HURLEY (WKOW) -- A federal agency says it's investigating whether Wisconsin violated treaty rights by not talking to tribal governments that could be affected by a state mining bill.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs says it's looking into the matter after at least one tribal government asked for their involvement.
The mining bill would streamline the state's complex mine-permitting process. Republicans hope the bill would advance plans for an iron mine just south of Lake Superior.
Officials from the Lac du Flambeau, Red Cliff, Bad River and Menominee tribes claim the lawmaking process ignored treaty rights, according to a Wisconsin Public Radio Report.
A spokeswoman for the bureau, Nedra Darling, says the agency is acting on a 2009 executive order that federal officials consult with the tribal governments on issues that involve the tribes.
