Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Chevrolet Caprice

General Motors was the largest car manufacturing corporation in the world in the 1960s, and the assembly of the 100 millionth General Motors vehicle, a marina blue 1967 Chevrolet Caprice with a soft black top and complementary blue interior, was a significant…

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February 17, 2025

Agriculture / Indigenous Wisconsin / Lac du Flambeau / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Curators' Favorites / Region 2 - North East / 1987-2011 / Vilas County / Ricing Sticks

OBJECT HISTORY: Wild Rice Threshing Machine

Harvested in the early autumn, wild rice has long been an important commodity to Native Americans, including the Ojibwe, who lived in areas where it grew abundantly. This improvised wild rice threshing machine was made and used by Duane Poupart, Sr., a…

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November 17, 2024

Broad History / Ashland County / Agriculture / Indigenous Wisconsin / Odanah / Lac du Flambeau / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Nature & Environment / Region 1 - North West / Region 2 - North East / Vilas County / Ricing Sticks

Wild Rice and Wetland Conservation

Wild rice grows only in the Great Lakes Region in shallow and calm waters. It requires specific conditions, nutrient-rich muddy soil and stable water levels, in order to properly grow to maturity, to produce the seeds able to be harvested. Damaging the…

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November 17, 2024

Ashland County / Agriculture / Indigenous Wisconsin / Odanah / Lac du Flambeau / Broad History / Food & Cooking / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Region 1 - North West / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / Vilas County / Ricing Sticks

Ricing (Manoominikewin)

Wild rice was depicted in an Ojibwe prophecy before there was even a name for the grain. When the Ojibwe people began to migrate west, they were prophesied to settle where food grows on water. The westward migration was in part because…

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November 16, 2024

Broad History / Odanah / Lac du Flambeau / Indigenous Wisconsin / Ashland County / Agriculture / New Object Histories / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Ethnicity & Identity / Region 1 - North West / Region 2 - North East / Vilas County / Ricing Sticks

OBJECT HISTORY: Ricing Sticks (Bawa’iganaakoog)

Bawa’iganaakoog, threshers, or knockers, are all words used to refer to the sticks used for the harvesting of wild rice. Wild rice holds extreme cultural importance to Ojibwe culture for several reasons beyond basic sustenance; not only can it be dried and…

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November 16, 2024

New Object Histories / Greendale / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Region 8 - South East / Slaske's Tools

OBJECT HISTORY: Jack Slaske’s Tool Set

In the holdings of the Greendale Historical Society is an unassuming set of tools, comprised of hand saws, planes, braces and drill bits, among other items. Though these were mass manufactured and similar tools exist all across the country, these particular tools…

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August 14, 2024