Town of Lac du Flambeau receives another road ultimatum from LdF tribe

The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has fired another round at the town of Lac du Flambeau in its dispute with the town over expired tribal land easements.

In a letter dated Oct. 18 and received by the town Tuesday, tribal president John Johnson, Sr., informed town chairman Matt Gaulke the town is “hereby noted to vacate and quit all maintenance and surrender possession of Indian lands” on the three roads that were identified in an attachment to Johnson’s letter.

He included in his letter to Gaulke a Feb. 20, 2017 letter with a list of 29 roads from Joseph Wildcat, Sr., tribal president at the time. 

In that letter, Wildcat told Gaulke the tribe would like to meet with the town “to come to a final resolution on the issue of ownership and maintenance rights and responsibilities of the separate sovereigns over the roads located on the Reservation.”

“The last comprehensive review completed by the Tribe and the Town was completed with the assistance of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (the ‘BIA’), in or around 2008,” Wildcat wrote. “The Tribe would like to finally establish these rights and responsibilities.”

That letter led to a meeting of the town board, its attorney Greg Harrold and members of the tribal council with tribal attorney Andrew Adams at the Lake of The Torches Casino. 

Also present at that April, 2017, meeting were approximately 75 property owners on the roads, Ron DeBruyne, who was Vilas County board chairman at the time and The Lakeland Times. 

By the end of that meeting, Gaulke and the rest of the town board indicated a willingness to work with the tribal council on maintenance for the roads on the list Wildcat sent Gaulke in the 2017 letter. 

“That’s what we have asked for in the past,” tribal council member George Thompson said then. “We’ve asked for those types of working agreements. We went so far as saying that my (highway) department would love nothing more than to prove we could meet your expectations for level of service. For some reason, it was just ... ‘Stay away from our roads.’ I’m not trying to bring anything bad up. I’m glad that you mentioned that and we should think about this and move ahead.”

After that joint meeting, there was very little done, at least in public, with regard to easement and maintenance agreements between the tribal council and the town until the council had four roads — Annie Sunn Lane, Center Sugarbush Lane, East Ross Allen Lake Lane and Elsie Lake Lane — barricaded on Jan. 31, 2023, which prompted the current dispute. 

Attachment A

In his latest letter to Gaulke, Johnson said Wildcat’s 2017 letter had requested “documentation showing that the Town possesses a valid right-of-way over Indian lands.”

“Over the years, the Town has produced various documents related to the roads listed on Attachment A, yet none of those documents purport to evidence a valid legal interest the town possesses in said Indian lands,” Johnson wrote. “In the past, the Town has attempted to rely on the previous Acknowledgement of Public Authority Responsibility despite the fact the tribe has canceled that agreement.”

The roads identified on “Attachment A” are:

• The entire length of Headflyer Lake Lane running north from County Highway D. 

• Two lengths on parcels along North Indian Village Road.

• Eight lengths of road on parcels on Indian Village Road. 

“If the town fails to comply with this notice and remains in possession of, or continues claim a right of maintenence over, the portions of road over Indian lands identified in Attachment A, the Tribe will consider this (according to Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations) an authorized trespass,” Johnson wrote.

The roads listed on the attachment are included in the original 29 roads Wildcat listed in his Feb. 20, 2017, letter to Gaulke. 

The town has until Nov. 18 to comply with the tribe’s notice. 

Wednesday, Gaulke couldn’t comment as he hadn’t at that time had an opportunity to talk to town attorney Greg Harrold about the letter. 

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].