Community Leaders Speak at Ceremony Concluding Lac Courte Oreilles/Hayward ‘Healing Field’®

Community leaders from Lac Courte Oreilles and Sawyer County came together Friday, Sept. 21, at a ceremony marking the conclusion of the Lac Courte Oreilles/Hayward Healing Field^® after a month-long installation at the junction of Highways B and K. Over 600 flags were placed at the site to recognize and promote common bonds between the people of Sawyer County and Lac Courte Oreilles. It was the first Healing Field^® to have two nations’ flags flying together.

After introductory performances from the Hayward High School Choir and a Lac Courte Oreilles student drum circle, Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Secretary/Treasurer Mic Isham, on behalf of the LCO Boys & Girls Club, welcomed attendees.

“Any time we focus on making our community a great place to live, raise a family, and be happy, that’s always a great thing,” he said.

Project co-chair and organizer Karen Rougeau, executive director of the LCO Boys & Girls Club, recognized the significance of the Healing Field^® to the LCO and Hayward community.

“It is essential that we focus on what is good and right in our own world, in our own community,” she said. “We have erected the first Healing Field^® in the United State in which two nations’ flags are flown together. People who visit the field are moved by its presence.”

Among the slate of speakers was a keynote address presented by Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board Chairman Gordon Thayer, who recognized the contributions of those who helped make the Healing Field^® a reality and those who gathered in solidarity with one another at the ceremony. He especially recognized the bonds between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement agencies, and the efforts the tribal governing board is taking to meet regularly with the Hayward Community School District board.

“It really warms my heart to be here, this is really a special time,” Thayer said. “I’m excited to see how things have come along in our community. I really feel that today, with what’s going on in the world, we need to even moreso be closer together in our community. Not depending on race, but what we represent in our community for our young people.

Other speakers included: Sawyer County Board Chairman Hal Helwig, Sawyer County Sheriff Mark Kelsey, Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Police Chief Tim DeBrot, City of Hayward Police Chief Joel Clapero, Hayward Community School District Superintendent Craig Olson, Winter School District Principal Adam Zopp, Pastor Mark Wilson, and Lac Courte Oreilles School Administrator Dennis White.