly anything about the rules as they apply to Indians.

I have no problem with it as long as they can only use Bow & Arrows that they themselves made.

uh...quit while you are ahead. The first statement was the wisest by a factor of 100 as compared to the 2nd.

 

[sweetnectar]

You have to remember that natives answer to the federal government and not necessarily the state. State governments control hunting in their states but reservations are sovereign of states so they don't have to follow the states rules regarding things like hunting, gambling, state building codes etc.

Now that said, some tribes have entered agreements of various types with states but most tribes have their own management rules regarding the game on their sovereign reservations. Some may have open season 24/7 and others may manage their game for big trophies. The rules differ per reservation.

 

[jlmatthew]

uh...quit while you are ahead. The first statement was the wisest by a factor of 100 as compared to the 2nd.

Sorry, my PC filter needed an update. I rebooted and its back online now

 

[T Bone]

Growing up in Eastern Idaho near a reservation, my impression of Native hunting rights and their use of the game was not positive. That was based on a few experiences and is not a fair representation of the tribe.

Duck Valley Reservation in Southern Idaho/Northern Nevada sure handles their fishing resources well and treat it as a successful business. A few times, I've paid money to fish there and it was worth every dollar. Amazing fishing.

Living in South Dakota where there are bajillions of square miles of reservations that have premium wildlife habitat, I never, ever in my 5 years there, met one native that hunted. I'm sure there are many that still do there, but from the ones I met, they had no need or desire for it. I probably should of looked into aquiring some reservation tags, but I never bothered.

 

[DHaffner]

It depends on the Reservation in SD, some manage their game better than others. I would recommend you check with the County state CO before you buy a res license. There have been incidents where white people hunt on a res then get nailed by the state CO on their way home because the rules are different.

 

[belly-deep]

I've heard Idaho guys over on MM complain that indians go into unit 45, shoot big bucks, and then sell the horns for a pretty penny. I don't know if that is true or not, but I believe the main complaint hunters have is that their license dollars are used to carefully manage a trophy area while the hunters diligently apply for years waiting for a tag. Then a number of indians that the state has little control over come into the hunting area, often in late November or December, and kill a bunch of really big bucks on their winter range. I've heard it happens in MT's 270 unit as well.

 

[----]

I've always heard that in MT, they have free reign on NF lands.
I don't know the actual law on it, but that's what I've always heard, from both FWP employees and tribal members.

 

[belly-deep]

I've always heard that in MT, they have free reign on NF lands.
I don't know the actual law on it, but that's what I've always heard, from both FWP employees and tribal members.

That could be true. Most hunters don't seem to have a problem with it, and most indians don't seem to give a rip about hunting the NF, until some unit like 270 pops up.

I tell you what, I'd give my left one to be enough indian to have the hunting rights they do.

 

[shoots-straight]

That could be true. Most hunters don't seem to have a problem with it, and most indians don't seem to give a rip about hunting the NF, until some unit like 270 pops up.

I tell you what, I'd give my left one to be enough indian to have the hunting rights they do.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, have hunting rights to all unclaimed lands, west of the Continental divide. They do hit the moose, elk, and deer quite regular across that region. They usually do their hunting under the radar of most hunters. I usually see them in August. All tribal members have those rights. The problem with this is they keep lowering their standards to be a tribal member. I think it's like 2% blood now. We do get a fair amount of pressure from those members.

Most hunters don't have a problem with it because they don't know it's going on, and aren't aware of how many animals are taken. The reservation have Bio's but they don't get accurate information. All reporting of animals is voluntary. We repeatedly ask for their bio to come in and give us an accurate count of how many animals these members are taking. So far no luck.

With the resource on the decline in many regions, west of the divide every animal taken should be accounted for. I would love to see mandatory checks for everyone.

 

[idnative1948]

Growing up in Eastern Idaho near a reservation, my impression of Native hunting rights and their use of the game was not positive. That was based on a few experiences and is not a fair representation of the tribe.

Duck Valley Reservation in Southern Idaho/Northern Nevada sure handles their fishing resources well and treat it as a successful business. A few times, I've paid money to fish there and it was worth every dollar. Amazing fishing.

Living in South Dakota where there are bajillions of square miles of reservations that have premium wildlife habitat, I never, ever in my 5 years there, met one native that hunted. I'm sure there are many that still do there, but from the ones I met, they had no need or desire for it. I probably should of looked into aquiring some reservation tags, but I never bothered.

Ever watch them over on the Salmon with their gaffs during the 60's-70's?

 

[the nikster]

I feel like I know a lot more now than before. Not saying I know it all, just more.

I think it would be in everyone's best interest to keep count. Simply from a management perspective we need to know how many animals are winter kill as opposed to harvested.
The native tribes want to see the herds renew themselves as much as the hunting faction does. It just makes sense to me that we keep an accurate count.

I typed a big dang response, then deleted most of it.
Suffice it to say I owe nothing to anyone.