Menomonie, Wisconsin History/folsomh3454

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Introduction[edit | edit source]

The Ojibwe or the Ojibway people in Menominee, where one of many tribes of the area.The Ojibwe were once the largest Indian group north of Mexico. With the British and French settlers joining them in north America in 1667, the clashing cultures created many conflicts as these new settlers arrived, many natives where forced out of their lands and many times left competing with the Europeans and other tribes for resources and trade.

The Ojibwe, First People of Menominee[edit | edit source]

The Native American roots in Menominee are suspected to go back as far as 10,000 years ago. The historic territory of the natives where originally around 10 million acres in the Wisconsin upper peninsula. The name 'Menominee' its self comes from the native peoples language (Algonquian) meaning “wild rice people” as rice was an important food source but had a seasonal economy of fishing in the summer, harvesting wild rice in the fall, hunting, trapping, and ice fishing in the winter, and tapping maple syrup and spearfishing in the spring.^[1]

The Ojibwe's First Encounter With the European Settlers[edit | edit source]

Sources say that the Ojibwe first encounter the Europeans around 1634, and by 1667 French and European settlers had begun to move in, eventually forcing the Ojibwe further and further away from there original lands. Things turned violent shortly after, when the colonists began trying to monopolizing the fur trade in Wisconsin, as Indian trading for foreign goods was quite common. The Ojibwe fared well compared to other tribes, by 1690 they had quite a few successful victories over their home land.

But unfriendly they lost the French and Indian War in 1763, this did not fare well for the Ojibwe, the Native Americans where left under the control of British rain, who treated the Native people with more detestation then French control. Eventually a better relationship with the Europeans was established and the Ojibwe allied with the British around the date of 1765.

After a few more battles and conflicts with settlers and Native tribes, in 1837 the Ojibew made deals with the government and sold most of their land in north-central Wisconsin. American lumberjacks began to travel to Menominee shortly after, as well as copper miners along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Giving way to the start of current day Menominee, and the start of how Menominee took shape today.

Adaption to European change and Modern Day[edit | edit source]

The government wanted to get rid of the Native people in this area, but the Ojibew pleaded to keep what remained of their land and where eventually successful.

But after the Indian reservation was created the native people could not sustain themselves by past means. Fishing, hunting and gathering was no longer a reasonable way of survival. Many Ojibew’s turned to work as lumberjacks, but as new government acts passed making even this new way of life impossible as well. Many of the Ojibew’s where forced to sell off even more of their land once again to lumber companies. Stout University itself was founded in 1891 by James Huff Stout, a wealthy man who profited from the Ojibwe lands lumber supply.

There are many more struggles for the Native Ojibew’s faced as years continue and some still persist to this day. Most would say the Ojibew people did well in the times of European and French traders, that is when compared to many of the other native tribes, they still faced many hard times, discrimination and sacrifices . Loosing much of their land and heritage as it was taken and sold off to companies and government hands. Creating the transition into English settlements and culture over this regen. Much of the Natives rich resources given up by the Ojibwe brought in large amounts of profit, wealth and colonists to the Wisconsin Menominee area, leading to the funding of education, schools and business to the area and Stout University.