Federal laws addressing tribal sovereignty and efforts in Indigenous communities to assert these rights are central to lawsuits over the Lac du Flambeau Band's moves to limit road and fishing access.
By Erica Ayisi | Here & Now
August 7, 2026 • Northern Region
Asserting sovereignty is key to the Lac du Flambeau Band's moves to limit fishing access.
“I feel strongly that everyone needs to take care of what we have on Earth — that means our water, our land and everyone’s well-being,”said Bagwajikwe Madosh, who is a citizen of the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
A tribal elder, Madosh said she believes in preserving Ojibwe traditions, which the Lac Du Flambeau tribe is defending in federal court.
“Let us do what we know best,” she said. “Replenish to share lakes, keep our grounds clean, our forest.”
Long Interlaken Lake is one of 19 lakes within the Lac Du Flambeau reservation that a federal judge temporarily blocked the tribe from banning non-members from fishing walleye and muskellunge.
“We replenish the fish, we replenish what we take,” Madosh said.
Madosh said the tribe’s fish hatchery helps to maintain their stock, but added that there’s concern about the fish population.
“It’s not where you use it and then go on with life without knowing what’s going to come next,” she said.
The state of Wisconsin sued the tribe for blocking non-members from fishing in certain lakes. Lac du Flambeau President John Johnson said the fish population is declining, and is needed to feed their 4,000 tribal members.👇
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