Church resale store demolished by LdF tribe

With its effort to save The Attic a failure, the members of the Community Presbyterian Church in Lac du Flambeau want to make the public aware the church itself will remain.

According to a statement from The Session, a board of directors for the church, The Attic was built in 2001 “to provide a means for raising funds to fulfill a principal purpose of the church.”

It was demolished on order of the tribal council of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians following testing for human remains by the tribal historic preservation department (THPD) of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians on Aug. 17. 

The testing was conducted after a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey done earlier this summer indicated “the potential existence of human remains,” according to a press release from the LdF tribe. 

In a Sept. 22 statement, the tribal council announced “the Church has agreed to remove the building currently housing the Attic resale shop and to replace part of the Church parking lot to create a grassy area more appropriate for our ancestors’ final resting places.”

In an Oct. 3 statement, members of The Session, wrote that the church, “offered a possible path forward to find common ground that would satisfy and honor concerns and interests of the Tribe about the location of the church’s Attic Resale Shop and also allow the church to continue its service to the Lac du Flambeau community.”

“We respectfully propose the formation of a committee of three members appointed by the Tribal Council and three members selected by the church to evaluate the proposal offered here,” the Oct. 3 statement from The Session to the tribal council read. The proposal included the possibility of not demolishing the building but relocating The Attic “to another location donated by the Tribe.”

Ultimately, that proposal wasn’t approved and The Attic was demolished on Oct. 16. 

The area where it once stood, along with most of the church’s parking lot, was seeded with grass seed and fenced off. 

The Session issued another statement on Oct. 23. 

“In response to the inquiries we have received from our many friends throughout the Lakeland area and beyond, the Community Presbyterian Church in Lac du Flambeau continues with our regular worship services every Sunday at 10 a.m.,” Dr. William E. Raduege, a spokesman for The Session, said in the statement. “While we are actively seeking a new minister for our church, our services are being conducted by ordained clergy who generously give of their time as arranged by the Presbytery of Northern Waters based in Duluth, Minnesota. All other church activities continue without interruption.”

Because of the loss “of a portion of our handicapped parking,” assistance is offered to anyone who might need it and those individuals are asked to call the church “a few days in advance so that we may help,” Raduege added.

The phone number is 715-588-7150.

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].