Today, The University of Wisconsin System consists of 11 four-year campuses that educate over 165,000 students. But this extensive institution grew from very modest beginnings. Most of the universities that form the UW system began …
Indigenous Peoples
UW-Eau Claire & The Council Oak Tree
Oak trees have been regarded for centuries as a symbol of strength, morality, and knowledge, and have been represented in different mythologies to display these attributes. The original Council Oak Tree, which grew in Eau …
OBJECT HISTORY: Council Oak Tree Bench
First dating from the early 1800’s, the landmark Council Oak Tree stood on the UW-Eau Claire campus for half with little to no disturbance. However, on July 10, 1966 a summer storm blew through the …
Kechewaishke
Kechewaishke (1759? – 1855), also known as Chief Buffalo, Peezhickee, and Le Boeuf, led the Lake Superior Ojibwe people of La Pointe, located on what is known today as Madeline Island. Kechewaishke guided his tribe …
OBJECT HISTORY: Aztalan Copper Maskettes
Found at the Aztalan archaeological site in southeastern Wisconsin, these small copper artifacts were most likely used as ornate jewelry.[1] Specifically, Mississipian people likely wore the mask-shaped copper designs as earrings. Although Native Americans seldom …
OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe
This Ojibwe presentation pipe consists of two pieces: a pipe bowl and a pipe stem. It was most likely for spiritual ceremonies. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the pipe bowl is carved from heavy …
OBJECT HISTORY: Beaver Felt Hat
The beaver felt hat was one of the main reasons for the success of the fur trade in northern states, such as Wisconsin, and in Canada. But why was this hat more popular than others? …
OBJECT HISTORY: Potawatomi Beaded ‘Soldier Coat’
An elder spokesman for the Potawatomi Indians, Chief Simon Onanguisse Kahquados made a number of trips to Washington, D.C. in the early twentieth century in an effort to regain land that his people had lost through treaties with the United States government in the 1800s. Kahquados wore this coat on his last trip to Washington and also wore it on other important occasions, such as trips to the state capital in Madison where he often spent time researching and presenting information about his ancestry.
OBJECT HISTORY: Aztalan Fishing Weir
Fishing can take a lot of patience. A person could sit with their fishing pole for hours before they get a bite! Fishing weirs are time-saving technologies built in the water to trap fish. This fishing weir was created by the people who lived in the Early Mississippian settlement, Aztalan, sometime between the 10th and…
OBJECT HISTORY: A Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket Coat
This wool coat was constructed from a ‘point blanket’ made by the Hudson’s Bay Company, likely during the early 1920s. A Wausau businessman wore it at one of the town’s early Winter Frolics, an annual winter sports festival that attracted tourists from as far as Chicago. The businessman belonged to a group of local business…