Lac du Flambeau facing a crisis
having survived the treaty wars, now LdF faces a cash crisis
 |
Is the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians in a financial crisis or not? Community meetings were held in Lac du Flambeau last weekend to discuss the situation, along with a proposed referendum to mortgage tribal lands. The tribe is the largest employer in a four county area. Nick Vander Puy from the Superior Broadcast Network attended the meetings and files this report. |
A headline in a mid-February Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says, “Investments Leave Lac du Flambeau short on Cash.”
According to the report, the cash crisis is so severe, the tribe’s lawyers were told last month to quickly close on a fifty million dollar loan, to avoid contractors walking off the tribe’s Natchez, Mississippi riverboat gambling project.
The interest on the tribe’s 50 million dollar debt consolidation loan with the Saybrook Corporation of California is twelve percent.
On Thursday this past week the LDF council released questions and answers about the tribe’s financial condition. The document says the tribe is not facing a financial crisis, but rather a temporary cash flow problem which should be resolved this spring and summer by higher casino revenues . The tribe also anticipates more revenues next fall from their investment s in a Houston based telecommunications company.
Tribal Vice chair Dee Mayo discusses tribal finances.
“You can’t grade how serious it is until you get all the facts. All the facts and figures of what actually is our financial situation. And I have not seen those facts. I’ve been told we have zero. I’ve been told we’re gonna get some more money in. And yes we’re using projected figures. But until it’s actually all laid out I don’t think anyone on the council can say how severe it is. So I’m not going to grade that until I get the facts.”
But not everybody on the tribal council agrees with this picture.
Council members Tom Maulson, Brooks Big John, and Treasurer Muriel Fralick say the financial outlook for the Lac du Flambeau tribe is grim.
Treasurer Muriel Fralick.
“My concerns for the people are the mistakes, the bad investments the tribe has gotten into over the past few years which have left our tribe devastated to the point where we’re struggling to make our payroll.”
Last Saturday at Lac du Flambeau the tribal council held a public information meeting about mortgaging tribal fee lands to get some operating money. Tribal fee lands are lands inside and outside the reservation boundary purchased back over the years with casino revenue.
Muriel Fralick thinks, under the circumstances, it’s a risky business to mortgage tribal lands.
“We’ve been put in the position of not having the revenue coming in from casino as we have in the past. And we’re going to end up losing our fee land. As they say it’s a mortgage, but we’re going to be selling it by mortgage, by default, we don’t have the means to make payment on this revolving loan, as they say.”
Vice chair Dee Mayo says this is a major decision. She recommends a tribal referendum on whether to mortgage tribal lands.
“And I believe that’s a question that should be asked of all our membership. Not the twelve council to take it on or off the table. I think it’s significant enough from this day forward whatever the tribal members vote on. That’s gonna be a guideline whatever council in the future is going to be able to use.”
Last month the tribe was $200,000 short on its first million dollar payment to retire its debts. That payment schedule goes on for another five years.
Another Lac du Flambeau tribal member Chris Fralick, the son of tribal treasurer Muriel Fralick spoke out from the floor against the plan to mortgage tribal land.
“It’s just about all we have left. We’ve been involved in many bad business dealings and pretty much the tribe is broke. All our money is gone. And all we have left is our land. Land is sacred. They are looking at this as a first option before liquidating any other of our assets. Taking out a loan, a mortgage on the land. We cannot make our payments now. We’re defaulting on our loans, defaulting on all of our bills. We’re barely able to make payroll. We don’t know whether we’ll be able to make next week’s payroll. To take out another loan, to make an extra payment, we just can’t do it.”
I’m Nick Vander Puy for the Superior Broadcast Network.
to download as an MP3 file click here