For Prescott High School students, four days on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation offer something that cannot be replicated in a classroom: the opportunity to learn history from the people who lived it, experience culture firsthand, and develop a deeper understanding of the Ojibwe people whose history and traditions remain an important part of Wisconsin today.

The Prescott School District recently completed its 27th educational trip to Lac du Flambeau, continuing a place-based learning experience that has become a defining educational opportunity for generations of Prescott students. Since 2000, 442 Prescott students have participated in the four-day experience, studying tribal history, culture, government, sovereignty, treaty rights, and contemporary issues through direct conversations and experiences with tribal members.

For many students, the trip has become a life-altering experience, challenging assumptions, broadening perspectives, and creating connections that last well beyond their high school years. Wisconsin Act 31 requires public schools to provide instruction on American Indian history, culture, tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and contemporary issues at the elementary and secondary levels. Prescott takes that responsibility seriously. The district has earned recognition for its outstanding work involving First Nations issues, and the Lac du Flambeau experience reflects a commitment to going beyond the requirements of the law.

Rather than relying exclusively on textbooks, Prescott students travel to the reservation to listen, ask questions, and learn directly from the people whose experiences and perspectives bring these subjects to life.

“I don’t know any other school in Wisconsin or the country, for that matter, that has an educational program like this,” said Dr. Brian Jackson, a Lac du Flambeau tribal member and cultural educator. “It is a testament to Jeff Ryan and the Prescott School District for recognizing the importance of understanding Native people. To come to the reservation to listen and learn from Native people themselves is very powerful.”

During the four days, students met with tribal elders, educators, artists, and community members; visited important cultural and historical sites; participated in traditional craft workshops; and completed community service projects. Each experience offered another opportunity to understand the people, traditions, and issues shaping life in Lac du Flambeau.

“It was a great time,” said Prescott sophomore Leia Most. “Everyone here is so welcoming and willing to share their stories with us. Everyone treated all of us so well.”

One of the most sobering stops was the renovated boys' dormitory at the former reservation boarding school. Students learned about the experiences of Native children who were forced to attend boarding schools, often separated from their families and subjected to efforts to strip away their language, cultural identity, and traditions.

“The parents were forced to give up their children,” said Lauren Abel, Lac du Flambeau's historic preservation coordinator. “The students were stripped of their Native identity and forced to become white. The legacy of the boarding school experience remains something tribal nations have continued to recover from.”

Today, however, the renovated building serves a very different purpose. It is used to teach the Ojibwe language and art, helping preserve and revitalize the culture earlier generations were pressured to abandon.

“It’s great to see that the building today that was used to destroy the culture is now being used to preserve and rediscover it,” said Kieran Lapcinski, a Prescott High School alumnus who has made the trip multiple times.

The importance of language, the natural environment, and cultural knowledge was reinforced during a presentation by Greg Johnson, an accomplished Ojibwe artist and fluent speaker who shares his expertise throughout Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada. Johnson demonstrated how to harvest winter birch bark, explaining its importance to traditional Ojibwe life and the knowledge required to gather and use natural materials responsibly.

“It was really interesting to see how to gather the bark and also how important birch is to the culture,” said Prescott senior Kaylin Tromberg.

Sophomore Ava Hamann was equally struck by the relationship between cultural knowledge and the natural world.

“I really liked how knowledge of the plants and animals gives them such a close connection to the land,” Hamann said. “You can tell that in order for the Ojibwe to be who they are, they need to be connected to nature.”

Students also participated in a dreamcatcher workshop led by Doreen Wawronowicz, a tribal artist and teacher at Arbor Vitae Middle School who has worked with hundreds of Prescott students over the years. Wawronowicz praised the students' willingness to listen and learn.

“The students from Prescott are always so respectful, polite, and willing to listen,” she said. “All the students we have worked with from Prescott have been so awesome.”

Other presentations addressed some of the most difficult chapters in the relationship between Wisconsin's Native communities and the broader public.

Bob Elm and his mother, Mildred Schuman, discussed powwow etiquette and the struggles tribal members endured during the Walleye Wars of the late 1980s and early 1990s. During that period, Chippewa spearfishers faced harassment and threats from protesters as they exercised treaty-protected rights to harvest fish in the spring.

“Those were not easy times,” Elm said. “Having people scream and yell and threaten you every night was very difficult mentally and was hard on a lot of families. It was surprising no one was killed during that time.”

Prescott senior Devon Stockwell recognized the courage it took for tribal members to continue exercising their rights despite the hostility. “You could tell what he went through had a big impact on him,” Stockwell said. “I give him and the other people who still went out and speared fish, despite how dangerous it was, a lot of credit. That took a lot of courage to do that.”

Students also met with former Lac du Flambeau Tribal President Tom Maulson, who led the tribe during the Walleye Wars and received FBI protection after receiving numerous death threats.“

It was a very difficult time for the people of Lac du Flambeau, but we made it through and became stronger,” Maulson said.

Prescott sophomore Taylor Tromberg was struck by the hostility tribal members experienced. “It’s hard to believe people could be so mean and hateful to another person,” Tromberg said. “You could tell when Mr. Maulson was telling the stories that it was a scary time for a lot of people.”

During the four days students stayed at Broken Bow Campground, owned by Steve and Carol LaVake. The couple, who come from Wisconsin and Mississippi, respectively, have traveled extensively throughout the world working with international organizations, including the YMCA and USAID. Their humanitarian work has taken them to 32 countries, including Senegal, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Niger, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Steve LaVake encouraged the students to continue exploring the world and seeking out unfamiliar perspectives.

“I encourage all of you to travel to different countries and experience places with different cultures and perspectives,” he said. “It will change your thinking, and the rewards you will receive are impossible to quantify.”

That spirit of learning from people whose experiences differ from one's own was evident throughout the trip.

“We met a lot of really cool people,” said Prescott senior Jake O’Brien. “Each and every one of them had interesting stories, and it was really appreciated that they were willing to share their stories with us.”

For students who had previously encountered tribal history primarily through classroom lessons, meeting the people behind those lessons made a lasting difference.

“We have talked about these topics in class, but to talk to the actual people who live on the reservation and experience all these things was really interesting,” said Violet Henderson. “I think we all learned a lot, and I know that I appreciate how important the Ojibwe people are to our state’s history and to our state today.”

Most encouraged other students to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I would encourage anyone, if they have a chance to take this trip, to do it,” said Kaylin Tromberg.  “You learn so much over the four days, and the things you learn cannot be learned in the classroom.”

For Lapcinski, the experience has been so meaningful that he has returned six times. Each visit has offered another opportunity to learn, listen, and reconsider what he thought he already knew.

“A great deal of credit needs to go to all the administrators and school board members who have supported this trip over the years,” Lapcinski said. “I have made the trip six times, and each time I learn something new. For the Prescott School District to recognize that this time of learning is important makes me a proud Prescott alumnus. I can’t wait to go back next year.”

Twenty-seven trips and 442 students represent more than a number. They reflect a sustained commitment to understanding the history, rights, culture, and contemporary experiences of Wisconsin's Native people. Act 31 establishes an important educational responsibility for Wisconsin schools. Prescott's experience in Lac du Flambeau demonstrates what can happen when that responsibility is embraced as an opportunity to build relationships, deepen understanding, and learn directly from the people whose stories deserve to be heard.

For many Prescott students, the lessons do not end when the four days are over. They return home with a different understanding of Wisconsin's history, a greater appreciation for the Ojibwe people, and a broader perspective on the importance of listening to others. And for those who have made the journey, the experience often becomes much more than a school trip. It becomes a turning point in how they see the world.

Submitted by Prescott School District