Menominee
Reservation
home of
Menominee Tribal School
Federal reservation
Menominee
Menominee County, Wisconsin
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
P.O. Box 910
Keshena, WI 54135-0910
(715) 799-5100
Fax: 799-4525
Total area 235,000 acres
High school graduate or higher 59.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher 2.8%
Per capita income $4,738
Total labor force 1,009
Unemployment rate 21.9%
Total reservation population 3,411
Tribal enrollment 7,202
LOCATION AND LAND STATUS
The Menominee Reservation is located in northeastern Wisconsin, about
45 miles northwest of Green Bay. It spans approximately 235,000 acres,
of which 223,500 acres are heavily forested representing the largest single
tract of virgin timberland in Wisconsin. Aside from forests, the reservation
features abundant lakes, rivers, and streams, including the Wolf River,
which is designated as a component of the national wild and scenic rivers
system. There are four communities on the reservation: the two main villages
of Neopit and Keshena, a smaller village called Zoar, and the more scattered
community of South Branch.
The present reservation was established in through the Treaty of 1854,
the last of a series of treaties which had winnowed the tribe's ancestral
territory from approximately 9.5 million acres down to 234,000 acres.
In 1954, Congress passed the Termination Act which resulted in the actual
abolition of the reservation on April 30, 1961. On December 22, 1973,
Congress reversed itself, passing the Menominee Restoration Act, which
the tribe implemented on February 9, 1979 in forming a Tribal Legislature.
CULTURE AND HISTORY
The Menominee are part of the Algonquian linguistic family and are Wisconsin's
oldest continuous residents, having lived on this land for at least 4000
years. Tribal land once stretched from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi
River. Their name means "wild rice people," and indeed wild
rice was long the tribe's staple food, augmented by the corn, squash,
and beans which they grew in small gardens. Aside from these gathering
and farming activities, the tribe subsisted through hunting and fishing.
After the U.S. Government placed the Menominee on their reservation in
1854, it attempted to convert the tribe to full-fledged agrarians. The
Menominee, however, were more interested in using logging as the basis
for their economy. They began their own commercial logging operation in
1871 and by 1890 had made such a success of it that they were able to
establish a hospital, trade school, police and judicial system, and profit
sharing from their lumbering profits. By the turn of the century, the
tribe was widely recognized as one of the most prosperous and progressive
in the country.
Ironically, it was this very image of the Menominee as "advanced"
and "prosperous" that marked them to be one of the first tribes
to face the federal government's termination experiment during the 1950's.
By the late 1960's, tribal leaders, in desperation, made the decision
to begin developing and selling waterfront lots on the county's lakes
and rivers to non-indians. Tribal reaction to this scheme spurred the
establishment of a new tribal organization in 1970 called Determination
of Rights and Unity for Menominee Shareholders (DRUMS). Through public
demonstrations, favorable media coverage, and court actions, the organization
was able to delay the development and sale of tribal lands. These events
did not go unnoticed in Washington and in 1973 Richard Nixon signed the
Menominee Restoration Act into law, reestablishing nearly all the former
reservation.
Today the tribe is actively building a new economic and political foundation.
While the reservation's lush forests still play a central role in the
tribe's economic and cultural life, new enterprises such as the tribal
gaming complex have helped diversify their commercial base and have provided
much-needed revenue and employment. Aspects of traditional culture remain
vital on the reservation, the tribe having preserved and restored the
Menominee clan structure, the tribal creation story, and the use and teaching
of the Menominee language. There are four tribal schools on the reservation,
as well as the College of the Menominee Nation in nearby Keshena.
GOVERNMENT
In 1977 the tribe adopted a new constitution and bylaws. The bylaws call
for an elected nine-member Tribal Legislature, a tribal chairperson elected
by the Legislature, a tribal judiciary, and a general council. The Legislature
oversees approximately 40 social service and administrative programs.
ECONOMY
AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK
Agriculture represents only a minor part of the tribal economy, with about
176 acres of grain currently farmed. Approximately 10 tribal members are
employed in this capacity.
