Special Projects

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 […]

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 […]

LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wisconsin — Dennis Pearson stood on the edge of a frozen lake, dressed in black and yellow snow gear and a snowmobile to match. He chose a spot in the middle between his house, located about a mile away, and a neighbor’s house, who houses multiple cars of non-tribal residences that are […]

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 […]

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student journalists travel to Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin to shed light on issues not covered by the mainstream media.

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 […]

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, […]

LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wisconsin — “This is a sacred piece of land because it was given to us by the creator, everything on this land is sacred sustenance; for them it’s just recreation,” said tribal member Tom Maulson in an interview after the town board meeting held on March 11th. As of the 11th, the […]

From articles discussing the walleye wars to modern day coverage of water protectors, Native Americans and the media have often had struggles of equal representation, context and attention in native communities and the news that exists around them. The intricate relationship between Indigenous communities and media outlets has run a course that has sowed distrust, […]

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 […]

About the Project This project was created through a journalism class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies Department. This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club. Student Journalists Lauren Breunig Beckett Callan Anna Gipple Dominique Hamilton Brian Kohr Mackenzie Krueger Maria Peralta-Arellano Isabella Van […]