Court denies Indian tribe fishing rights on Lake Erie

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court in Ohio has rejected the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma’s claim that it should be given commercial fishing rights on Lake Erie without government restrictions.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here says the tribe gave up its fishing rights when it moved out of northwestern Ohio in the early 1800s.

The tribe filed a lawsuit four years ago against the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, saying the state shouldn’t be allowed to regulate or limit the tribe’s fishing rights based on a 200-year-old treaty.

The state argued that the tribe’s complaint was based on a treaty that had nothing to do with Lake Erie or fishing rights.