Wisconsin 101

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

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

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

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

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

Read more about the article Kechewaishke

Portrait of Chief Buffalo. Photo Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society Photographic Collection PH4553, Image 3957

Indigenous Wisconsin / Madeline Island / Related Stories / Bayfield County / Ethnicity & Identity / 1787-1848 / Region 1 - North West / Politics & Government / Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

Kechewaishke

Kechewaishke (1759 – 1855), also known as Chief Buffalo, Peezhickee, and Le Boeuf, led the Lake Superior Ojibwe people of La Pointe, the location of Madeline Island today. Kechewaishke was instrumental to signing treaty agreements between the Wisconsin Ojibwe people and the…

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February 16, 2021

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

Pipe bowl. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

Indigenous Wisconsin / Art & Design / Madeline Island / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Bayfield County / 1787-1848 / Region 1 - North West / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

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 stone, and has two common images to…

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November 17, 2020

Object Histories / Ino / Bayfield County / Ethnicity & Identity / Curators' Favorites / Global Connections / Region 1 - North West / 1900-1918 / Society & Religion

OBJECT HISTORY: Slovak Catholic Altar

During the 19th and early 20th century, immigrants from all across Europe began coming to Wisconsin. Some had heard of economic opportunity from industries like mining, logging, or farming. Some were being treated unfairly in their home countries because of their race or religion.…

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October 6, 2020