The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (called Waaswaaganing in Ojibwe) is a federally recognized Ojibwa Native American tribe.

With renewed self-government under a written constitution in the 20th century, the Lac du Flambeau Band have established enterprises to build on their natural resources.

Like other tribes, the band had much of it land allotted to individual households under the Dawes Act of the early 20th century, intended to encourage assimilation to European-American style property holding and farming.

[6] The Lac du Flambeau Band consider Strawberry Island sacred, and call it "the place of the little people" or spirits according to tribal tradition.

In 1966, an archaeological survey by a professor at Beloit College revealed that the island has human remains, and layers of artifacts dating to 200 BC.

[6] Listed in 1978 on the National Register of Historic Places, it is described as "one of the most important archeological sites in northern Wisconsin" by Robert Birmingham, as state archeologist in 1995.

An appeals court in 2003 affirmed the denial of the building permit, with the judge ruling that, as the island was within the boundaries of the tribe's reservation, the band should determine its future.

[6] In 2008, Bonnie Mills-Rush, manager of the LLC that owns the island, assigned a lease and control to Bill Poupart, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band.

The tribe held a "Strawberry Island Closing and Drum Ceremony" at the William Wildcat Sr. Community Center on December 30, 2013, in celebration of the acquisition.

It has developed a number of businesses: LDF Industries (pallet manufacturing), Ojibwa Mall, campground, fish hatchery, gas station, and cigarettes and tobacco shop.

v. Lake of the Torches Economic Development Corporation (2011), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed that the bond indenture constituted a management contract and was invalid.

The provisions together gave a "great deal of authority in an entity other than the tribe to control the Casino's operations," which was not in keeping with the law on Indian gaming.

[12] The Seventh Circuit decision requested additional guidance from the United States Congress and /or the National Indian Gaming Commission regarding the "rules of the road" for tribal casino financing.

[13] Companies owned by the Lac du Flambeau Band have also accumulated more than 2,200 consumer complaints routed to the Federal Trade Commission since 2019, more than any other tribe.

[13] Since 2019, the Lac du Flambeau band has been subject to at least 40 civil lawsuits involving its lending practices, with most suits being quickly settled.

[13] In 2024, a settlement was reached in the suit, calling for the cancellation of $1.4 billion in outstanding loans affecting approximately 980,000 people who were customers of the tribe's lending companies, with tribal officials and their associates agreeing to pay an additional $37.4 million in cash to the plaintiffs and their lawyers.