History Documentation:
LETTER ON PA QUA WONG STORAGE RESERVOIR 1916 August, 17
AMERICAN PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANY
Grand Rapids, Michigan
August 17, 1916
William A. Light
Superintendent Hayward Indian School
Hayward, Wisconsin
Dear Sir:-
Pa Qua Wong Storage Reservoir
In the Act of Congress, making appropriations for
the current and contingent expenses of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, etc.,
approved May 18, 1916, there is the following provision:
“With the consent of the Indians of the Lac Courte Oreilles
tribe, to be obtained in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior may
require, flowage rights on the unallotted tribal lands, and, with the consent
of the allottee or their heirs of any deceased allottee and under such
rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, flowage
rights on any allotted lands in the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation, in
the state of Wisconsin, may be leased or granted for storage-reservoir
purposes. The tribe, as a condition of giving its consent to the leasing
or granting of flowage rights on tribal lands, and any allottee, or heir
of a deceased allottee, as a condition to giving his or their consent to
the leasing or granting of flowage rights on their respective allotments,
may determine, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior,
what consideration or rental shall be received for such flowage rights,
and in what manner and for what purposes such consideration or rental shall
be paid or expended under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of
the Interior may prescribe.”
I desire to commence negotiations under the provision
of the above Act, for a granting of flowage rights for storage-reservoir
purposes upon the Indian Lands in Townships 40 North, Range 6, West and
40 North, Range 7, West, and upon sections 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and ten of Township
39 North, Range 7, West; sections 1 and 12 of Township 39 North, Range
8 West and sections 13, 24, 25, 35 and 36 of Township 40 North, Range 8
West.
I am enclosing herewith a map showing the contour
of the proposed reservoir, from which you will observe the Indian lands
in Township 40 North, Range 6 West, and Township 40 North, Range 7 West,
will be almost completely overflowed if the purposed storage reservoir
is constructed and the Indian lands in other townships will not be very
much affected. I am enclosing also a map of Sawyer County, Wisconsin, from
which you will observe that only a comparatively small portion of the Indian
reservation will be affected by the storage reservoir.
This storage reservoir will be operated to produce
a uniform flow of water in the Chippewa River and will be constructed either
by the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Company, which has power to
condemn lands for storage reservoirs under section 1777-a Wisconsin Statutes;
or Chippewa and Flambeau Improvement Company, which has the power to condemn
lands under Chapter 640, Wisconsin Session Laws, 1911. Either of these
companies, proceeding under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1901, 31 Stats.
page 1084, which provides:
“Lands allotted in severalty to Indians may be condemned
for any public purpose under the laws of the State or Territory where located
in the same manner as lands owned in fee may be condemned, and money awarded
as damages paid to the allottee.”
may condemn flowage rights upon Indian allotments as
was done in the case of Great Western Power Company; 42 Public Lands Decisions,
page 4, but it is our desire to make such an agreement with the Indians
that they will be substantially benefited as well as ourselves by the carrying
out of this public improvement, and we desire to cooperate with the Indian
Department in accomplishing this result.
We are willing to pay cash at this time for a
grant of flowage rights, but it seems more to be desired from the standpoint
of the Indians that a continuous income shall result from the grant, we
will glad to negotiate for grants providing for the payment of annual rental
so long as the grant shall continue in effect or we will undertake to obtain
for the Indians as good lands as those upon which we obtain flowage rights
and have them made exempt from taxes by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature.
I will appreciate it very much if you will advise
me as soon as you conveniently can what course or procedure we should adopt
to commence these negotiations.
Yours truly,
Charles McPherson