The Menominee Tribe In Images of America
The Menominee Tribe has lived in Wisconsin since time immemorial. The Tribe's reservation, established by an 1854 treaty, is located in northeast Wisconsin, north of Green Bay and adjacent to the town of Shawano. The Tribe has had an eventful history. I had some familiarity with the Menominees from growing up in Wisconsin. Many years ago, I represented the Menominee Tribe for a short time during my association with a Washington, D.C. law firm. I got to know some of the tribal leaders at that time together with the Tribe's legal issues and legal history. I was eager to revisit the Menominees again through this new book, "Menominee Indians" which is part of the volumes of brief, local American photographic histories published by the Images of America series. The author, Gavin Schmitt, has Menominee ancestry and has written several books set in Wisconsin.
With most of my background in legal work, I saw the Tribe and its people in a different perspective through this book. The volume includes many rare photographs which are difficult to find in one place together with Schmitt's annotations. The book offers a brief overview of the Tribe from its early days through its recent history. There are many photographs of the beautiful Menominee Reservation, the forest and the Wolf River, the reservation towns, and landmarks, and the people.
The book's opening chapter offers photographs of the Tribe during the early years with many pictures of tribal artifacts and costumes, early chiefs, and scenes of early reservation life. The book devotes chapters to the two Reservation cities, Keshena and Neopit. Keshena is the largest city on the Reservation and the seat of the tribal government. The book includes evocative pictures of the town and its people. Neopit is the location of the tribal sawmill. From the early 20th Century, the Menominees acquired self-sufficiency, income, and employment through the operation of a large, complex business. The book offers many photos of the old sawmill and of its tribal employees. Schmitt also gives considerable attention to a famous resident of Neopit, Billie Frechette, the mistress of gangster John Dillinger. Billie Frechette served two years in prison as an accomplice to Dillinger before she returned to the Reservation community in her final years.
In a chapter titled "Culture" the book offers a portrait of the Menominees as a patriotic people with an extended tradition of military service. The book gives a feel for everyday activities on the Reservation. With the cold and the relative isolation, life on the Reservation can be harsh. Over the years, many of the Menominees have made a home of it.
The final chapter of the book on the modern history of the Tribe returned me to areas I know. In 1954, Congress passed a law terminating the Federal trust supervision of the Menominee Indians. The Reservation quickly descended into poverty, and many scenic areas of the Reservation were in danger of sale to outside developers. In 1973, after a great deal of effort and lobbying from the Tribe, Congress restored Federal trust supervision to the Tribe in a law known as the Menominee Restoration Act. This Act created a unique relationship between the Tribe and the Federal government and opened a new chapter in Menominee history. The Tribe has since established a community college, a tribal museum and a casino among other accomplishments. The Tribe's modern history and its leaders are briefly but elegantly depicted in this volume.
There is a considerable literature about the Menominee Tribe particularly centering around the termination and restoration process. This book includes a short, basic bibliography for readers wanting to learn more. The Menominee Tribe amply deserves commemoration in a series devoted to the United States and the breadth and diversity of its people.
I was deeply moved by the opportunity to think again about the Menominee Tribe through this book. I remembered my own happy experiences working with the Tribe, and I learned many new things. I wasn't close to the Tribe but I carry it and its people with me. I think about seeing the Reservation and Wisconsin again and wish the Tribe and its people the best.
