Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Voigt

The principal case on this consolidated appeal, Lac Courte Oreilles Band v. Voight (LCO) was an action for a declaratory judgment that a band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (LCO band) has retained treaty-reserved off-reservation hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering rights, collectively termed "usufructuary rights," in public lands in the northern third of Wisconsin and that such rights preclude State regulation. The defendants in LCO are primarily State officials who are being sued in both their individual and representative capacities. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court granted the defendants motion, reasoning that the Indians usufructuary rights were released or extinguished by the Treaty of September 30, 1854 (Treaty of 1854). In reaching this conclusion, the district judge expressly rejected the States contention that the usufructuary rights had been revoked by the Executive Order of February 6, 1850 (Removal Order of 1850).