Spearfishing Tension Reemerges in the Wake of the Barricades

LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wisconsin — Perched in a rust-colored armchair next to the wood-burning heater in his garage, Tom Maulson points out all the fishing equipment—traditional Anishinaabe five-pronged spears, more modern poles, worn lures and ice cutting tools—nestled between the Folgers cans, hunting gear and boxes in the room. Maulson, a proud grandfather, smiles from […]

Fred Maulson: Navigating Both Worlds In A Younger Generation

LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wisconsin — “We struggle with our own community sometimes, and that’s the difficult part,” said Fred Maulson, son of tribal member Tom Maulson. “We’ve seen and gone off to school and experienced life beyond what we have here.” His father, Tom Maulson, is a former tribal chairman who made headlines in the […]

Hornwinkels’ Marsha Panfil Fights Barricades on Facebook

There are more snowmobiles than cars in the parking lot of Hornwinkels Bear Stube, snow-coated pavement that acts like a continuation of the trails that carve through the woods that cover large swaths of Lac du Flambeau. The buzz of revving snowmobile engines periodically cut through the white noise of the surrounding nature as customers […]

Native Land and the White Man: A Waitress in the Middle

Meghan Combs (Valliere), 30, is a waitress and bartender at Black Bear Bar in Minocqua, Wisconsin and Slo’s Pub in Woodruff, Wisconsin. For the entirety of her life, Combs has moved in and around the towns of Arbor Vitae, Woodruff, Minocqua and Lac du Flambeau. Throughout her three years working at the Black Bear Bar, […]

Living in Two Worlds

LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wisconsin — In life, many people find themselves at the crossroads of multiple identities through their beliefs, culture, heritage, and history.   Often, these factors can lead to a struggle in defining personal identity and what it means to be an individual but also part of a larger human family. The tribal members […]