Red Lake Tribe banning all flights below 20,000 feet above the reservation

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Katamarino said:
Well yes, obviously. That's why the pilot would need enough people to overwhelm them.
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Red Lake Tribal PD has 38 officers. Using the common rule of thumb of 3 to 1 ratio, you're gonna need at least 100 armed pilots.
 
jsstevens said:
indigenous peoples are not land owners. They are sovereign nations within the borders of the reservations. They are subject to some level of treaty agreement (as befits a nation to nation relationship) but what rights to airspace the treaties dictate, if any, I have no idea.
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Not exactly. They are independent states. They still have to adhere to federal law, just not state law. "Treaties" or pacts as we know them are between the tribes and local government. Violations of such can be contested in federal court.

As far as banning flight through airspace, I don't know how they can legally do that. They can certainly enact their own tribal law, but it can't supersede federal law.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Red Lake Tribal PD has 38 officers. Using the common rule of thumb of 3 to 1 ratio, you're gonna need at least 100 armed pilots.
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Counterpoint - we saw from Uvalde that it only takes one kid with a rifle to scare 200+ cops into doing nothing for hours. If they won't risk themselves to save their own community's kids, why would they care about some random airplane?

Anyway, I'm not suggesting it's a good idea, I'm just curious if there'd actually be any repercussions.
 
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Katamarino said:
Counterpoint - we saw from Uvalde that it only takes one kid with a rifle to scare 200+ cops into doing nothing for hours. If they won't risk themselves to save their own community's kids, why would they care about some random airplane?

Anyway, I'm not suggesting it's a good idea, I'm just curious if there'd actually be any repercussions.
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Not all law enforcement officers are like the worthless cowards at Uvalde. Many, many of us (I’m retired) angrily denounced them. Many of us have gone through the door. Those idiots at Uvalde were not representive of the profession, and deserve absolutely nothing but scorn and shame.
 
jbDC9 said:
TCB… are you thinking of CTB, Cut Bank, MT? Sounds like what you’re describing…
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Yes, edited. Dyslecticia kicking in
 
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jbDC9 said:
TCB… are you thinking of CTB, Cut Bank, MT? Sounds like what you’re describing…
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We landed there for fuel one time. There was an old Chevy out in the middle of the field and if you got a fill up they let you take a bowling ball with you on departure to see if you could nail it on the way out.
 
Silvaire said:
We landed there for fuel one time. There was an old Chevy out in the middle of the field and if you got a fill up they let you take a bowling ball with you on departure to see if you could nail it on the way out
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For some reason that reminds me of an old dive bar I occasionally visited in grad school. They'd set up in their parking lot for Monday night football, with folks watching the game on whatever garage-sale or thrift shop TV the bar had managed to find that week. They'd hold a drawing late in the second quarter.

During halftime, the winner got to throw a brick through the TV while Howard Cosell was blathering on with his recap of the first half*.

Then the party moved inside for the second half.


*This wouldn't be nearly as popular today, since we no longer have Howard Cosell or cathode ray tube TVs.
 
Silvaire said:
We landed there for fuel one time. There was an old Chevy out in the middle of the field and if you got a fill up they let you take a bowling ball with you on departure to see if you could nail it on the way out.
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Screenshot_20251025-183649.png
 
Silvaire said:
We landed there for fuel one time. There was an old Chevy out in the middle of the field and if you got a fill up they let you take a bowling ball with you on departure to see if you could nail it on the way out.
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Where is this place and how can I do that?!
 
Ed Haywood said:
Red Lake Tribal PD has 38 officers. Using the common rule of thumb of 3 to 1 ratio, you're gonna need at least 100 armed pilots.
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Why do they need to be pilots? Is Soldier of Fortune still in print?

They FA with the wrong pilot who has the means to "make a point" after they seize a distressed aircraft, the FO is gonna be epic.

Hell schedule the invasion for a Friday night and you might "get it done" for a few cases of PBR and some bored local okes.
 
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schmookeeg said:
Why do they need to be pilots? Is Soldier of Fortune still in print?

They FA with the wrong pilot who has the means to "make a point" after they seize a distressed aircraft, the FO is gonna be epic.

Hell schedule the invasion for a Friday night and you might "get it done" for a few cases of PBR and some bored local okes.
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So does the mechanic work on the the distressed plane before, during, or after all the casualties get dragged away?
 
TL;DR: a local MN pilot successfully landed on the western side of lower red lake, MN. This is tribal land. The tribe has impounded the plane and has charged the pilot with trespass, claiming that the tribe (years ago) claimed the sky above their land up to 20,000 feet (not clear if agl or msl).

The trial is Monday, November 3. If the tribe prevails, this could have nationwide implications and set up pilots for lawsuits in many places.

Link: https://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=7A67F07A-5965-40EA-9A15-4C4C44DC531B
 
Discussed (and locked) here:
M

Thread 'Red Lake Tribe banning all flights below 20,000 feet above the reservation'

This could be a radical precedent for limiting our flying freedoms. I hope (not holding my breath) that AOPA aggressively counters this.

MN Pilots Ass’n Issues Advisory For Red Lake Reservation Overflights | Aero-News Network

Chippewa Band Impounds Aircraft Following Emergency Landing The Minnesota Pilots Association has issued an advisory regarding overflights of th| Published: Tue, Oct 21, 2025 | Aero-News Network
www.aero-news.net

A pretty disturbing part:
This came to light when the association received a phone call from a pilot who experienced an engine failure on a VFR flight from Roseau to Bemidji, Minnesota. He was able to maintain control and safely land on a highway, however, it was within the reservation, and apparently the pilot was unaware of the total flight ban. The...
  • Haha
  • Wow
 
AV8R_87 said:
Discussed (and locked) here:
M

Thread 'Red Lake Tribe banning all flights below 20,000 feet above the reservation'

This could be a radical precedent for limiting our flying freedoms. I hope (not holding my breath) that AOPA aggressively counters this.

MN Pilots Ass’n Issues Advisory For Red Lake Reservation Overflights | Aero-News Network

Chippewa Band Impounds Aircraft Following Emergency Landing The Minnesota Pilots Association has issued an advisory regarding overflights of th| Published: Tue, Oct 21, 2025 | Aero-News Network
www.aero-news.net

A pretty disturbing part:
This came to light when the association received a phone call from a pilot who experienced an engine failure on a VFR flight from Roseau to Bemidji, Minnesota. He was able to maintain control and safely land on a highway, however, it was within the reservation, and apparently the pilot was unaware of the total flight ban. The...
  • Haha
  • Wow
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Thanks. I tried searching for a thread, given the trial on Monday, but I couldn’t find it.
 
Emergency landing? Like I need to land and enter the tribal casino? Or something mundane like being on fire?
 
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