United States v. 4,450.72 ACRES OF LAND

• Decision Date: 07 March 1939
• Docket Number: No. 932.,932.
• Citation: 27 F. Supp. 167
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. 4,450.72 ACRES OF LAND, CLEARWATER COUNTY, STATE OF MINNESOTA et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

27 F. Supp. 167

UNITED STATES v. 4,450.72 ACRES OF LAND, CLEARWATER COUNTY, STATE OF MINNESOTA et al.

No. 932.

District Court, D. Minnesota, Sixth Division.

March 7, 1939.

Victor E. Anderson, U. S. Atty., of St. Paul, Minn., and C. U. Landrum, Sp. Asst. U. S. Atty., and D. N. Lindeman, Sp. Atty., both of Detroit Lakes, Minn., for the United States.

William S. Ervin, Atty. Gen. of Minnesota, Frank H. Osterlind, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Armond D. Brattland and George

Cahill, Sp. Asst. Attys. Gen., for respondents.

NORDBYE, District Judge.

On the 23rd day of June, 1926, Congress enacted certain legislation whereby there was created a reserve to be known as the Wild Rice Lake Reserve, for the exclusive use and benefit of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota. This Act reads (44 Stat. 763):

"An Act Setting aside Rice Lake and contiguous lands in Minnesota for the exclusive use and benefit of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota.

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

"That there be, and is hereby, created within the limits of the White Earth Indian Reservation in the State of Minnesota a reserve to be known as Wild Rice Lake Reserve, for the exclusive use and benefit of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, which reserve shall include Rice Lake and the following described contiguous lands, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 8 in township 145 north, range 38 west, and running due east to the northeast corner of southeast quarter of section 9; thence south to northeast corner of northeast quarter of section 16; thence due east to northeast corner of northeast quarter of section 14, township 145 north, range 38 west; thence due south to southeast corner of northeast quarter of section 2, township 144 north, range 38 west; thence due west to southwest corner of northwest quarter of section 3 of said township and range; thence due north to southwest corner of northwest quarter of section 15, township 145 north, range 38 west; thence due west to southwest corner of northwest quarter of section 16; thence due north to northwest corner of northwest quarter of said section 16; thence west to southwest corner of southeast quarter of southeast quarter of section 8; thence north to point of beginning, which, excluding the lake bed, contains approximately four thousand five hundred acres.

"Sec. 2. All unallotted and undisposed of lands within the area described in section 1 hereof are hereby permanently withdrawn from sale or other disposition and are made a part of said reserve, and the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire by purchase any lands within said area now owned by the State of Minnesota or in private ownership at a price not to exceed $5 per acre, and to acquire from private owners by condemnation proceedings, in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota relating to the condemnation of private property for public use, any lands within said area which can not be purchased at the price herein named; the purchase price and costs of acquiring said lands to be paid out of the trust fund standing to the credit of all the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota in the Treasury of the United States upon warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Interior.

"Sec. 3. The reserve hereby created shall be maintained for the exclusive use and benefit of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior and under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the said Secretary.

"Approved, June 23, 1926."

The only unallotted lands consist of small tracts held by the Government in trust for certain full-blooded and mixed-blood Indians. No lands were purchased by the Government in pursuance of this Act. Attempts have been made from time to time to procure swamp lands from the State, but all efforts were apparently unsuccessful. However, on July 30, 1934, a petition in condemnation was filed in behalf of the petitioner, but at that time proceedings had already been instituted in behalf of the State to acquire a part of the lands described in the so-called Wild Rice Lake Reserve.

The State had for some time interested itself in lower Wild Rice Lake as a reserve for a public hunting ground and game refuge. Although it had refused to sell the lands owned by it to the Government, it had manifested an intention and desire to cooperate with the Government in preserving the rights of the Chippewa Indians in and to the wild rice growing in this lake. It appears that there grows in Wild Rice Lake one of the finest beds of wild rice in the entire state, and the Indians from time immemorial have looked to the wild rice growing in this lake as one of their chief sources of food. In furtherance of the policy of cooperation, the Legislature of the State in the year 1929 passed an act granting to the Chippewa Indians exclusive right to collect the wild rice growing in this lake, and since that time, with the cooperation of the Conservation Department of the State, camp sites have been maintained for the Indians, sanitary conditions have been improved, and dams have been constructed so that the water levels of the lake might be kept uniform and thus aid the production of wild rice.

