In the latest salvo in a long-running quarrel, Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe officials are poised once again close four roads on their reservation this week in northern Wisconsin, restricting access for non-tribal property owners within tribal boundaries.
Tribal officials said the non-tribal Town of Lac du Flambeau, located within reservation land, has not paid fees to keep the road open from Sept. 12 through Oct. 12 last year — a one-month gap.
As a result, tribal officials said the town has until Thursday, Jan. 16 to pay the outstanding fees or they will close the roads.
“It is frustrating that, after multiple attempts to meet in the spirit of collaboration the town continues to avoid meaningful conversations,” said Tribal President John Johnson, Sr., in a statement Friday. “The town’s inconsistent statements—publicly declaring inability to pay, then making partial, last-minute payments, while also putting forward proposals that disregard our central concerns demonstrate a lack of transparency and good-faith intent.”
The conflict started in January 2023 when tribal officials barricaded four roads on the reservation — Elsie Lake Lane, Center Sugarbush Lane, East Ross Allen Lake Lane and Annie Sunn Lane — ending access for dozens of non-tribal property owners.
Johnson had stated that the roads were built illegally decades ago and leases for non-tribal citizens to use them had expired long ago. He said tribal requests to renegotiate the leases were ignored.
Town officials in March 2023 agreed to pay the tribe increasing monthly payments to keep the roads open until a more permanent arrangement could be reached, and the roads reopened.
In December 2023, the tribe offered the town use of the roads in exchange for an annual fee of 1.5% of the state-assessed fair market value of the homes located along the roads.
The tribe also informed the town it would have to pay for past trespass damages totaling $9.65 million.
The town held a meeting last summer with state officials in which the possibility was raised of returning nearby state land to the tribe as part of a deal for permanent access to the roads.
More: Town asking if Wisconsin will give back land to Lac du Flambeau to settle road use dispute
Negotiations appeared to have been moving forward, but on Jan. 3 Town Chairman Matt Gaulke wrote a letter to Johnson stating the board could no longer meet with the tribe as advised by their legal counsel because of pending litigation.
Tribal officials are encouraging homeowners affected by the issue to contact the town to discuss questions and concerns.
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Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Conflict over tribal roads in northern Wisconsin enters second year