{"id":1906882,"date":"2023-03-29T21:42:20","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T01:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-tom-tiffany-requests-federal-funds-pulled-from-indian-tribe-guilty-of-illegally-holding-wisconsites-hostage\/"},"modified":"2023-03-29T21:43:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T01:43:13","slug":"rep-tom-tiffany-requests-federal-funds-pulled-from-indian-tribe-guilty-of-illegally-holding-wisconsites-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-tom-tiffany-requests-federal-funds-pulled-from-indian-tribe-guilty-of-illegally-holding-wisconsites-hostage\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Tom Tiffany Requests Federal Funds Pulled From Indian Tribe Guilty Of Illegally Holding Wisconsites Hostage\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frep-tom-tiffany-requests-federal-funds-pulled-from-indian-tribe-guilty-of-illegally-holding-wisconsites-hostage%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1906882&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>This week, Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany submitted a request to the House Appropriations Committee to prevent the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from ever holding Wisconsinites hostage again. The appropriations request will pull any Indian tribe\u2019s Tribal Transportation Program funds if it closes public access to roads registered in the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNotwithstanding any other provision of law, any Indian Tribe that closes or otherwise restricts public access to any roadway that was listed on the Indian Reservation Roads \/ Tribal Transportation Facility Inventory as of January 1, 2022, shall be ineligible for Tribal Transportation Program funds,\u201d reads the letter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1887468591\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-52bdb17b9632d5fd4a20878619a2d7bf fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-52bdb17b9632d5fd4a20878619a2d7bf\"><\/div>\n<p style=\" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;\">   <a title=\"View 2023.03.24 Interior Approps LDF on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/634703929\/2023-03-24-Interior-Approps-LDF#from_embed\"  style=\"text-decoration: underline;\" >2023.03.24 Interior Approps LDF<\/a> by <a title=\"View The Federalist's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/274202084\/The-Federalist#from_embed\"  style=\"text-decoration: underline;\" >The Federalist<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" title=\"2023.03.24 Interior Approps LDF\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/634703929\/content?start_page=1&#038;view_mode=scroll&#038;access_key=key-LxDCgLu3Y77TScStXcrk\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7729220222793488\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_73391\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>    <\/p>\n<p>From late January to mid-March, some\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/02\/11\/us\/wisconsin-tribe-lac-du-flambeau-road-blockades.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">65<\/a>\u00a0non-tribal Wisconsin families were held hostage by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The tribe had erected illegal barricades on the four roads, cutting off vehicle access and effectively preventing residents from entering and leaving their homes.<\/p>\n<p>The barricades were erected in response to a road dispute between two title companies and the town of Lac Du Flambeau. The innocent, barricaded residents were essentially being held for ransom while the tribes demanded $20 million to reopen the roads for only 15 years.<\/p>\n<p>After receiving negative press attention from The Federalist and Fox News, the tribe agreed to give the town a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsaw.com\/2023\/03\/13\/lac-du-flambeau-tribe-issues-statement-temporary-roads-access\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">30-day permit<\/a>\u00a0for the roads to temporarily open while negotiations ensue, with the possibility of two more available 30-permits if the tribe wishes to grant them. The tribe is charging the town\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenbaypressgazette.com\/story\/news\/native-american-issues\/2023\/03\/13\/lac-du-flambeau-tribe-reopen-barricaded-roads-northern-wisconsin\/70002823007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$20,000<\/a>\u00a0per permit.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5e366c85bb5d3b79d55eda3aa9be4d7b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5e366c85bb5d3b79d55eda3aa9be4d7b\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe chains are down, but the barricades are still on the side of the road,\u201d said resident Marsha Panhil. Indeed, according to multiple residents interviewed by The Federalist, the situation is far from resolved, and the tribe may still put the barricades back up if they are not offered the desired amount of compensation. And while The Federalist isn\u2019t privy to the negotiations, residents have informed us that the tribe has not come down from their multimillion-dollar demand.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Tiffany has maintained from the start that the tribe\u2019s barricades were a form of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tiffany.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/tiffany.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/letter_to_lac_du_flambeau_tribe.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extortion<\/a>\u00a0and illegal under federal law because the roads are registered under the Tribal Transportation Program and receive federal funding. Tiffany told The Federalist that his appropriations request will serve to \u201creaffirm\u201d that fact.<\/p>\n<p>So far, Tiffany is the only elected leader who is adequately addressing the illegal and dangerous barricades. \u201cI think Tom Tiffany is the only politician that\u2019s really working for us right now,\u201d said formerly barricaded resident Mike Hornbostel.<\/p>\n<p>The barricades were\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/10\/wisconsin-indian-hostage-crisis-teeters-on-violence-because-biden-tony-evers-do-nothing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">illegal<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/02\/wisconsin-residents-illegally-held-hostage-in-their-homes-by-native-american-tribe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dangerous<\/a>\u00a0(especially for elderly residents), and a source of increasingly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/10\/wisconsin-indian-hostage-crisis-teeters-on-violence-because-biden-tony-evers-do-nothing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">volatile<\/a>\u00a0racial disharmony within the community. Yet Wisconsin\u2019s Gov. Tony Evers, President Joe Biden, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have all kowtowed to the tribe at the expense of the captive residents. Both Biden and Evers could have threatened to restrict funding from the tribe during the months-long hostage crisis, but they refused to.