Menominee Indian Reservation
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The Menominee Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in northeastern Wisconsin for the Menominee. It is co-extensive with Menominee County and the town of Menominee. It is 235,000 acres in size.
History
The reservation was created in a treaty signed on May 12, 1854 in which the Menominee relinquished all claims to the lands given to them under previous treaties, and were assigned 432 square miles on the Wolf River. An additional treaty signed on February 11, 1856 carved out the southwestern corner of this area, creating a separate reservation for the Stockbridge and Munsee tribes. These are the same boundaries in existence today.In 1954, Congress passed a law which phased out the Menominee reservation, effectively terminating it on April 30, 1961. The Klamath tribal lands in Oregon were also terminated around the same time. Menominee tribal property had been transferred to a corporation called Menominee Enterprises, Inc. (MEI) and the area of the former reservation became a new county. The plan was a failure, resulting in diminished standards of living for the members of the tribe, forcing the closure the hospital and some schools.
MEI funds, which totaled $10 million in 1954, dwindled to $300,000 in 1964. A 1967 plan by MEI to raise money by selling off former tribal lands to non-Native Americans resulted in a fierce backlash. Former tribe members organized themselves into a group called the Determination of Rights and Unity for Menominee Stockholders (DRUMS). This group successfully fought for control of the MEI board of directors and lobbied Congress to restore their status as a federally recognized tribe.
The lobbying was successful, resulting in a bill signed by Richard Nixon on December 22, 1973 which recogized the tribe again and started them on the path towards reforming a reservation. The reservation was reformed in 1975, a tribal constitution was signed in 1976 and the new tribal government took over in 1979.
References
- Tiller, Veronica. Tiller's Guide to Indian Country: Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations. Bowarrow Publishing Company, 1996. ISBN 1-885931-01-8
External links
- [The Menominee Indian Tribe official website]
- [Information on treaties between the United States and the Menominee]
- ["Menominee Termination and Restoration"] from the Milwaukee Public Museum
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