CONSTRUCTION
The tribe lists 15 separate Indian subcontracting businesses among its
membership, ranging from carpentry and building construction, to sewer-and-water
systems, to tile flooring installation. Business is both seasonal and
sporadic.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
The Private Sector Initiative (PSI) is a local Menominee business planning
and development service designed to complement and fill the gaps in the
existing private, university, state and federal business development service
delivery system.
FISHERIES
The reservation is full of lakes, rivers, and streams which provide excellent
recreational fishing opportunities; fishing is open to the general public
only at Legend Lake.
FORESTRY
Given that the reservation is mostly forested, it is unsurprising that
timbering has long been a major tribal industry. Today timbering continues
to employ about 180 tribal members, exclusive of milling operations. Throughout
the late 1980s, the annual timber harvest remained quite stable at somewhere
around 22 million board-feet of saw timber. Additionally, millions of
additional board feet are cut annually for use and sale as firewood.
GAMING
The tribe has recently completed a major expansion of its Class III gaming
facility. Nearly 300 tribal members are employed in the casino, as well
as, nearly 200 additional non-tribal members. The complex includes an
adjoining hotel, restaurant, gift shop, and ATM machines. Moreover, proceeds
from the gaming operation provide major funding for an array of health
and social services, community investment, and other economic development
projects.
GOVERNMENT AS EMPLOYER
The tribal government is a major employer, providing jobs to 115 tribal
members in its admini-stration department, 69 in the tribal schools, 58
in the tribal police force, 47 in the day care and Head Start programs,
and 8 in the tribal courts.
INDUSTRIAL PARKS
The tribe is presently developing an industrial park site which it hopes
to have under operation and occupancy by late 1995 or early 1996. It will
entail 30 acres, full utility services, and convenient access to State
Highway 47.
SERVICES
The reservation hosts numerous businesses, both small and large. These
include Menominee Tribal Enterprises Sawmill, an operation which employs
170 persons; the Menominee Tribal Supermarket, employing 10; four convenience
stores; a gas station; a tavern; a beauty salon; an auto salvage operation;
a catering business; and a solid waste removal business, among others.
TOURISM AND RECREATION
The casino aside, outdoor activities constitute the bulk of the reservation's
tourist and recreation attractions. The tribe runs two river-rafting operations
on the Wolf River. Fishing is popular at Legend Lake. There are two annual
pow wows, a traditional one on Memorial Day and a competitive one during
the first weekend in August. The tribe also maintains the Menominee Logging
Museum.
TRANSPORTATION
The tribe runs both an on-reservation shuttle service and a casino shuttle
to off-reservation hotels.
INFRASTRUCTURE
State Highways 47 and 55 pass directly through the reservation, providing
access from Green Bay and points beyond. Commercial air service is available
at the Shawano Municipal Airport, 15 miles from the reservation, as well
as in Green Bay, 45 miles away. Regular commercial and charter bus lines
serve the reservation, as do major commercial truck lines. As for rail
service, the Soo Line provides a spur for the tribal sawmill in Neopit.
COMMUNITY FACILITIES
The tribe maintains a community center with a variety of facilities. Electricity
is provided by the regional electric utility on a house by house basis.
Bottled gas is the largest source of home heating on the reservation,
followed by wood, fuel oil, and kerosene. All are available through local
distributors. Most of the homes on the reservation rely on wells for water,
while a large minority have access to public or private companies for
their water supply. Individual septic tanks and a public sewer system
provide sewer services. The tribe operates a health clinic with two full
time doctors, two dentists, two ambulances, and a number of nurses and
pharmacists. The reservation maintains four Schools serving all ages of
students. The reservation is served by the Menominee Indian School District
(which provides employment for nearly 12 percent of the tribal work force)
and the BIA.
All of
the above information is from "Tiller's Guide to Indian Country"
by Veronica E. Velarde Tiller.
BowArrow Publishing Company Albuquerque NM USA.
SSBN 1-885931-01-8 Copyright 1996.
Used by permission. |