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a961cd02d6371bb468c78b39425d941e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a961cd02d6371bb468c78b39425d941e\"><\/div>\n<p>Evers and Biden could still pull funding from the tribe if it re-erects or threaten to re-erect the illegal barricades, but that\u2019s unlikely, given that both men heavily rely on identity politics for political power. In fact, when Evers visited Lac Du Flambeau during the crisis, residents\u00a0told\u00a0The Federalist that he failed to meet with them, only spoke with tribal members, and affirmed the tribe\u2019s supposed \u201cright\u201d to illegally hold Wisconsinites hostage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The BIA has been equally ineffective. According to Tiffany, the agency, in conjunction with the tribe, has refused to provide Tiffany\u2019s office with key right-of-way appraisals relevant to the road dispute. \u201cThe appraisals were paid for by public dollars, and therefore I think they should be in the public domain,\u201d Tiffany told The Federalist. Without the appraisals, no serious negotiation about the value of the roads can take place.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tiffany told The Federalist that the tribe\u2019s behavior, which includes erecting the barricades on a day that was \u201c25 below zero degrees,\u201d is thanks to Andrew Adams, the tribe\u2019s Minneapolis-based legal council. \u201cHe does not live in the community. He doesn\u2019t care whether the neighbors get along or not because it doesn\u2019t affect him,\u201d said Tiffany. \u201cHe just catches his paycheck from the tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tribe\u2019s astronomical, multimillion-dollar demand is in addition to the $218 million in federal funds that it <a href=\"https:\/\/tiffany.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/tiffany.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/letter_to_lac_du_flambeau_tribe.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">received<\/a>\u00a0over the past 10 years. Yet despite all the funding, poverty and violence plague the small reservation community. \u201cThere\u2019s 1500 people on the reservation and they have two gangs fighting over drugs,\u201d said Hornbostel. \u201cMeanwhile, we\u2019re pumping in like a minimum of $22 million a year into [the tribe]\u2026 Why aren\u2019t they all driving Mercedes and living in mansions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tribal member Melissa Christensen told The Federalist that members were not even told what Tribal President John Johnson and the rest of the tribal council plan on doing with the $20 million they are demanding, and she requested The Federalist ask Johnson \u201cwhat he\u2019s gonna do with the money.\u201d The Federalist reached out to Johnson and asked that very question but did not hear back.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you drive through a reservation, you see shacks and people living in shacks,\u201d Hornbostel continued. \u201cI don\u2019t understand how that happens when there\u2019s so much money being pumped into the system. Why isn\u2019t it being filtered down to the citizens of the reservation? It\u2019s like anything else the federal government does. The more money they hand out, the more screwed up everything is.\u201d<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3f07ae0deaf8fb9050f98f7a7816989f fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3f07ae0deaf8fb9050f98f7a7816989f\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Evita Duffy-Alfonso is a staff writer to The Federalist and the co-founder of the Chicago Thinker. She loves the Midwest, lumberjack sports, writing, and her family. Follow her on Twitter at @evitaduffy_1 or contact her at evita@thefederalist.com.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/appropriations\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Appropriations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Biden administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bureau-of-indian-affairs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bureau of Indian Affairs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/congress\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lac-du-flambeau\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Lac du Flambeau<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/native-americans\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Native Americans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/reservations\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">reservations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tom-tiffany\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tom Tiffany<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tony-evers\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tony Evers<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tribal-transportion-program\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tribal Transportion Program<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wisconsin\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Wisconsin<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week, Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany submitted a request to the House Appropriations Committee to prevent the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from ever holding Wisconsinites hostage again. The appropriations request will pull any Indian tribe\u2019s Tribal Transportation Program funds if it closes public access to roads registered in the program.\u00a0 \u201cNotwithstanding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1623,"featured_media":1906884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[3974,4543,5806,4611,11490,15733,13989,11413,7129,5497,23058,8081,20123,23057],"class_list":["post-1906882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-federal","tag-funds","tag-guilty","tag-holding","tag-hostage","tag-illegally","tag-indian","tag-pulled","tag-rep","tag-requests","tag-tiffany","tag-tom","tag-tribe","tag-wisconsites"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1623"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1906882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1906884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1906882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1906882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1906882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}