"Indian Land Access"

How many acres of land are there in Wisconsin... answer 35,011,200 acres!  2nd question... who owns it?  Here are the interesting answers...
        Water area 21.6%     County land 8.5%     State land 5.7%     U.S. Government land 5.3%     Indian land 1.8%     All the rest 57.1%
The most restrictive land is Indian land... unless you are a member of that specific tribe you are not allowed on their land unless you are a member of that particular tribe... some people feel that is unfair... I do not understand the logic of why that is unfair... if I bought 1000 acres, built a fence around it and said no one is allowed on my property, that would be my right and not be unfair; Indian tribes have the same rights and privilege!  Look at it another way... since Indian tribes only control 1.8%... that leaves 97.2% where we are not restricted!
 

Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Land (Sawyer County):
Shown below is a map of the western 2/3rd of Sawyer County... the map also shows the 107 square mile area (54,000 acres) of Sawyer County that is designated as Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Land (we do not guarantee this map to be 100% accurate... if in doubt about an actual area please contact the tribal headquarters).  The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Government headquarters is located in Hayward at 13394 W. Trepania Rd.,Hayward, WI 54843 (telephone number is 715-634-8934).   The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe is a band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

There are only 2 know waterways of interest on the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Land... Pipestone Falls and Billy Boy Flowage Spillway.  Pipestone Falls is on tribal land and is not accessible to the general public... the land in that area is considered sacred and unless you are a member of that tribe you are not allowed to view the falls.  There is a story (don't know if it is true) that a person parked on County Road "H" and walked the trail to see the falls... he was caught by Tribal Police and they kept his vehicle as a fine for trespassing on tribal land.  Whether it is true or not is immaterial... Tribal Police have ultimate power to enforce tribal laws... so do not trespass on tribal land!
The other waterway of interest is Billy Boy Flowage Spillway... it is also on tribal land but is viewable from State Highway 70 just 7.4 miles northwest of Couderay.  Wisconsin State Highways are not tribal land (just don't go beyond the highway right-of-way or you will be on tribal land).

 

Bad River Tribal Land (Ashland & Iron Counties):
Shown below is a map of the northern 1/3rd of Ashland County; and a small portion of Iron County... most of the northern 1/3rd of Ashland County is Bad  
River Tribal Land (tribal land is shown in gray... notice that some of the tribal land extends into Iron County).  The Bad River Reservation in northwestern Wisconsin is the largest Chippewa reservation in the state, currently 6,945 Bad River tribal members.  The reservation boundaries include lands in Ashland and Iron counties, 17 miles of Lake Superior shoreline and over 100 miles of rivers and streams.  The Bad River Reservation is 124,655 acres of primarily undeveloped and wilderness land.  The Chippewa (also known as the Ojibwe or Anishinabe) Indians of present-day Wisconsin are the descendants of a northern Algonquian people who originally lived in an extensive area mainly north of lakes Superior and Huron.  Tribal headquarters is at 72682 Maple Street, Ashland, Wisconsin 54806 (mailing address is P. O. Box 39, Odanah, Wisconsin 54861-0039)... phone number is 715-682-7111.

There is only 1 known waterway of interest on Bad River tribal land... Bad River Falls in Ashland County.  There are undoubtedly other falls and rapids of interest but they would be on tribal land and not accessible unless you are a member of that tribe.  If you walked downstream along the Bad River from Brownstone Falls in Copper Falls State Park for 6 miles you would enter Bad River Tribal Land.  Copper Falls State Natural Area abuts the Bad River Tribal Land.

Again... do not trespass on tribal land!

 

Potawatomi Tribal Land (Forest County):
Shown below is a map of southeastern Forest County... their land is scattered in many small locations (a total of over 12,000 acres) as shown by the purple
boxes shown on the map.  Tribal headquarters is located at 5416 Everybody's Rd., Crandon, Wisconsin 54520... phone number is 715-478-7200 (mailing address is P. O. Box 340, Crandon, Wisconsin 54520). 

We currently do not know of any waterfalls, spillways or rapids that are on any of the Potawatomi tribal lands.  We do have several places on our list of places to check for rapids in the Rat and Peshtigo Rivers... if we find that those locations are on tribal land we will so indicate on the write-ups for those locations. 

Trespassing on any Indian tribal land, just like any privately owned land, is illegal unless you have obtained permission to trespass.
Again... like access to any private or tribal land, do not trespass without permission!

Sokaogon Chippewa Community (Mole Lake Band) Tribal Land (Forest County):
Shown below is a map of a portion of southwestern Forest County... a small reservation of just over 4,900 acres as shown by the grey area on the map.  The
tribal land area is 7 miles southwest of Crandon.  Tribal headquarters is  at 3051 Sand Lake Road, Crandon, Wisconsin 54520... telephone 715-478-7500. 

