New York Federal Judge: State Can Regulate Fishing Practices Off Reservation Land

(June 21, 2023, 1:01 PM EDT) -- CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — The Unkechaug Indian Nation’s off-reservation fishing practices are subject to New York regulations that protect the American eel species because the regulations are not preempted by federal law, an order signed by a colonial administrator granting fishing rights is not a treaty in effect today and the nation is not entitled to relief under the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, a New York federal judge held in granting summary judgment in favor of a state agency that enforces the regulations....