Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Stop Treaty Abuse-Wisconsin, Inc.

The Lac Du Flambeau band (plaintiff), part of the Lake Superior Chippewa tribe, retained treaty rights to hunt and fish - including spear fishing, otherwise illegal for non-Indians in most of Wisconsin - on land the Chippewa ceded to the United States in mid-1800s treaties. Starting in 1988, Stop Treaty Abuse-Wisconsin (STA) (defendant) organized large protests at Chippewa spear-fishing sites, using motorboats to obstruct fishing and disturb fish, hurling racial slurs and derogatory names at the Chippewa, and distributing pamphlets depicting them as lazy and government-dependent. The band sought a permanent injunction against STA under 42 U.S.C. § 1982, which guarantees all individuals the same property rights enjoyed by white citizens, and the district court initially granted the band summary judgment; the Seventh Circuit remanded for a specific finding on whether racial discrimination actually occurred.