Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Government relations; Indians of North America -- Legal status, laws, etc.
_The Menomonees_ number thirteen hundred and sixty-two, and are located
on a reservation of two hundred and thirty thousand four hundred acres
in the north-eastern part of Wisconsin. They formerly owned most of the
eastern portion of the State, and, by treaty entered into with the
government on the 18th October, 1848, ceded the same for a home in
Minnesota upon lands that had been obtained by the United States from
the Chippewas; but, becoming dissatisfied with the arrangement, as not
having accorded them what they claimed to be rightfully due,
subsequently protested, and manifested great unwillingness to remove. In
view of this condition of affairs, they were, by the President,
permitted to remain in Wisconsin, and temporarily located upon the lands
they now occupy, which were secured to them by a subsequent treaty made
with the tribe on the 12th May, 1854. This reservation is well watered
by lakes and streams, the latter affording excellent power and
facilities for moving logs and lumber to market; the most of their
country abounding with valuable pine timber. A considerable portion of
the Menomonees have made real and substantial advancement in
civilization; numbers of them are engaged in agriculture; others find
remunerative employment in the lumbering camp established upon their
reservation, under the management of the government agent, while a few
still return, at times, to their old pursuits of hunting and fishing.
Under the plan adopted by the department in 1871, in regard to cutting
and selling the pine timber belonging to these Indians, 2,000,000 feet
have been cut and driven, realizing $23,731, of which individual
Indians received for their labor over $3,000, the treasury of the tribe
deriving a net profit of $5 per thousand feet. The agent estimates,
that, for labor done by the Indians upon the reservation, at lumbering,
and for work outside on railroads, during the past year, about twenty
thousand dollars has been earned and received, exclusive of the labor
rendered in building houses, raising crops, making sugar, gathering
rice, and hunting for peltries. The work of education upon the
reservations has been of late quite unsatisfactory, but one small school
being now in operation, with seventy scholars, the average attendance
being fifty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account