With chants and a drumbeat from onlookers, a half dozen Dakota band members pulled fish from a net they had placed in Cedar Lake in Minneapolis on Friday in a challenge to state law intended to prompt a court test of an 1805 treaty.

Shortly after band members harvested 59 fish -- mostly small sunfish and crappies -- four Department of Natural Resources conservation officers seized the fish and net as evidence. The confrontation was peaceful, and none of the five adults and one juvenile was arrested or cited, but they may face charges later from the Hennepin County attorney.

Both sides said they were pleased that there was no trouble.

"It went perfect,'' said Jim Anderson, 52, a Mendota Dakota organizer. "They didn't strong-arm us. We want to go to court to get our treaty rights.''

Said DNR conservation officer Capt. Greg Salo: "They've been respectful to us, and we're trying to do the same.''

About 50 onlookers watched the Dakota net the fish beginning around 8 a.m. on the west shore of the lake near downtown Minneapolis. The DNR officers arrived about 10 minutes later. They watched while the band members finished pulling in their net, then confiscated the net and the tub of fish.

"We could have fed our people,'' said Chris Mato Nunpa, 70, another Dakota organizer and retired professor from St. Paul and Granite Falls.

The Dakota argue that an 1805 treaty encompassing about 155,000 acres in the Twin Cities granted them off-reservation hunting and fishing rights that have since been denied. A sign they erected at the beach where they fished said, "Exerting our rights, treaty and inherent.''

The netting comes a year after Chippewa band members in northern Minnesota put out nets in Lake Bemidji, where they said an 1855 treaty gives them off-reservation hunting, fishing and gathering rights in a vast swath of that region. The DNR confiscated nets and forwarded evidence to the Beltrami County attorney, but charges have yet to be filed, apparently because of concerns over a lengthy and expensive court case.

The Dakota violated several state laws Friday, including using a net and fishing out of season. Illegally netting fish is a gross misdemeanor, which is usually charged in a complaint through the county attorney's office, officials said.

"No tickets. No citations. We'll see what happens,'' said Mato Nunpa, one of the Dakota who participated in the protest.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Friday that he would review the case once it's presented to him.

"We realize this is not your garden variety two-line fishing [violation] case, so it will be looked at,'' he said. "We will proceed as we would with any kind of case.''

Mato Nunpa said if no charges are forthcoming, the band would start scheduling regular fishing, hunting and trapping days. And regardless of whether charges are filed, "We plan to set up a hunting camp in Fort Snelling State Park this fall, under the same authority.''

Several of the Dakota spent the night at the Cedar Lake beach, then put out their 150-foot gill net at 2 a.m. When they retrieved it from shore six hours later, they had 59 fish, including two muskies, three northerns and two walleyes. Forty-nine of the fish were small sunfish or crappies. All will be kept in a freezer as evidence, then likely disposed of when the case is completed, officials said.

Salo said the DNR would forward its report to the county attorney's office early next week.