Barricades Lead to Facebook Battles

Dave Kivet owns land on Lac du Flambeau. He is active in the community.

“I have a property that has been barricaded. I’ve lived there for eight years now,” he said.

“I think the barricades are a pretty aggressive act from the tribe. I don’t like it. I think it’s a tactic, and I don’t think it’s the best tactic. When understanding the history, I don’t blame the tribe for what they did and, if I was put in the same situation, this is something I would have considered myself.”

Kivet is an active member of the Lac du Flambeau barricades Facebook group. He checks the group regularly to get updates on the status of the barricades.

“I don’t know why anyone would like the barricades,” he said. There has been a lot of conversation in the Facebook group discussing the barricades. People are angry on all sides. Kivet said, “The conversations turn unproductive when members in the group call people names and become aggressive, but It’s not the way things should be handled.”

Kivet continues to stay updated on the status of the barricades and hopes the government will take action.

Robert Widuch is an active member in the barricade Facebook group and joined when it started.

“My place is in Hayward, but I have friends in Lac du Flambeau that are members of the tribe and are dealing with inequalities in the area.”

Widuch lives in Hayward; his property has experienced the same issue with barricades.

“I am on the tribe’s side. They have been trying for a long time to be heard and for change to happen. The government has been declining calls and not doing anything about the issue. The tribe had to take action.”

Widuch’s friends from the tribe have been impacted by discrimination in the Lac du Flambeau area. He has witnessed arguments in the Facebook group.

“There’s a lot of arguments and fighting in the Facebook group. People are divided between those in the tribe and people who own land behind the barricades,” Widuch said. ”People’s anger is creating issues for everyone in the community and causing people to say things that are harmful.”

Widuch avoids getting in arguments in the Facebook group but sees all the fighting.

“The only good thing that comes out of these fights on social media would be that when people would get angry before being able to communicate online, they would fight in person and that would often lead to physical altercations,” Widuch said. “Saying offensive things out of anger on the Facebook group isn’t right, but it hasn’t gotten violent.”

There are two sides to this issue; the people behind the barricades who own land there and the tribe. Both want change.