# Oklahoma tribe files claim on North Bass Island



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Oklahoma tribe files claim on North Bass Island
Ottawas seek fishing, not gambling, lawyer says 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1112779865257350.xml

Wednesday, April 06, 2005 , 
Tom Breckenridge, Plain Dealer Reporter
[email protected], 216-999-4695 

The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma wants to take back a chunk of North Bass Island to fish, not to gamble, a lawyer for the tribe says. 

And the Ottawas want damages for the loss of their island acreage for 172 years. If the claim is valid, it could be worth millions of dollars from the state, one legal expert says.

The Ottawa tribe is pressing a claim for 350 acres, more than half of Ohio's northernmost island in Lake Erie. North Bass Island lies 18 miles off Port Clinton, two miles south of the Canadian border. 

All of the 350 acres is owned by the state, which bought most of the sparsely populated island for $17.4 million in 2003. 

The Ottawas are among at least three tribes that have pursued a casino in Ohio. But Columbus lawyer Richard Rogovin insisted the Ottawas are not using the land claim to leverage a settlement for a casino, as tribes are trying in several other states. 

"I can truthfully say casinos have never come up in discussion with the state, nor would it," Rogovin said. 

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro is "very skeptical" and will hire outside experts to help study the tribe's claim, spokeswoman Kim Norris said. 

The Ottawas controlled a large chunk of northwest Ohio in the 1700s. They used North Bass Island as an outpost for fishing, hunting and trade. 

From 1783 to 1822, the Canadian border ran through half of North Bass Island, Rogovin said. That land was not affected by treaties the Ottawas and other tribes struck as settlers moved west, Rogovin said. 

The U.S.-Canadian boundary moved north of the island in 1822, but "no treaty was ever made with respect to this island," Rogovin said. 

The tribe also claims it gained hunting and fishing rights to Lake Erie under an 1805 treaty with the federal government. 

The Ottawas "never ceded their rights to North Bass Island," Rogovin said. 

The tribe wants to set up a fishing fleet on the island, Rogovin said. 

Federal courts have held that tribes can take up to half of the annual fish harvest enjoyed by the non-American Indian population, Rogovin said. That means the Ottawa could take up to 2,400 tons of fish a year, he said. 

A catch of that size could potentially upset the lake fishery, which is managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. An ODNR official said it was "too early and too speculative" to talk about the Ottawas' plan. 

The 1,000-member tribe also wants damages for being deprived of its land. That could be worth millions if the Ottawas' claim is legitimate, said Blake Watson, a University of Dayton law professor and an expert on American Indian law. 

Tribes elsewhere have sued states and filed claims with the federal government to assert property rights. Rogovin said it's too early to talk about such actions. 

Anti-gambling opponent David Zanotti is among those skeptical that the Ottawas want to open a fishing business. "It's suspect that this happens now," said Zanotti, noting that tribal casinos are a hot topic in Ohio.


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