1854 Treaty Authority News

Miigwech to all who participated and shared knowledge during NAAWIKWAM, the Tribal Youth Winter Camp last weekend. We did a little ice angling, discussed careers in natural resources with a panel of staffers from Voyageurs National Park, experienced a dark skies interpretive program offered by Voyageurs Conservancy, and certified a handful of new, SAFE, snow machine riders! See the full album of photos on 1854's Facebook page.

The 1854 Treaty Authority is hiring! We are looking for some motivated individuals to join our Resource Management crew for the 2026 season. Applications are due March 6th, 2026.

Please submit a completed 1854 Treaty Authority general application, a resume, a copy of your transcripts and cover letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Resource Management Division Director.

For anyone who taps, works with those who tap, or are interested in learning more about relationships with sugar maple, UW Extension is hosting a Sugar Maple Storytelling Online Gathering on Thursday February 12, 6-7:30pm CST. This online event will bring together community members from across sugar maple territory to share stories, concerns, and teachings to help current an future generations care for ziinzibaakwadwaatig (ininaatig), sugar maple.

For more information and to register for the gathering please see the attached flyer or go to the following link:

The Lake Superior Estuarium is launching a new exhibit on March 27th! What can we all learn from Ishkode (fire in Ojibwemowin)? Join them for an open house, celebration, and panel discussion about joint efforts to restore cultural prescribed fires to the pine forests of Gibiskising-minis, also known as Wisconsin and Minnesota points. 

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Read the Statement of Purpose and Need Here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r09/superior/publication/alerts/09-09-26-02%20Statement%20of%20Purpose%20of%20Need.pdf

1854 Treaty Authority's Resource Management Division is hiring a full-time Fish and Wildlife Technician. Applications are due February 6th, 2026. 

Please submit a completed 1854 Treaty Authority general application, a resume, a copy of your transcripts and cover letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Resource Management Division Director.

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We hear that some lakes have as much as 5-7" of ice on already! If you're thinking about angling, don't forget that treaty harvesters can set UNATTENDED LINES. The 1854 Treaty Authority must be informed of WHO and on WHAT waterbodies, and that can be done ONLINE (Under QuickLinks on our home page):

Filling out this Google form satisfies the requirement to notify the 1854 Treaty Authority of intent to set unattended fishing lines in the 1854 Ceded Territory as per the 1854 Ceded Territory Conservation Code. 

Alternatively, an 1854 Treaty Authority Conservation Officer can be informed directly:

Clay Rumph: (218) 340-7559

Leo Vidal: (218) 591-3256

Marty Stage: (218) 464-8906

See page 50 of the 1854 Ceded Territory Conservation Code for the regulations:

SUBDIVISION 8. ANGLING - ICE

(A) NUMBER OF LINESWhile ice fishing, each Band member may use no more than four (4) lines(attended, unattended, or both) at any one time and only two (2) lines ondesignated trout waters.

(B) UNATTENDED LINES

1. All unattended line shall be securely anchored so as not to be dislodged by a hooked fish.

2. Prior to fishing with unattended lines, band members shall inform the 1854 Treaty Authority of his/her name, address, phone number, and of the lakes upon which the band member intends to utilize unattended lines. Band members shall notify the 1854 TreatyAuthority if additional lakes are to be fished with unattended lines.

3. A Band Member may not set out an unattended line unless theBand Member's name and Ceded Territory identification number is stamped or engraved on a metal tag at least 5/8" inch by 2" inch in size and attached to the line.

4. The location of each unattended line shall be reasonably marked with an object of a height at least one (1) foot above the snow line so as to be visible to vehicular traffic.

5. Each unattended line must be checked at least once every 24 hours.

(C) ICE HOLE SIZESHoles for ice fishing (angling and unattended lines) may not exceed twelve (12) inches in diameter.

(D) ICE SHELTERSAll shelters, which include dark houses and fish houses, placed on the ice on...

