Lac du Flambeau, Wis. — Imagine waking up for work, pulling out of your driveway, and then coming to the end of your block to find the road closed by, say, the French government. When you ask why, the gendarme informs you that between the American road before you and your equally American driveway behind you is a patch of French territory. Because of a dispute with the township, the local French consulate has decided to bar the road until such a time as it deems fit. The mayor and the governor are powerless, as this is a foreign-diplomatic matter — the legal province of the federal government. How ridiculous!
That’s close to what has happened in northern Wisconsin — the Lac du Flambeau tribe has blocked small but vital sections of the roads, making it impossible for non–Lac du Flambeau tribal residents to access public throughways. Beginning on January 30, restricted access to the wider world has been an aspect of normal life for dozens of families.
Comments