A northern Wisconsin tribe responds to comments made by Congressman Tom Tiffany. During a hearing in Washington last week, the 7th District Republican and candidate for governor asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for charging the Town of Lac du Flambeau $600,000 to use roads crossing reservation land.
Last year a federal judge ruled in favor of the Town of Lac du Flambeau and the roads were reopened. In his remarks to Bondi, Tiffany called the tribe “perpetrators” of “extortion,” and said homeowners had been “trapped” by the tribes’ actions. In its statement, the Lac Du Flambeau Band said the dispute arose because the town failed for decades to secure rights-of-way through tribal trust land, and that at no time did the tribe “trap” homeowners or prevent them from receiving emergency services.