Hate crime charges dropped in guilty plea
Man fined for firing gun near tribal spearfishers
EAGLE RIVER — A St. Germain man who fired his gun as Ojibwe spearfishers boated on the lake near his home last year had hate crime charges dropped against him and will instead pay a $343.50 fine and serve no jail time, a Vilas County judge ruled this month, to the ire and frustration of tribal members and their supporters.
“It’s basically 300 and something dollars to shoot at us as we practice our treaty rights to fish,” said Greg Johnson (Biskakone).
Johnson, 44, who is a Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe tribal member, was spearfishing at about 9 p.m. on May 2, 2020, on Little Saint Germain Lake with three other adults in the boat.
He said they were steering clear of any houses along the shore as they were fishing and boating.
They were about 20 yards out from 62-year-old James Kelsey’s property when Biskakone said he heard somebody yelling something from there about fishing, but couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying because the boat’s engine was running as they were traveling by.
A moment later, shots rang out and Biskakone said they sped up the boat to get away.
Vilas County Sheriff Joseph Fath had said Kelsey had not meant to frighten tribal harvesters and Kelsey said he was shooting at a squirrel.
Vilas County District Attorney Martha Milanowski said the modifier charges of a hate crime and use of a dangerous weapon were dropped against Kelsey because he plead guilty to possessing a firearm while intoxicated and interfering with Ojibwe fishing rights, which is a citation from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Kelsey can have the charge of possessing a firearm while intoxicated removed from his record if he accomplishes certain criteria over the next year, which include 80 hours of community service, no drinking or possession of alcohol and no possession of firearms.
He also must write a letter of apology to the victims, which must include an acknowledgment of the right of Indigenous people to exercise their treaty rights, which will be published in local newspapers.
These 19th-century treaties with the federal government promised the Ojibwe people the right to harvest, hunt and fish for sustenance in northern Wisconsin off-reservation in exchange for relinquishing the Ceded Territory of 22,400 square miles to the U.S. for extraction of timber and other resources.
Biskakone and his companions were fishing in the Ceded Territory.
“My family doesn’t eat fish sticks,” he said. “We eat fish from the lake like my ancestors did.”
About two dozen protesters stood outside the Vilas County Courthouse
during the Jan. 7 hearing with some signs reading “A slap on the wrist is a slap in our face. File appropriate charges,” “Standing together against racism” and “Treaty rights: Respect not fear.”
The incident is reminiscent of the conflicts 30-plus years ago when spearfishers had to make their way through mobs of angry protesters throwing rocks at them and screaming obscenities.
The 1980s and 1990s were a tumultuous time in northern Wisconsin fueled by ignorance and racism after congressional treaty rights had been reaffirmed for the Ojibwe people through a series of federal court rulings collectively known as the Voigt decision.
“You can’t imagine what we went through,” said Tom Maulson, 79, former chairman of the LDF Nation and Great Lake Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. “It’s hard to talk about, even now.”
While officials say much of the violence has calmed since then, Biskakone said he and his fellow spearfishers are still shot at almost every year, but this is the first time someone has been arrested. He said spearfishers are “sitting ducks” on the lakes at night because there are lights from the boat.
Brandon Thoms, 48, an LDF descendant who lives in the area, said incidents of people interfering or intimidating tribal members practicing their rights still happen often.
“They’re not widely reported because a lot of the time people don’t want to come forward because of this type of outcome (in the Kelsey case),” he said.
Officials said perpetuators are misinformed about the impact of tribal spearfishers.
Todd Ambs, assistant deputy secretary of the DNR, said some non-Native people think spearfishers significantly decrease and damage the fish population, but that’s simply not the case.
He said an extra harvest is not given to tribal members. Rather, he said it’s a component of a shared harvest and harvest amounts for tribal members are carefully tracked to ensure they do not exceed their quota limit.
There are about 500 tribal spearers in the state compared with about 2 million licensed anglers. Spearers typically harvest, on average, two to four walleyes from a lake one or two nights a year.
“Other (non-tribal) anglers have harvested substantially more,” Ambs said.
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission meticulously monitors harvests in the Ceded Territory and its officials also were displeased with the outcome of the Kelsey case.
“The outcome is unfortunate, however it serves as a stark reminder of the necessity for continued public outreach regarding treaty rights and Ojibwe life-way,” said Dylan Jennings, spokesman for the commission. “It’s both sad and unfortunate that it’s been over 35 years since treaty reaffirmation, and we are still experiencing racial harassment and inequity in how these types of cases are prosecuted.”
The commission recently released an article advising treaty practitioners how to deal with harassment, which includes immediately creating a safe distance from the perpetuators and documenting the event, including location.
Frank Vaisvilas is a Report For America corps member based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette covering Native American issues in Wisconsin. He can be reached at 920-228-0437 or fvaisvilas@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.