Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article Kechewaishke

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

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: Aztalan Copper Maskettes

Aztalan Copper Maskettes, 1000-1200 AD. Courtesy: Milwaukee Public Museum

Indigenous Wisconsin / Pre-1787 / Aztalan / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Jefferson County / Region 7 - South Center

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 used metal, they sometimes used metals from…

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December 18, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

Pipe bowl. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

Art & Design / Indigenous Wisconsin / Madeline Island / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Bayfield County / Ethnicity & Identity / 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

Art & Design / Military History / Indigenous Wisconsin / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Door County / 1900-1918 / Politics & Government / Region 5 - Center East / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat'

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.

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September 10, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Aztalan Fishing Weir

A Cherokee weir similar to the one the people of Aztalan built, showing what it looked like 1000 years ago. Image courtesy of Western Carolina University's Digital Heritage Project.

Indigenous Wisconsin / Aztalan / Pre-1787 / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Jefferson County / Nature & Environment / Region 7 - South Center

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…

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September 9, 2020

Read more about the article Missionaries and Land Rights: The Story of Erik Morstad and the Potawatomi

Map of Indian Settlements - including Potawatomi of Forest County, c. 1962. Image ID: 91434 Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Indigenous Wisconsin / Forest County / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Nature & Environment / 1877-1900 / Politics & Government / 1900-1918 / Region 2 - North East / Society & Religion / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat'

Missionaries and Land Rights: The Story of Erik Morstad and the Potawatomi

Some histories are not as straightforward as others, especially when cultures collide. It may come as no surprise that stories about the interactions between Native Americans and white settlers are sometimes one-sided. We can partly attribute this to the European tradition of…

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September 8, 2020