The Origin of Act 31

Written By Alec Romero

Edited By Kiley Brockway

The Wisconsin Act 31 is a Native American education law signed in 1989 by Governor Tommy Thompson. It is a state statute for teaching American Indian studies in Wisconsin. This statute is meant to instruct students from grades 4-12 about American Indian treaty rights. Under Act 31, Wisconsin public district schools must incorporate American Indian studies in their 4-12 grade curriculum, however, the law is vague about how schools and teachers must incorporate that history.

The Wisconsin Act 31 statute was enacted due to the violent conflicts between the Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa) and White fishers about their rights to spearfish in the late 20th century. Spearfishing is an ancient tradition in which the Ojibwe (Chippewa) participate in, using regional waters to survive. However, due to the states’ rules and regulations about harvesting fish, the Ojibwe people were not allowed to fish outside of their reservations.

This contradicted earlier treaties signed between 1778 and 1871, between the U.S. Government and Native American Tribes. Treaties are signed contracts (agreements) to maintain obligation rights to each participating party. They were created to keep peaceful relations, resolve conflicts, and to serve Native Americans their rights such as hunting, fishing, and owning land. These treaties were signed by both parties, in the end the Ojibwe kept their right to hunt and fish on their land.

In the 1970s, Ojibwe activists started the American Indian Movement. AIM is a grassroots organization involved in protesting for the rights of tribal communities across the United States. Their goal is to bring awareness to the lack of basic human needs and lack of recognition for many indigenous communities’ traditions, such as spearfishing rights.

Image: From Milwaukee Sentinel, Headline “95 spearing foes arrested” pictures from a 1989 spearfishing protest at Trout Lake in Vilas County Credit: WUWM

In 1980, the Lake Superior Chippewa were exercising their treaty right to spearfish in non-reservation lands. When it came to the attention of White fishermen and women, they argued that the Ojibwe were not adhering to the same regulations they had to follow for fishing. The White fishers feared that the Ojibwe people were going to overhunt the fish population.

Image: A white mob carrying signs “Wallee or welfare, take your choice” and “Suspend spearfishing” Credit: Project 1492

The fight against spearfishing rights is called “The Walleye War.” In this conflict, many violent and racist protests aimed to interfere with the Ojibwe’s fishing and hunting rights. During the protest, many protestors participated in acts of violence, such as pipe bombs, carrying mock heads of Native Americans on torches and spears, and carrying written signs with racially discriminatory language such as “Save a Walleye. Spear an Indian.” These were tactics used to scare away the Ojibwe (Chippewa) from engaging in their treaty right to spearfish. White-centered groups were afraid that if Native Americans could freely fish and hunt, they would cause the economy to collapse, jobs would be lost, and their overall life would be negatively impacted. To combat this fear, White mobs were regularly involved in distributing propaganda including a beer called “Treaty Beer,” in other words, “racism in a can,” to use as a fundraiser to support their protests.

Image: Treaty Beer Can, an image of a walleye fish on a spear with a dollar sign behind it, underneath it “Tax dollars, land claim, fishing rights, hunting rights, and water rights, equal rights?” Credit: Milwaukee Public Museum

In 1989, Governor Tommy Thompson took extra measures to keep white protestors from initiating riots by creating a team of law enforcement officers in riot gear called the Treaty Rights Task Force. The Walleye War finally ended in 1991; Governor Thompson signed a bill that would give a $1,000 fine to anyone who tried to stop the Ojibwe from exercising their spearfishing rights.

It was obvious during the Walleye War that white fishermen and women were not appropriately educated about the history and treaty rights of Native Americans’ tribal sovereignty because Native American history was not taught in school. Therefore, Governor Tommy Thompson signed Act 31 to prevent future protests about the rights of Native Americans in Wisconsin through a biennial budget bill.

Sources:

Looking back at Act 31, Wisconsin’s Native American education law | WUWM 89.7 FM – Milwaukee’s NPR

State Statutes for American Indian Studies in Wisconsin | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Ethnic_PDF_Ojibwe

Native fishing rights – 1492

Wisconsin Indian Miscellaneous Images | Milwaukee Public Museum

‘Racism in a Can’ — How One Beer Epitomized the Native American Struggle for Treaty Rights — Good Beer Hunting

Essential Question Suggestions:

Why is it important to teach Native American history to non-indigenous individuals?

Suggested curriculum or ways to experience the site:

Dive Deep on Act 31

WWM listen to the podcast