Tribal Members With Land on Reservation Being Taken Off the Tax Rolls Due to Court Ruling

Friday, June 23rd, 2023 -- 9:00 AM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) For most of her life, Sandy Deragon paid taxes on land that she and her late husband owned on the Bad River reservation in northern Wisconsin.

But, according to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, it turns out they never owed a dime. "I want to see my money back," Deragon said. Deragon, 66, is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Her house rests on a lot less than an acre about a mile from Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior. A federal appeals court ruled last summer that Wisconsin can’t force tribal landowners to pay property taxes on reservation lands.

That’s what Deragon and many other tribal members have been doing for years. The ruling changed that. Now, tribal members with property on reservation lands in close to a dozen northern Wisconsin towns are being taken off the tax rolls.

The decision is a victory for tribal sovereignty, but it also means fewer residents are paying property taxes in those communities. In one community, taxes have skyrocketed for nontribal residents. And local governments are seeking state aid in hopes of making up the lost revenue.

The decision from a three-judge panel on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals stems from a 2018 lawsuit brought by four northern Wisconsin tribes. The Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac du Flambeau, Red Cliff and Bad River Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa sued the state and towns over taxation of their lands.

The tribes argued lands owned by their members can’t be taxed because the 1854 treaty that established their reservations gave them immunity from state taxation for all time. The state’s position was that land owned by the tribes since 1854 couldn’t be taxed, but any land that had ever been sold to someone outside the tribes could be, even if the land was later sold back to tribal members like Deragon.

The court ruled in favor of the tribes in August, and the state declined to appeal the decision. To Deragon, the ruling upheld the treaty that established their reservations. When the tribes signed the treaty with the federal government, they wanted to ensure permanent homes for their members as federal policy had sought to force tribes westward.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.