Special Projects

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 […]

After graduating high school at the beginning of the pandemic, UW-Milwaukee student Theresa Jackson faced obstacle after obstacle in college. First her grandma died, then she struggled financially, then her other grandma died. She felt guilty, depressed and anxious. “I felt like I was drowning, and I couldn’t come back up or like someone had […]

Caroline Jordan didn’t know she was pregnant until she was rushed to the hospital. Jordan had just gone through a major breakup and had been throwing up. She figured it was stress. When she was evaluated by her doctor, she found out she was pregnant by her ex-boyfriend.   It was the middle of summer in […]

From a stop on the Underground Railroad to the classroom, a museum docent, a teacher and a professor give their take on the importance of teaching the truth about the history of slavery in America. This train is silent. Sometimes it moves fast – other times, slow. There is nowhere to wave goodbye to family […]