The Menominee Native American tribe, located in the Great Lakes region, can trace their origins back to settlements at the mouth of the Menominee River. They were divided into five main clans and wore colorful clothing made of buckskin. The Menominee signed a peace treaty with the United States in 1817 and their reservation in Wisconsin was established in 1954.
A Menominee Indian is a member of the Menominee Native American tribe, one of the Algonquin groups located in the Great Lakes region. The Menominee can trace their origins back several thousand years to settlements at the mouth of the Menominee River near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Unlike most North American tribes that have been relocated to areas far from their homelands, the Menominee Indian Reservation is only about 60 miles (96.56 km) from their original settlement on the Menominee River.
The tribe used to be called Kiash Matchitiwok, or the Ancients, but eventually became known as the Menominee, which is the Chippewa word for a wild rice that grows in the region. This rice was particularly abundant in the swampy areas around the Great Lakes near the Menominee Indian settlements. In addition to being a primary food source, rice was a valuable trade product with tribes living further south and west. The Menominee also fished for sturgeon, hunted, planted beans and squash, and made maple syrup and sugar.
The tribe was divided into five main clans: Bear, Eagle, Wolf, Crane and Elk. In addition to belonging to one of the major clans, a Menominee Indian would have belonged to one of several sub-clans that operated as hunting parties. Supervision of various tribal functions such as civil government, intertribal relations, construction of buildings, tribal protection, gathering and hunting was assigned to specific clans. The clans were patrilineal, meaning that the children were members of their father’s clan.
During the summers, a Menominee Indian lived in a longhouse in a large community where the tribe fished, farmed, and harvested rice. During the winter the community split into smaller sub-clans and migrated to different areas where they lived in domed wigwams and hunted. These groups were easier to support during the cold months without depleting the surrounding areas of fuel and game. After the tribe became involved in the French fur trade in the seventeenth century, a number of even smaller groups formed to enable them to trap and hunt over a larger area.
The Menominee wore colorful clothing made of buckskin and decorated with porcupine quills, painted designs and, after the introduction of European trade, beadwork. Depending on the occasion, a Menominee Indian man would wear a turban on his head decorated with fur and feathers or wrap his head with a colorful headband. The women wore copper jewelry made from copper found in surface deposits in the area. Menominee women were also known for their intricately designed woven purses constructed from plant fibers and buffalo hair.
The Menominee were allies of the French in the War of 1812, but the Treaty of Ghent that ended that conflict ceded the territory they lived in to the United States. In 1817, the Menominee signed a peace treaty with the United States. The Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin was established in 1954 and is governed by tribally elected officials. The reserve is home to successful logging and gaming industries.
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