The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is suing Idaho Gov. Brad Little and state wildlife officials in federal court, contending the state has wrongly denied the tribe hunting rights guaranteed by the 1868 Treaty of Fort Bridger.
The lawsuit, filed in Idaho’s U.S. District Court earlier this week, asks a judge to declare that the Northwestern Band is protected under the treaty, and so its members have the right to hunt on unoccupied lands. Attorneys for the state didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Northwestern Band historically hunted, gathered and fished in an area including southeastern and southern Idaho, western Wyoming and northern Utah.
