The Southern Chiefs' Organization says it's taking Manitoba Hydro and the provincial government to court in a Charter challenge to have Lake Winnipeg given all the rights and protections of a living entity.

"Today, we are making history," Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said at a news conference Thursday morning.

"We're not saying this is going to solve everything, but we think this is going to be a good start to changing the way people think about the way the lake's governed."

A statement of claim filed Thursday in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench with assistance from the Public Interest Law Centre alleges the way the Manitoba government and Manitoba Hydro have artificially controlled the water levels and outflow of Lake Winnipeg for decades has been "completely negligent" and had "dire" effects on the lake, Daniels said.