Casino-owning Indian tribe bans Wisconsin State Senator from its reservation

A Republican Wisconsin state legislator has been barred from the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indian reservation due to remarks she made comparing tribal officials to terrorists.

The Lac du Flambeau tribe owns and operates the Lake of the Torches Resort-Casino in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin.

A resolution was voted by the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council prohibiting state senator Mary Felzkowski, a Republican from Tomahawk, from entering the Indian reservation.

The comments were made during a discussion with elected officials regarding efforts to settle a continuing disagreement about roads between the tribe and the town of Lac du Flambeau.

“The comparison of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe to terrorists such as the Proud Boys and the Taliban, organizations with no sovereignty or treaty rights, and that seek to harm the United States, is not only offensive but dangerously misinformed,” Lac du Flambeau Tribal President John Johnson Sr. said in a statement.

If Felzkowski is discovered on the reservation, the tribe's public relations representative, Araia Breedlove, stated that she may be taken into custody and led off tribal territory.

Felzkowski blasted the action as unduly dramatic, saying that she has no intention of going to the reservation. Felzkowski claimed that the homeowners who have been "physically imprisoned" by the continuing dispute are the reason behind her remarks.

“I regret that I contributed to the narrative of division in this muddy conflict, but I do not regret speaking up for my constituents who the Council continues to dismiss,” Felzkowski said.

During the discussion, legislators and town officials discussed options to end a more than year-and-a-half-long standoff over access to highways.

Following the failure of talks between the tribe, the town of Lac du Flambeau, and title companies after easements on their land expired ten years prior, the tribe blocked four highways that crossed tribal lands in January 2023. In March of that year, tribal representatives consented to reopen the roads, but only on the condition that a monthly fee be paid.

In an effort to resolve the conflict, town officials approached federal and state legislators to see if they would help provide money or land that could be transferred to the tribe. Felzkowski stated during the meeting that she would have a hard time persuading her fellow lawmakers to give money to settle the conflict.

“They don’t like what the tribe is doing — holding people hostage. They don’t like it at all, and they think it’s wrong. It’s kind of like giving into terrorism. I’ll be really honest,” Felzkowski said. “They’re going to push back hard on them.”

Felzkowski's remarks were denounced by the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council as irresponsible and disrespectful. According to the council, those who belong to tribes perceive the statements as a challenge to their "cultural identity," tribal sovereignty, and customs.

Her remarks, Johnson continued, demonstrate a profound ignorance of the rights guaranteed to the tribe by the federal government's 1837, 1842, and 1854 treaties.

“Those treaties, which established our reservation as a permanent homeland, recognize our sovereign right to protect our lands and people,” Johnson wrote in the statement. “Senator Felzkowski’s comments, made during an already tense discussion about the town’s trespass on our lands, have only escalated tensions and further show how uninformed she is concerning tribal communities and respect for the law.”

The tribal council stated it had an obligation to safeguard lands set aside for the tribe under the terms of the 1854 treaty, and the tribe claimed that the town's disregard for treaty rights is the reason behind the current conflict with town officials. According to tribal elders, Felzkowski's comments put fragile negotiations meant to end the long-running dispute in jeopardy.

“I do find it laughable that Tribal President Johnson is insinuating that my comments are damaging to negotiations when there are no negotiations taking place to speak of- because the Tribe refuses to participate in good faith discussions or mediation with the other parties, including, most recently, declining to attend the public meeting at which I spoke,” Felzkowski said.

Many lawsuits have been filed as a result of the ongoing debate. On behalf of the tribe, the federal government filed a trespass suit against the municipality last year. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is the target of separate federal lawsuits brought by homeowners and the town of Lac du Flambeau.

Initially, the tribe demanded $20 million in damages, claiming that the town had trespassed. Subsequently, the chiefs of the tribe have requested almost half of that sum, and they want to grant yearly leases for a charge equivalent to 1.5 percent of the fair market value of the houses along the four roadways.

As long as the tribe doesn't have to give up any more of its sovereignty or rights, tribal leaders have stated they are willing to try mediating the conflict.

The deputy clerk for the town, Colette Welch, stated that the town's officials are unaware of whether the tribe has received money for the following month's use of the four roadways. Johnson declared last month that access would be restricted in the event of a failure to pay.

Source:

“Lac du Flambeau tribe bans GOP lawmaker from its reservation” , Danielle Kaeding, wpr.org, September 13, 2024.