In May, long time NLG affiliated attorney, Larry Leventhal, accomplished a victory when a U.S. District Court judge dismissed charges against his clients in a dispute over access to the venerated Coldwater Springs, the natural spring situated between Minnehaha Falls and Fort Snelling.

The charges stemmed from an October 5, 2005 incident when Jim Anderson, Chris Mato Nunpa and Susu Jeffrey asserted they did not need a federal permit to visit Coldwater Springs to pray and collect water.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) begged to differ, having restricted visits to the site to one hour per week for purported safety reasons.  The three were charged with petty misdemeanors of failure to obtain a permit and failure to comply with an officer.The defense was prepared to argue that the 1805 Dakota-Pike Treaty, which ceded land for Fort Snelling, retained Native usage rights that would limit the ability of the federal government to regulate the site, formerly known as Camp Coldwater.  Protecting Indian rights has been a specialty of Larry's for decades.This defense, or any other defense for that matter, was rendered unnecessary as the judge dismissed the charges after the prosecution rested.  The judge found the FWS permit enforcement problematic and after making an initial declaration that the 1805 treaty was “invalid”, made a decision that circumvented the Indian rights issue.The defendants were hoping for more of an opportunity to establish the treaty rights argument in court, if one reads between the lines of Coldwater Journal, the on-line news column of the Friends of Coldwater web-site.  The NLG community still celebrates their victory given the news story headline “We Won! (sort of).”  Congratulations to Larry and the to the Defendants for defending treaty and Native rights. For more information,  see www.friendsofcoldwater.org

by Carla J. Magnuson