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, she has served a mix of locals, tribal and non-tribal, along with tourists and seasonal vacationers. The bar’s warm-toned wooden seating and cabin structure easily projects a welcoming invitation to those traveling on highway 70.

Her knowledge of the barricade dispute came just two days after they were installed. A patron was empathizing with those behind the barricades, saying “families are being held hostage, because they are barricaded into their properties.”

Combs understands the feelings of frustration in both the non-Native homeowners and the tribal leaders. Her mother is a white woman, and her father is a tribal man. Combs discovered her Native blood at 7 years old, when she first met her father. Although she is not enrolled in the tribe, she does hold enough blood quantum to become a member.

“I was confused and didn’t really understand, but it helps being neutral, being on both sides and seeing where everybody is coming from,” Combs said.

Combs and her daughter will soon be receiving their Native names, a tradition said to have started in hopes to inspire Natives to grow with life. She doesn’t know what the names may be, nor does she get to choose them. She must give tobacco to her uncle, Leon Valliere, and he will speak to their elders in a dream. Once he has acquired the names, the ceremony can begin.

Her ancestors signed a treaty to larger parcels of land than what the tribe has today. The crime and financial struggles on the reservation is what is motivating tribal leaders to push for their land, according to Combs.

“Our land is cherished land,” Combs said. “We, as a culture, we’ve lost a lot. I understand how proud they are of their land, so it makes sense to me that they’re trying to stick up for the things that they still have.”

Combs’ partner is a tribal member on the Lac du Flambeau reservation. She recounts the discrimination he and other Natives face while performing everyday errands.

“We walk into Walmart, and they will be followed all around the store,” Combs said. “They get followed everywhere, and a lot of them will start lashing back. It’s inappropriate that every single one of Native friends gets trailed around stores. It’s to the point where they’ll — at the casino or in their grocery store, if there’s a white person, they’ll start stalking them around the store just because it’s a principle. It’s not fair.”

For Combs, racism has always been a problem in Lac du Flambeau and the surrounding towns. She doesn’t believe the barricade dispute has sparked a new intolerance toward Natives or white homeowners.

She is in support of people behind the barricades turning to FaceBook to share their stories.

“I think sharing the information from a personal perspective is super important for the community to understand where it’s at,” Combs said. “There’s still a lot of people who don’t even realize that it’s happening.”