Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

Pipe bowl. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

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 / Door County / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Ethnicity & Identity / 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 / Pre-1787 / Aztalan / 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 / 1877-1900 / Nature & Environment / 1900-1918 / Politics & Government / 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

Indigenous Wisconsin / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Door County / Curators' Favorites / Politics & Government / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 5 - Center East / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat'

Chief Kahquados

Chief Simon Onanguisse Kahquados was the last hereditary descendant in a long line of Potawatomi chiefs, his family being one of the oldest known Potawatomi inhabitants of Wisconsin. An engaging speaker, Kahquados often served as an interpreter and provided a wealth of information to the Wisconsin Historical Society regarding traditional Potawatomi culture and history.

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April 6, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Trade Blanket

A trade blanket, with the "points" visible on the right side of the picture. Image courtesy of Ron Dennis.

Industry / Fur Trade / Indigenous Wisconsin / Home Furnishings / Pre-1787 / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / 1787-1848 / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade

OBJECT HISTORY: Trade Blanket

This blanket, ordinary though it may seem, tells the story of an important meeting of cultures that occurred in Wisconsin between 1634 and 1763. Not long after the explorer Jean Nicolet first set foot in Wisconsin, French traders saw an opportunity to make money by sending beaver furs back to Europe for use in stylish…

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September 10, 2018