Chippewa Flowage History
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History of the Chippewa
Flowage as stated in the Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan. Northern States Power Company constructed the dam on the Chippewa River just below the confluence of the East and West Forks. This action caused flooding over much of the homeland of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, thus forming the flowage. The Chippewa Reservoir Project was completed in 1923 under license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The flowage was primarily created to be a reservoir for surplus water, supplementing down-stream river levels to support power production during low-flow seasons. Secondarily, the flowage was created to aid flood control. The Chippewa Flowage is a 15,300 acre drainage impoundment. It’s fed primarily by the East Fork and West Fork Chippewa Rivers and the Chief River. In addition to these rivers, the flooded area originally contained ten named lakes – Crane, Akwa'wening (Chief), Tyner, Rice, Scott, Crystal, Pa-Kwa-Wong, Desire (Moonshine), Pokegama, Cranberry and several small unnamed lakes. Note: Geographical names for
“Chief Lake” and “Squaw Bay” are not historical names and have been
objected to by the Lac Courte Oreilles people. LCO opposed plans to flood the area from the time they were first discussed in the early 1900’s. At that time, the flowage area was largely in the Town of Reserve, which had a predominantly tribal population, but also included a number of non-Indian settlers. The Town of Reserve first voted against the construction of the dam and flowage. However, the boundaries describing townships were later re-established, resulting in a lessening of the effectiveness of the tribal vote. Following resolutions passed on April 19, 1916, the Town of Reserve was detached and sections were added to the townships of Hunter, Hayward, Round Lake, Radisson, and Couderay. In a subsequent vote by the townships on the construction of the dam, the proposal passed. However, the Lac Courte Oreilles Band never gave its approval. Prior to the flooding, the Tribe considered the area a primary manoomin (wild rice) gathering site, which produced about 25,000 pounds of manoomin annually. Manoomin was a traditional mainstay in the Chippewa diet as well as important culturally and spiritually. The resulting high and fluctuating waters of the flowage have essentially eliminated manomin from the area, much as tribal leaders had predicted. This loss drastically changed the subsistence lifestyle of the LCO people. The flooding most affected the residents of the Village of Post, a small Indian community including a church and graveyard that was covered in the flooding. While some graves were reintered, many remained on the original site now called Church Island. Remains from burial sites have floated to the surface, and erosion continues to damage and uncover the burial sites to this day. After the initial 50 year license expired, the relicensing of the power project was strongly protested by some tribal members. Members of the LCO Band as well as members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) viewed the relicensing as a time to air long-standing grievances with the power project. In 1971, the Winter Dam was occupied by a small group of Indian people who hoped to block the license renewal. The takeover effectively gained the attention of the media as well as state and federal officials. The resulting lengthy litigation obtained several thousand acres for the LCO Band to replace some of the land flooded by the power project as well as the ability of the Band to generate its own power. NSP, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, LCO, and the WDNR entered into negotiations under FERC “rules of practice and procedure” to determine the future ownership and management of the flowage. (Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan, August 2000) |
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Photo: LCOOCC |
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