The history, culture, societal make-up, hunting and spiritual life of the Menominee Indians. Also an analysis of the living conditions of the remnant of these people surviving in the 21st century.
The Menominee Indians were one of the original tribes of Wisconsin and the Upper Michigan areas. All indications are that they had been living there for up to five thousand years. They set up forts on the Menominee River with their territory extending north east to Wisconsin. The Menominee were a relatively small tribe, with their pre European peak being around 2,000. The name Menominee came from their own language and means "˜ good seed' or "˜wild rice people.' The Menominee were alternatively known as Malhominee, Nepaming, Kagi and Addle- Heads. They spoke a distinct dialect of the Algonquin language which was similar to that spoken by the Cree and Fox. The Menominee were divided into about twenty sub tribes which included the Wininiwuk and the Kakanikone Tusniniwug. There were about six main villages.
The Menominee had an eastern woodland culture. They wore long buckskin pants, breechcloth and loosely hanging long hair. The land of the Menominee was not suitable for the growing of crops. Rather the people hunted for their food supply. As indicated by one of the names by which they were known, the gathering of wild rice was also a staple of their diet. Besides this, they were also expert fishermen. When they were forced south, however, the Menominee adapted to their new environment and practised a limited amount of agriculture.
During the summer periods the Menominee lived in large villages which were situated along the banks of streams and rivers. Dwellings were rectangular long houses. With the coming of winter, the Menominee broke summer camp and headed into their hunting grounds to set up winter camp. During this period they would live in buckskin covered wigwams. The Menominee sub groups operated as individual bodies. There was no central organization. When tribal warfare came to the Menominee in the 1650's, however, this changed as the need was seen for security in numbers. Now a tribal council was set up to decide matters of major concern. An overall war chief was also appointed. The arrival of the fur trade in Menominee territory also placed a much greater emphasis on hunting as a means of trade among the Menominee.
First European contact for the Menominee came in 1634 when French explorer Jean Nicollet encountered them en route to the Winnebago villages on Green Bay. Over the next half century, thousands of native Americans from eastern tribes found themselves flooding into the territory of the Menominees as refugees from the Iroquois in what were known as the Beaver Wars. The result was that the Menominees were squeezed into a corner and, inevitably, into war. This came when the Ojibwe took offence to the methods used by the Menominee to catch the sturgeon fish which entered the Menominee river from Lake Michigan. The Menominee created a series of weirs which caught all of the fish, leaving none for the Ojibwe downstream. With their major food supply gone, the Ojibwe reacted violently. They attacked and destroyed a Menominee village. The Menominee needed allies and they needed them quick. They called upon the Fox, Sauk and Potawatomi for assistance. Thus the conflict spread to include more than just the original two tribes. Meanwhile, the Iroquois were looting into the area, attacking whoever they came across. The effect of these conflicts was to reduce the size of the Menominee population to just 400 people. Thus, their numbers had reduced by 80 % since the arrival of the white man.
By the mid 1660's peace had finally settled on the region. Now the French Jesuits moved into the area and started to make converts. They focused their attention, however, on the Huron and Ottawa Indians. The Menominee were able to keep their native religion Meanwhile contact with the French grew by means of the fur trade. The Menominee were now able to look toward the French to mediate on their behalf with their enemies. The French were, in fact, able to bring together the Ojibwe and Menominee.
During the first Fox War the Menominee were neutral. They were, however, active participants in the second Fox War, starting in 1728. Siding with the French they helped to put down the Fox over the next five years. This won them the lasting hostility of the Fox. However, they enjoyed peaceful relations with most other tribes. Their numbers slowly grew from this point on, despite their involvement in several more conflicts. By 1854 there were about 1,930 Menominees separated into seven villages.
Today the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin numbers about 7,200 people. About half of these live on the a reservation west of Green Bay.