The State has enacted the following legislation (Chap. 120, Laws of 1929, Sections 6131-1, 2 and 3, Mason's Minn.Stat. 1938 Supp.):

"The exclusive right of collecting wild rice on lower Rice Lake in Clearwater County is hereby granted the Chippewa Band of Indians residing in the State of Minnesota, and the Indians and all other persons are hereby prohibited from the shooting of migratory birds on said lake during each season until the Indians have completed their rice collecting operations; provided, that such date of completion of rice collecting operation shall be determined by the Commissioner of Game and Fish and a Council appointed by the Band of Chippewa Indians so engaged in collecting of the rice upon said lake.

"The existing water level in said lake shall not be changed by any public or private agency so as to interfere with the growth or harvesting of wild rice in said lake.

"The provisions of this act shall be severable, and if any provision shall be held invalid it shall not affect any other provision hereof."

In May, 1934, the State instituted its proceedings in condemnation, and on December 31, 1934, after a hearing in State Court, at which the Government was represented and presented objections to the granting of the State's petition, the State District Court made its order appropriating the area described in the State's petition for a public hunting ground and game reserve, and specifically and exclusively reserved to the Chippewa Indians the right to harvest wild rice in the area. The State proceedings embraced the lands described in the 1926 Act of Congress and additional lands contiguous thereto.

The Government's first petition was not presented to this Court until January 2, 1935, which was after the order of appropriation by the State District Court. On February 23, 1935, this Court denied without prejudice the Government's petition for condemnation. It was the Court's opinion that the Act of 1926 and the prior general legislation of August 1, 1888 (25 Stat. 357, 40 U.S.C.A. § 257) did not specifically authorize the Government to condemn state-owned lands, and in view of the allowance of the State's petition for condemnation after the Act of 1926, and the apparent conflict between the two sovereigns which had developed, this Court concluded that, in view of these new circumstances, Congress should specifically express its intention to condemn state-owned lands, and to that end should enact further legislation as to the necessity and desirability of further proceedings. This Congress did in Public Resolution No. 217, which was approved on July 24, 1935, and which is entitled, "To amend an Act entitled `An Act setting aside Rice Lake and contiguous lands in Minnesota for the exclusive use and benefit of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota', approved June 23, 1926, and for other purposes." This resolution reads (49 Stat. 496):

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled `An Act setting aside Rice Lake and contiguous lands in Minnesota for the exclusive use and benefit of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota', approved June 23, 1926 (44 Stat.L. 763), be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"`That there be, and is hereby, created within the county of Clearwater, State of Minnesota, a permanent reserve to be known as `Wild Rice Lake Indian Reserve', which reserve shall include Rice Lake and the following-described contiguous lands: Beginning at the northwest corner of the northeast quarter southeast quarter section 8, township 145 north, range 38 west, and running due east to the northeast corner of southeast quarter section 9; thence south to northeast corner of northeast quarter section 16; thence due east to northeast corner of northeast quarter section 14, township 145 north, range 38 west; thence due south to southeast corner of northeast quarter section 2, township 144 north, range 38 west; thence due west to southwest corner of northwest quarter section 3 of said township and range; thence due north to southwest corner of northwest quarter section 15, township 145 north, range 38 west; thence due west to southwest corner of northwest quarter section 16; thence due north to northwest corner of northwest quarter said section 16; thence west to southwest corner of southeast quarter southeast quarter section 8; thence north to point of beginning, which, excluding the lake bed, contains approximately four thousand five hundred acres.

"`Sec. 2. All unallotted and undisposed-of public or Indian lands held in trust by the United States within the area described...