 Justice William O. Douglas delivered the opinion of the court . In a 6 @-@ 2 decision , the ruling of the U.S. Court of Claims was affirmed , ruling that the tribe retained its hunting and fishing rights under the treaty . Douglas noted that Public Law 280 had been enacted and was fully in force for approximately seven years before the Termination Act became effective . The section of that law that dealt with Wisconsin provided that hunting and fishing rights in " Indian Country " were protected from state regulation and action . Thus from 1954 until termination in 1961 , the Menominee 's hunting and fishing rights were not interfered with by Wisconsin . The Termination Act stated that all federal statutes dealing with the tribe were no longer in force , but Douglas noted that it was silent with regard to treaties . The act did not specifically address the hunting and fishing rights , and Douglas stated that the U.S. Supreme Court would " decline to construe the Termination Act as a backhanded way of abrogating the hunting and fishing rights of these Indians . " He noted that in a similar bill for the Klamath Tribe , there was a discussion on paying the tribe to buy out their hunting and fishing rights , a clear indication that Congress was aware of the implications . Douglas found it hard to believe that Congress would subject the United States to a claim for compensation without an explicit statement to that effect . He found that without a specific abrogation of those rights , the tribe retained those rights . 
