Spearing…The Unasked Questions By Craig Sandell © 2026 Every time that someone raises the question to the Lac Du Flambeau tribal leaders regarding why spearing is needed in the 21st Century, the answer is twofold; "it is our treaty right and we need to spear for the subsistence of the needy on the Reservation". As to treaty rights, I agree. As to subsistence spearing, there are a host of questions that never seem to get put into writing. So, I will put them in writing for you to consider: 1. Is there a "means testing" for who among the tribe qualifies as in need of food subsistence? 2. Once thousands of Walleye and smaller numbers of Musky are speared, how are the fish processed and who does the processing? 3. Once the fish are processed, how are the fish actually distributed among the needy of the tribe? 4. What happens to the processed fish that are not claimed by the tribal needy? When I have posed these questions to the WDNR and GLIFWC, I am told that the tribe is a sovereign nation and it is none of my business. Well, that is a great dodge of the question to which these two organizations HAVE NO ANSWER. For your consideration, here is my perspective on the four questions previously posed:
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA4MA==