National | Politics

Takeover at Lac du Flambeau ends with arrests

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Ten members of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa were arrested on Wednesday after they made good on a threat to stage a takeover of the tribal government.

The protesters barricaded themselves in tribal headquarters around 1:30am yesterday morning. They said they had enough food and water to last several months and that they wouldn't come out unless federal authorities investigated allegations of corruption.

"They spent all our money on their ventures and we haven't received a dime back; not a dime," Thomas Maulson said of tribal leaders. Maulson is a former president of the tribe and one of the five named plaintiffs in the Cobell trust fund lawsuit.

Protesters are concerned about the tribe's finances, citing a recent decision to mortgage tribal lands for a $50 million bond that will help pay off some debts. The tribe has shut down its newspaper and has laid off between 100 to 150 people, a council member said.

Assistant secretary Carl Artman reportedly flew to Wisconsin and plans to meet with the tribe today.

Dissident tribal members started LDFNews.com to raise complaints about their government.

Get the Story:
Dissidents block tribal center (The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 3/27)
Lac du Flambeau Takeover Results in Arrests (WJFW 3/26)
Lac Du Flambeau protesters seek corruption probe (AP 3/26)