NISSWA — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources moved to defuse a treaty rights challenge Thursday by issuing a group of Chippewa Indians a special permit to harvest wild rice on Hole-in-the-Day Lake in east-central Minnesota — but leaders of the action said their fight isn’t over.

Dozens of supporters and members of the 1855 Treaty Authority gathered on the shore in Nisswa on Thursday as several paddled canoes out to harvest wild rice without state licenses to assert rights they contend they hold under the agreement.

While the DNR disputes their interpretation of the treaty, and had warned that anyone harvesting wild rice without state licenses risked citations and confiscation of their rice and equipment, the state agency issued a one-day permit to allow the unlicensed harvest, citing its authority to do so for educational or exhibition purposes.

The move meant no citations that could have led to a court challenge on whether Chippewa bands have special hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the territory ceded under the 1855 treaty.

“It’s the smartest thing they could do from their standpoint to make sure they didn’t have any confrontation,” said Frank Bibeau, a lawyer for the 1855 Treaty Authority, which is independent of the state’s tribal governments.