Lac du Flambeau Region
pokegama lake lodge
Northern Wisconsin Historic "Lake of The Torches" Region
The Northwoods of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region are rich with the inspiring legacies of Native American and European fur traders and loggers who have shaped our history since ancient times. The significance of these resources and the collaborative spirit of fur traders and Indigenous communities, developed the Northern Wisconsin region we know and enjoy now.
The Great Lakes Orgin
3000 BC-1000 AD – The three nations of the Anishinaabe: the Ojibwe (keepers of the Faith) the Potawatomi (keepers of the Fire) and the Ottawa (the traders) begin to migrate westward from the St. Lawrence seaway.
1500 (circa) – The Anishinaabe have settled in the western great lakes region near the area of Makinak Minissing and the great falls areas.(Mackinac Island and Niagara Falls)
1600’s – Europeans make way into the great lake areas and begin to trade with the bands of Native Americans. For the next century the people would continue to venture westward following the north and south shores of the big lake called “Gitchii Gamig” (Lake Superior)
1700’s – The Ojibwe inhabit an island referred to Moningwanekaaning (flicker bird) this is now known today as Madeline Island, among the Apostle Islands in the northern tip of Wisconsin. In 1745 Chief Keeshkemun settles his band of Ojibwe in the area known today as “Lac du Flambeau” a French word in reference to Lake of the Torches.
1800’s – Several Treaties have been agreed upon by the newcomers into these territories and the Native people who have lived here, in regards the Ojibwe people emphasize in these treaties that they will be able to gather and hunt as they have for survival and are granted an area called the ceded territories which are upheld by these treaties. By 1830 the fur trade begins to wind-down.
Lac du Flambeau Tribe
The Lac du Flambeau Band has occupied the Northwoods of Wisconsin since 1745, under the leadership of Chief Kiishkemun (Sharpened Stone). The Chief guided our Tribe to settle where the Bear River originates and along the western shore of Flambeau Lake. The Band refers to itself as Waaswaaganing, translating to Lake of Flames in Ojibwe.
The 1854 Treaty of La Pointe established a 100,000-acre reservation for the Lac du Flambeau Band. The Tribe was officially established on May 8, 1937, when Tribal Members ratified the Corporate Charter of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin.
The name Lac du Flambeau was adopted due to the Band’s tradition of night fishing using torches. This designation, meaning “Lake of the Torches,” was bestowed upon the Band by French traders and trappers who frequented the region.
Sources:
Fur Trapping & Logging
The management of Northwoods resources and the regulation of fur trade relationships were significant points of contention among Indigenous communities. By 1745, the Ojibwe had achieved comprehensive dominance over the region and sustained trading relations with the French. In the aftermath of the French and Indian War in 1763, Britain took control of trade with the Indigenous populations in the area. It was not until the resolution of the War of 1812 that American fur traders began to actively penetrate Wisconsin’s Northwoods.
Furs were exported to Europe, where they were transformed into hats, garments, and decorative items. European fur traders supplied goods from industrial Europe along with products from the Caribbean to Indigenous communities. Given the high demand for beaver hats in Europe, fur traders often utilized beaver pelts (tanned beaver skin) as a form of “currency” or exchange value in trade transactions. A variety of methods, including steel traps, wire snares, firearms, spears, and traditional Indigenous trapping techniques, were employed to harvest wildlife, while Indigenous trappers handled the processing of the hides. The logistical responsibilities and trading operations were primarily overseen by fur traders and Voyageurs.
The largest fur trading post in the Northwoods was strategically located between Pokegama and Long Interlaken lakes at Lac Du Flambeau. Madeline Island at LaPointe served as the terminal point for regional furs as well as a source of trade goods. Both Voyageurs and Ojibwe, along with fur traders, acknowledged that the route to LaPointe involved significant challenges, requiring navigation through a series of lakes, streams, and portages, which necessitated a 40-mile overland trek from Long Lake to the mouth of the Montreal River, known as the Flambeau Trail.
The traditional European fur trade began its decline during the 1830s and effectively came to a halt by 1847. While trapping continued, the influx of trade goods considerably decreased, prompting fur traders to pursue Ojibwe treaty annuities to reconcile trade credits. Subsequently, timber cruisers, land surveyors, and other non-Indigenous pioneers arrived in the Northwoods, with some participating in trapping activities.
Sources:
https://www.mwhistory.org/early-history/fur-trade-and-trapping