We currently do not know of any waterfalls, spillways or rapids that are on any of the Sokaogon tribal lands.  Neither do we have any places on our list of places to check that are in that area.

As we have said before... if you find a waterway that needs checking, please contact the tribal headquarters for permission before trespassing on tribal land.

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribal Land (Vilas & Iron County):
Shown below is a map of a portion of southwestern Vilas County and southeastern Iron County showing the grey area that is the 110,000 acres of tribal
land belonging to the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe.  Tribal headquarters of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is at 88455 Pike Road, Bayfield, Wisconsin 54814... telephone is 715-779-3700.

There is only 1 spillway on tribal land of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.  Flambeau Lake Spillway is visible from Indian Village Road (a public road so you do not have to trespass on land to see the spillway).

If you find a waterway that needs checking please contact the tribal headquarters if permission is needed to trespass on tribal land.

Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Tribal Land (Shawano County):
Shown below is a portion of the northcentral area of Shawano County... the grey area is the 22,000 acres of tribal land controlled by the Stockbridge-
Munsee Community Band of Mohicans.  Tribal headquarters is at N8705 MohheConNuck Road, Bowler, Wisconsin 54416... telephone 715-793-4111.

We currently do not know of any waterfalls, spillways or rapids that are on any of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Tribal Land.  We do have several places on our list of places to check for rapids and or waterfalls in the West Branch of the Red River... if we find that those locations are on tribal land we will so indicate on the write-ups for those locations. 

 If you find a waterway that needs checking, please contact the tribal headquarters for permission before trespassing on tribal land.

Saint Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin (Burnett County):
Shown below are two areas of Burnett County (shown by red outlines) that are the 4,600 acre tribal lands of the Saint Croix Chippewa Indians.  The area at
left is the area around Big Sand Lake in the south part of the county... the area at right is in the north part of the county where the Yellow River empties into the St. Croix River, just east of Danbury.  The tribal headquarters of the Saint Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin is at 24663 Angeline Avenue, Webster, Wisconsin 54893... telephone is 715-349-2195.

We currently do not know of any waterfalls, spillways or rapids that are on any of the tribal lands of the Saint Croix Chippewa Indians.  We do have one place on our list of places to check for rapids and or waterfalls in the Yellow River... if we find that those locations are on tribal land we will so indicate on the write-ups for those locations. 

If you find a waterway that needs checking, please contact the tribal headquarters for permission before trespassing on tribal land.

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribal Lands (Bayfield County):
Shown below at the north tip of Bayfield County a red outline shows the 14,000 acres of tribal land of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.  The tribal headquaters of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians is at 88455 Pike Road, Bayfield, Wisconsin 54814... telephone 715-779-3700.

We currently do not know of any waterfalls, spillways or rapids that are on any of the tribal lands of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

If you find a waterway that needs checking, please contact the tribal headquarters for permission before trespassing on tribal land.

Oneida Nation Tribal Lands (Brown and Outagamie Counties):
Shown below in the Green Bay area a red outline shows the 46,000 acres of tribal land of the Oneida Nation.  The tribal headquarters of the Oneida Nation
is at N7210 Seminary Road, Oneida, Wisconsin 54155... telephone 800-236-2214.

We currently do not know of any waterfalls, spillways or rapids that are on any of the tribal lands of the Oneida Nation tribal land.

If you find a waterway that needs checking, please contact the tribal headquarters for permission before trespassing on tribal land.

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Menominee County):
The entire counties 235,000 acres of Menominee County is controlled by the Menominee Tribe.  Tribal headquarters is located at W2908 Tribal Office Loop Road, Keshana, Wisconsin 54135... telephone 715-799-5100. 

Menominee County is designated by the State of Wisconsin  as "Tribal Land".  Most land in Menominee County is owned by the Federal Government, but is controlled by Menominee Tribal Headquarters.  In most cases, unless you are a member of the tribe you are not permitted to travel or be on tribal land!  In Menominee County that policy is enforced in some areas and not in others, which makes it difficult to determine where non-tribal members are allowed to travel.  Example - we were told it was OK to walk on tribal land to see Sullivan Falls but not allowed to drive to it on the road.  We were also told, in general, that access to falls and rapids along the Wolf River is allowed (unsure what "in general" means). 

There are four major waterfalls (Bear Trap Falls, Peavey Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Wayka Falls) on tribal land, located in the interior of the county, that non tribal members are specifically forbidden to access.

Wisconsin state roads throughout the county are obviously legal travel... to venture on other roads we suggest talking to Tribal Headquarters in Keshana to get their approval.
 

General comments:
If there is ever a question about whether or not to venture onto tribal land, be safe and do not trespass.  If you think you have a legitimate reason to trespass on tribal land, your best and safest option is to contact their tribal headquarters and make sure you are legal to trespass.

Information details discussed here are only opinions... not legal interpretations... we disclaim any liability for illegal access, injury or damage when visiting any of the places listed on this website.

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