Wisconsin Politicians Call for a Resolution in Lac du Flambeau Easement Dispute

Officials of the Lac du Flambeau tribe barricaded four town roads on Jan. 31, cutting off access to both tribal and non-tribal residents on the reservation.

Tribal officials put up the barricades after decade-long negotiations to secure new right of way easements failed.

Tribal President John Johnson explained in a press release that the title companies who control the properties these roads access refuse to “negotiate in good faith” regarding the 10-year expired easements.

Gov. Tony Evers and Sen. Tammy Baldwin wrote a joint letter to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) asking for immediate attention to facilitating negotiations between the respective parties.

“While our offices continue to encourage all parties to act amicably, we ask the BIA to act in a timely matter to avoid further conflict,” read the letter. “We ask that you contact the Tribe and title companies today to offer assistance in facilitating good faith negotiations.”

Congressman Tom Tiffany, the representative for Wisconsin’s 7^th district, also wrote a letter to Tribal President John Johnson calling the roadblocks irresponsible, illegal, as well as a health and safety risk to dozens of town residents.

“I’ve seen a few easement disputes up in our neck of the woods, and they can be adversarial, but I’ve never seen one play out like this where someone says I’m gonna shut down access to your home in the dead of winter,” said Tiffany in an interview with Media Milwaukee.

Tiffany further explained that he would like to see a solution that addresses the concerns of all parties, but continued blocked access to these roads may cause policymakers to pursue a legislative option.

“You get the barricades down as a good faith gesture that okay, we do want to negotiate this,” said Tiffany. “Then you sit down with the title company, property owners, and the town of Lac du Flambeau and you work out an agreement.”

The tribe asked for $20 million for a right of way easement from First American and Chicago Title Companies. Evers, Baldwin, Tiffany, and Sen. Ron Johnson made numerous requests to the BIA for road appraisal information as a part of facilitating the negotiation process.

“To withhold the appraisal to me is tacitly saying that the demand for $20 million is not supported by the appraisal, what do you have to hide,” said Tiffany. “The tribe has a legitimate issue here, but everybody should put their cards on the table including the appraisal.”

Tiffany explained that the tribe has received $180 million in the last 10 years and an additional almost $1 million per year in Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) money.

“It is quite clear in the law that if you take money for roads that are on the list for TTP, you must keep them open,” said Tiffany.

Senator Romaine Quinn, a representative for Wisconsin’s 25^th district, has been involved in similar situations with the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe in Hayward, Wisconsin regarding ownership and jurisdiction over roads on their reservation.

“For $20 million I could pave you miles and miles of roads, so the idea that access to those roads are worth that, I think is ridiculous, I think you’re holding people hostage,” said Quinn. “I think they got their message across; they should be compensated, private property is private property and that should be respected, but just because you have somebody by the throat doesn’t mean you should keep squeezing.”

After a nearly 6-week standoff, town officials accepted a temporary agreement from the tribe to remove the barricades for 90 days in exchange for $60,000.

The tribe released a statement outlining their expectations on compensation for unauthorized tribal land use.

“The Tribe has agreed to provide temporary access permits to the Town of Lac du Flambeau to open the roads with expired easements to provide a window of opportunity for the Town and the Title Companies to make a viable offer to get this situation resolved,” said President Johnson.

The tribe’s written statement also explained how the Town and the involved Title Insurance Companies have disregarded their Tribal Sovereignty.

“This is important because our Tribal Sovereignty allows us to set and enforce laws and regulations on our land to preserve and protect the 12-by-12 square mile reservation we have remaining after ceding millions of acres of land to the federal government,” said Johnson. “Tribal Sovereignty is a political status recognized by the federal government, protected by the U.S. Constitution, and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.”