Help Tribble Brothers Reclaim Their Story Rights

Bouzou, my name is Kari Tribble, and I'm the daughter of Mike Tribble and the niece of Fred Tribble. The Tribble Brothers are treaty rights activists known for winning a famous case called The Voigt Decision in 1983. This win secured hunting and fishing rights in ceded territories on tribal lands that were supposed to be protected under the 1837 and 1842 treaties signed in Wisconsin. This case, often cited in other similar cases to this day, inspired a movement across the nation with other tribes enforcing that their treaties be recognized and honored. Mike Tribble was also an American Indian Movement (AIM) Leader for the LCO chapter along with Eddie Benton. Many good things came from their work; and now the brothers need our help.

The Tribble Brothers need help in two ways:

* Legal Funds

* Telling Their Story

LEGAL ISSUE

It has been a dream and wish of the brothers to tell the whole story of their activism work before they pass away. In 2017, the two brothers were approached by a "family friend" to do just that. This person had the brothers sign a life rights agreement. A life rights agreement, also called a life story agreement, is a contract that grants a person or company the right to purchase and develop someone else's life story into some type of media. With no legal representation, these two elders trusted this individual and signed this contract without looking it over. They had signed ones before and figured it was a standard contract.

Two years ago, when my nephew attending film school wanted to do a project with them, we discovered that they signed a predatory life rights agreement that many lawyers we showed it to said was absolutely appalling. One lawyer, in particular, said it looks like a form of elder abuse for them to sign. We were devastated and shocked.

SOME OF WHAT THE AGREEMENT SAYS

1. Tribble Brothers were not paid for their story rights.

2. There is no time limit for the project to be completed by this person.

3. This person is trying to keep their life story rights forever (typical life story agreements expire after five years and/or can be renewed).

4. This person can change the brothers' names, story, and likeness however they want.

5. It is one-sided and only benefits one party, theirs, and not the brothers.

6. All in all, it lacks consideration.

This person has not completed this project that was started six years ago. They have knowingly withheld the brothers from doing the one thing they have always wanted to do: tell their story.

My siblings and cousins do not believe a person outside the family or our tribe should have this power over their story. We tried several routes to resolve this matter with this person before pursuing the legal route. Some of these attempts included having the old contract voided and a new standard one signed so this person could still pursue their project while the Tribble Brothers could have their story told elsewhere in different media forms. We tried offering some payment for the current state of filmed footage (we don't know the quality of it or how much was done). We have received no resolution or consistent responses.

It has been a dream and wish of these two brothers to tell the whole story of their experiences, and at the ages of 84 and 85 - we don't have much time left to help them fulfill this wish.

THIS IS HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1. Please support their legal fund. This fund is essential to help them fight for this to be resolved. We are asking for $20,000 now, although we may need more depending on what happens. At one point, the responding party asked for $11,000 to absolve the contract, but we also need to cover their upcoming lawyer fees. If we reach any financial support beyond this amount not spent on legal fees, the total amount will be split evenly between the two brothers to help them with their care and well-being. One brother was recently diagnosed with dementia and parkinson's; we believe the other brother will soon follow. So, any support beyond this will help support their care and needs.

2. If you know anyone willing to film and share their story, please get in touch with us ASAP. You can email me directly at thetribblebrothers at gmail dot com.

I will post updates here for you to keep track of us as we try to fight this for them. I can't believe we must do this, but thank you for walking with us and supporting them.

Miigwech!

The earliest photo of Fred and Mike :)