By the 17th century, the people living in Wisconsin belonged to broad groups of Indians, classified by language type. The Menominee, the Kickapoo and the Miami tribes spoke Algonquian, and the Winnebago, Dakota and Iowa tribes spoke Sioux. Later in the century, other groups entered Wisconsin including the Fox, Sac, Potawatomi and Ojibwe (Chippewa).

Wisconsin tribes map

WISCONSIN INDIAN TRIBES

Federal list last updated 3/07

FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES

Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Forest County Potawatomi Community
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Sokaogon Chippewa Community
Stockbridge Munsee Community

STATE RECOGNIZED TRIBES
(Not recognized by the Federal Governemnt)

None

UNRECOGNIZED / PETITIONING TRIBES

Brotherton Indians of Wisconsin. Letter of Intent to Petition 04/15/1980.

Muhheconnuck and Munsee Tribes. Letter of Intent to Petition 06/04/2003

? Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee

FIRST CONTACT TO PRESENT

When the first Europeans came into the area, they brought important opportunities for trade, particularly in furs like beaver. They also brought diseases for which the native people did not have natural immunities. Many of the native people died from smallpox, measles and mumps. In fact, disease is likely to have killed many more Native Americans than armed conflicts did.

By 1825, the US government and Indian representatives met in Prairie Du Chien and signed a treaty establishing the boundaries amongst various tribes and opening the way for further non-Indian settlement. However, this treaty did not prevent further conflict between Native Americans and European settlers looking for land.

The native people were eventually forced off their land to land further west or to reservations.

PRE-CONTACT WISCONSIN TRIBES

PRE-HISTORIC CULTURES IN WISCONSIN

10,000 years ago - Paleo-indians came through Wisconsin hunting wooly mammoth, mastodon, and bison.

7000 BC - 1000 BC - Archaic Period of Native American hunter-gatherer culture as Indians built temporary dwellings, added shellfish to their diets, and fashioned spear throwers to hunt small game.

300 BC - 1000 AD - Woodland Period of permanent houses, embellished pottery, bows and arrows, and maize and squash cultivation.

As long ago as 10,000 years ago, Paleo-indians came through Wisconsin hunting wooly mammoth, mastodon, and bison. After the retreat of the glaciers, the climate improved and people began to live in caves, along rivers, and around lakes.

As the glacier receded and the mastodons died out, the Archaic people hunted smaller animals like deer and elk, and harvested wild plants, nuts, and acorns. During the Woodland Period, around 3,000 years ago, people began to live together in villages, and use bows and arrows to hunt. They built burial mounds for their dead.