The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are an Ojibwa Native American tribe, with an Indian reservation lying mostly in the Town of Lac du Flambeau in south-western Vilas County, and in the Town of Sherman in south-eastern Iron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation, located at , has a land area of 108.065 sq mi (279.887 km²) and a 2000 census resident population of 2,995 persons. Its major settlement is the unincorporated census-designated place of Lac du Flambeau (on Wisconsin State Trunk Highway 47), which had a population of 1,646 persons.
Located at Waaswaagani-zaaga'igan and translated into French as Lac du Flambeau (Torch Lake), the Reservation of the Lac du Flambeau Band, called Waaswaaganing in Ojibwe, was established under the Treaty of 1854.
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The ancestors of the Lac du Flambeau Band, the Waaswaaganininiwag (the "Torch Lake Men") constituted the eastern group of the Biitan-akiing-enabijig (Border Sitters), a sub-Nation of the Gichigamiwininiwag (Lake Superior Men). Others members of the eastern Biitan-akiing-enabijig included bands located on Pelican Lake, Lac Vieux Desert, Turtle Portage, Trout Lake and Wisconsin River.
For centuries, Waaswaagani-zaaga'igan served as the trade hub connecting the waterways between Lake Superior (via Montreal River) and Wisconsin River and Flambeau River.
Under the Treaty of La Pointe of 1854 as part of the Lake Superior Chippewa, the bands at Pelican Lake, Turtle Portage, Trout Lake and Wisconsin River were consolidated into the Lac du Flambeau Band and Waaswaaganing was established.
Being signatories to the Treaty of St. Peters of 1837, and the Treaties of La Pointe of 1842 and 1854, Lac du Flambeau Band enjoys traditional hunting, fishing and gathering practices guaranteed in these treaties.
Lac du Flambeau is the location of sacred Strawberry Island "the place of the little people," which is recognized by the National Register of Historical Places. This island is the place where the last battle between the Sioux and the Ojibwe was fought in 1745. In 1966, the island was identified through an archaeological survey as a place with artifacts and remains dating back to 200 BC.
The tribe operates the Lake of the Torches casino. The Casino did not perform as expected and the Tribe encountered repayment difficulties with the creditors it engaged to help finance the casino. A dispute with the Casino's creditors ensued and in and in 2011 the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rendered a decision which primarily centered around the Casino's management contract because it contained provisions that permitted lenders to influence the management of a tribal casino without National Indian Gaming Commission approval. The Seventh Circuit decision requested additional guidance regarding the "rules of the road" for tribal casino financings from the United States Congress and /or the National Indian Gaming Commission.
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