LAC DU FLAMBEAU — A group of disaffected Lac du Flambeau tribal members locked themselves inside the tribe's government administration offices for 14 hours Wednesday, refusing to come out until federal officials agreed to investigate allegations of corruption among tribal leaders.

Ten members of the group were arrested on tentative charges of criminal trespass after the standoff ended peacefully, Vilas County Chief Deputy Joe Fath said. A crowd gathered outside the center cheered when Fath announced the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. attorney's office had agreed to look into the situation.

Tribal police received a report about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday that people had entered the William Wildcat Tribal Center without permission, according to the Vilas County Sheriff's Department. When tribal police and sheriff's deputies went to the center, several people chained the doors and glued locks to prevent them from entering, the Sheriff's Department said.

"Basically (we're) trying to get help to end the mismanagement, nepotism and corruption that exists within our Tribal Council," tribal member Brandon Thoms, speaking from a cell phone inside the building, said during the standoff. "We've exhausted all efforts. We've called the BIA, the FBI, and the IRS and also the NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission) and our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. This is the last thing we could do to bring attention to what's happening here."

No reports of violence

Scores of officers from area law enforcement agencies surrounded the building for much of the day, and police with guns and riot gear were inside, although there had been no reports of violence.

"When I woke up, the building was under wraps," said Council member Brooks Big John, who supports the insurgents. "This is the last straw. People's voices need to be heard. The people have been trampled on, as has our constitution, and it has led to this chaos."

The protesters, who call themselves Ginews (Ojibwe for golden eagles) said they no longer recognize tribal President Victoria Doud.

"The repeated abuse of governmental power, the dictatorship of seven members of the Tribal Council and the rampant corruption of these seven council members has caused the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation to become a seat of poverty," the group said in a statement. "Over 100 tribal members have either lost their jobs or their programs. Students attending higher education have lost their benefits. Tribal elders have lost needed services — all because of the wanton spending and graft of these seven people."

Doud and some of her allies were also in the Tribal Center building for part of the day, although council members said there had been no negotiations between her administration and the group's leaders.

Tribe money misspent?

The 3,000-member tribe has been hit hard by a series of bad business investments which tribal members say could take years to correct.

Those include three multimillion-dollar off-reservation casino projects, including a failed $3.5 million casino cruise ship venture that was originally destined for Mexico but is now docked in Tampa Bay, Fla.; a proposed casino in Shullsburg, which was recently nixed by federal authorities; and a second gaming boat and hotel complex in Natchez, Miss., which is the focus of a lawsuit between the tribe and one of its business partners.

The tribe also invested about $1.9 million in two hotels in Stevens Point and Green Bay and $9 million in a start-up technology company in Houston, none of which have yet to make money.

The conflict came to a head in January, when the tribal government, facing a cash crisis, took out a $50 million bond to consolidate its debts. Payments on the bond, which carries an interest rate of 12 percent, are more than $500,000 a month. Last month, the tribe said it may mortgage part of its reservation to combat the cash crunch.

Others showed support

After speaking with the protesters, council member Tom Maulson addressed the growing crowd outside the Tribal Center Wednesday morning.

"I no longer recognize Victoria Doud as our tribal president," Maulson said to applause. "They (the protesters) won't come out until the BIA are here. They know they may have to go to prison for this, but they are not hardened criminals. They are our grandmothers, our tribal elders, and our young people. We want open books and we want to know where the millions and millions of dollars have gone."

Hundreds of supporters endured snow and freezing conditions to show their support for the protesters. Although the event was peaceful, police used force on a couple of teenage girls and then pepper-sprayed tribal member Joe Poupart, 20, when he stepped forward to intervene.

"The police tossed a young girl to the ground," Poupart said, rubbing his eyes, "and I was just trying to help her."

Others also questioned the massive police presence, which continued to grow as the day wore on.

Ann Chosa, whose elderly aunt, Betty Jack, was inside the building as part of the protest, brought her children to watch the siege. Her daughter, Margaret Gomez, 16, was glad to be witnessing the action but said the police didn't belong there.

"This is a nonviolent protest," she said.

Vilas County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Collins defended the decision to bring firearms into the building, saying authorities were responding to concerns about a 35-gallon gas tank that protesters took with them inside the building.

But Thoms, from inside the building, said the group had brought in the 35-gallon fuel drum in the event they needed to power a generator they also had with them.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.