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Controversy and tension mounted again in Lac du Flambeau on Friday afternoon when a ceremonial lodge was torn down and a sacred fire extinguished under the orders of tribal president Victoria Doud, after a resolution to remove it was passed by the council in a seven-to-two poll vote on April 29, 2008.

But by late Friday afternoon, a court order was signed allowing the tent to remain until Monday, when the issue can be resolved in court. Following the court order, a new tent was reestablished in the original site, and the flame relit, to the relief and joy of those involved in the struggle.

“The feeling round the fire was one of jubilation,” said Brent McFarland, a resident of nearby Manitowish Waters, who spent Friday afternoon inside the tent and describes himself as a friend of the tribe. “We are doing this for a cause, and I feel an immense amount of respect for what these people are doing.”

Throughout the day, police officers from several local agencies, including Vilas County, arrived on the reservation to keep the peace, while crowds braved inclement weather to watch the action unfold. At least three arrests were made, and those individuals may be charged with disorderly conduct.

The lodge and fire were built by a group of tribal members in March, in protest against the current administration, whom they accuse of corruption. But the council’s resolution says that construction of the tent on Ojibwe “market property” was not authorized, and that tribal police and council members have received numerous complaints about noisy and disruptive activities at the site.

But a court order denied the council’s resolution until further notice.

   “It is ordered,” reads the court document, signed by associate tribal judge Garold Smith, “that the practitioners be allowed to continue their practice through the weekend at the original site with the hours of drumming to reflect the agreement between parties. This will continue until Monday, May 5, when the issue of the amended motion for temporary injunction can (be) resolved in court.”

Relentless opposition

Tensions have been simmering on the reservation in recent weeks, as tribal members continue to voice their concerns about government practice, particularly tribal spending and the mortgaging of reservation lands. As a result, the tribe has been split divisively between those who claim the government has misspent funds and are putting the tribe’s economic future at risk through a series of expensive, off-reservation investments totaling approximately $65 million, and supporters of the administration, who accuse “dissidents” of misrepresenting facts to the media and trying to cause political instability.

As of press time, Doud had not returned calls to this newspaper.

One group, who call themselves the Ginews, which means golden eagles in Ojibwe, has been particularly vociferous and relentless in its opposition to the administration. Saying that their requests for information pertaining to numerous multi-million dollar investments, including a casino project in Natchez, Miss., and a Texan computer security firm called XIT Networks, have been ignored by the council, the Ginews took dramatic action on March 26 by staging a 14-hour demonstration against the government inside tribal offices.

This resulted in scores of police officers flocking to the scene and, according to Doud, cost the town of Lac du Flambeau and the tribe at least $10,000 in enforcement, clean up, investigation of theft of tribal records, and loss of business.

“There are other, more civil ways in which to resolve disputes,” Doud said in a recent interview.

     Permission required?

Despite already facing possible criminal charges for their actions, the Ginews and their supporters established the tent and fire outside the tribal center on March 29.

However, on April 29, the council passed a resolution prohibiting the tent on the grounds that it was situated on Ojibwe property and had not been authorized by the council, and because of the many complaints the council reported receiving. The owners of the tent needed to apply for permission from the council, the resolution says.

“The tribal police and tribal government have received,” states the resolution, “and continue to receive, numerous complaints and reports about the disruptive and unsafe activities in and near the encampment, including loud noise and drumming after curfew, alcohol consumption and arrests for disorderly conduct. This council hereby orders…that the owners follow tribal procedures by applying for tribal council permission to erect a temporary structure.”

But those who have been maintaining the fire deny these claims of disruptive and drunken behavior, saying that the fire is deeply symbolic and spiritual in Native American culture as it helps raise prayers from tobacco offerings, and that tribal members are in any case protected under the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act to practice their cultural and religious beliefs.

“It shall be the policy of the United States,” the act states, “to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites.”

But Doud said that the structure was political, not ceremonial.

“It’s not a spiritual ceremony they’re doing,” she said on Wednesday. “It’s political.”

   Injunction filed to prevent action

In response to the council’s resolution, a motion for a restraining order and permanent injunction was filed with the tribal court on April 30 by Kevin Maulson, Betty Jack, Michael Chosa and Ronda Snow.

“We needed to prevent any action from being taken,” Maulson said, “because our constitution says that any resolution or poll vote must be passed by a full council at a regularly scheduled meeting, not by just a majority vote.”

However, according to Maulson, the council passed a second resolution on Friday afternoon, giving the road maintenance crew authority to remove the fire and tent structure. But this was done while the court was still in session discussing the injunction and restraining order, Maulson says and, once again, not all council members were present. Indeed, Luci Wolfe, Tom Maulson, Brooks Big John and Muriel Fralick were inside the tent with protesters. A second poll vote was taken, and the maintenance crew subsequently dismantled the lodge.

“They should have waited until court proceedings were over,” said tribal descendant Anita Koser, whose grandson Jalen Thoms was also inside the tent.

As a result, Judge Smith ruled that the protesters, and their tent, be allowed to remain at the original site until this issue is resolved by the court.

“He (Smith) was very torn in his decision,” Maulson said, “because he understands there are two factions in this community. But he ruled on an amendment to our constitution, which states that the tribal court has the power to issue all remedies, and to protect everyone. I told him that if the court didn’t take control of this situation, it would create lawlessness. No one is above the law, including tribal officials, and I am proud of him for doing it. If the council is not listening to the people, we have to take it to the tribal court, which must recognize our constitution.”

The situation will be discussed further in tribal court tomorrow, with a compromise between parties looking increasingly difficult to attain.

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