1854 Treaty Authority's BIBOON 2025/2026 Newsletter is now available.

"Biboon is a time of rest for the natural world; a time to conserve energy…" and this edition provides great content to enjoy sitting next to a cozy fire. We welcome you to take it in and contemplate - remind yourself of the love of winter, the importance of eating with purpose and feeding our families, and the value of preserving culture through treaty harvest. 

REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/APwXYXaDfv9xTrRu5

*MIIGWECH - SNOWSHOE LACING FILLED UP IN A MATTER OF 5 HOURS! STAY TUNED TO LEARN IF WE SCHEDULE ANOTHER WORKSHOP*

1854 Treaty Authority's Resource Management Division is hiring an Environmental Specialist. This vacancy closes December 12th, 2025.

General organization application can be found here: Application for Employment

1854 Treaty Authority has received the Partnership Award from the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC).

MAISRC is a state-funded organization composed primarily of various researchers from the University of Minnesota. 1854 has partnered with them and the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (UMD NRRI) on multiple research projects (Rusty crayfish and Manoomin 2023-2024, Mystery Snails and Manoomin 2026-2027). We have also provided input and guidance by serving on their Technical Committee to refine their list of priority invasive species, and taken part in their Research Needs Assessment to discuss potential impacts of invasive species and what projects should be submitted for research proposals. 

Miigwech MAISRC

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1854 Treaty Authority's DAGWAAGIN 2025 Newsletter is now available.

Approved 2025 hunting and trapping season dates are included within this edition, along with hunting registration station locations and information on our special early youth deer hunt (with a raffle prize for participants)!

Join us in congratulating 1854's Nick Bogyo, awarded Native American Fish And Wildlife Great Lakes Region's 'Biologist of the Year', and follow up on our tribal youth as they embarked on our natural resources career exploration camp this past August. Get an update on the return of manoomin to the St. Louis River Estuary, and learn more about wiigwasi-jiimaan within.

Photo credits: Rick Novitsky

For Immediate Release

Duluth, MN – September 4^rd, 2025 – During the week of August 4^th through the 8^th, 2025, ten Native American youth spent a week with the 1854 Treaty Authority exploring careers in natural resource management while participating in camp Nenda Gikendan Noopiming gaye Nibiing (seeking knowledge in the woods and place of water) at the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center in Ely, Minnesota.

This action-packed camp experience aims to recruit Tribal youth to pursue careers and/or college majors in the environmental sciences. "By exposing students to current management projects and meeting face-to-face with other Tribal professionals, these kids get to take part in the conversation", says 1854 Treaty Authority's Cultural Preservation Specialist, Marne Kaeske. "We hope this is the carrot for filling our shoes in the future with passionate professionals that have deep-rooted values."

Camp participants, ages ten to fifteen, spent time in classroom sessions, field trips, and working alongside biologists, engineers, and conservation enforcement officers in a variety of fish and game monitoring activities. Some of the highlights included electro-fish surveying a stream to assess the presence of fish species, visiting the International Wolf Center and discussing the cultural significance of ma'iingan (wolf) with a native Elder, meeting a conservation enforcement K9 and their handler, planning and implementing a mock prescribed burn, angling, as well as trapping and enjoying an invasive species Rusty Crayfish low-country boil.

"There are some really amazing protection and restoration programs targeting culturally significant species happening here in the 1854 Ceded Territory", says Kaeske. "Hats off to our organization staff and other agency professionals that contributed to the camp's successes and shared those stories," says Kaeske.

This endeavor could not have taken place without the support of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Tribal Youth Initiative project funding, of which 1854 Treaty Authority was a grant recipient in 2025. This funding is for the development of programs targeting Tribal youth that focus on science and pertain to conservation and resource management. Funds are distributed on a competitive basis between twelve regions, where Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments and Native American Organizations authorized by Tribal Governments are both eligible to apply for.

The 1854 Treaty Authority is an inter-tribal natural resource management organization that protects and implements the off-reservation hunting, fishing and gathering rights for the Grand Portage and Bois Forte bands in the lands ceded to the United States government under the Treaty of La Pointe, 1854.

For more information, contact Marne Kaeske, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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To view more photos from camp Nenda, see 1854's Facebook Page. 

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