Latest news with #MenomineeTribe
CBS News
2 days ago
- Science
- CBS News
Archeologists using drones find new clues at 1,000-year-old indigenous farm site in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
New research assisted by drone technology has added more details and understanding of what was already known to be a series of ancient farming fields in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The study was led by Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, with the findings recently published in Science. "Through this research, we get this little window of preservation into pre-Colonial farming in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan," said senior author Jesse Casana, a professor of anthropology. The research is pointing to the ancient agricultural area in the Anaem Omot region being 10 times larger than what was previously thought; making it the most complete ancient agricultural site confirmed in the eastern United States. Research site at an ancient indigenous farm along the Menominee River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Madeleine McLeester/Dartmouth College The site is along the Michigan-Wisconsin border. "Our work shows that the ancestral Menominee communities were modifying the soil to completely rework the topography in order to plant and harvest corn at the near northern extent of where this crop can grow," Madeleine McLeester, assistant professor of anthropology, said. "This farming system was a massive undertaking requiring a lot of organization, labor, and know-how to maximize agricultural productivity." Ancestors of what is now known as the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin constructed a series of raised ridge garden beds that were 4 to 12 inches in height and used to grow corn, beans, squash and other plants. That's the series of fields that the researchers took a look at. The agriculture region is near already identified burial mounds and a village site that were excavated during the 1950s through 1970s. It was initially mapped and excavated in the 1990s, and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. On the request of Menominee tribal leaders, Dartmouth archaeologists were invited to survey and document the area. The team worked with David Grignon, tribal historic preservation officer for the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and the late David Overstreet, a consulting archaeologist for the College of the Menominee Nation. The survey took place in May 2023, after the snow had melted but before the forest tree leaves had emerged. Lidar images taken in 2023 that were used to assist archaeology work at the Menominee Sixty Islands site. Lidar images by Carolin Ferwerda and Jesse Casana The team used drones equipped with lidar, a remote sensing technology that uses pulses of light from a laser. The lidar could detect changes in topography that are normally hidden under the forest tree canopy; while the drones could get close to ground level for a better look. The lidar found signs of agricultural ridges across the landscape, a circular ring, remains of a building foundation, and even previously unknown burial mound locations. Then in August 2023, the excavation team worked at three of the agricultural ridges near the Menominee River. They found broken pieces of ceramics, charcoal and soil additions. They also determined through radiocarbon dating of charcoal samples that the construction was around the year 1000 and rebuilt over the following 600 years. The survey work focused on 330 acres, but researchers said there are signs that the site goes well beyond the designated area and was probably double that in size. Research work will continue at the Menominee Sixty Islands site, the college said.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Keshena area ‘now secure' after 10-hour long heavy law enforcement presence
KESHENA, Wis. (WFRV) — A 10-hour-long active law enforcement incident has finally come to an end, according to the Menominee County, Wisconsin, 911 center. One person was taken into custody. 'The area on Spirit Island and Hwy VV is now secure, residents may return to the area, officers will direct traffic and are still on location,' the center said in an update. 'Thank you for your assistance and patience.' Shawano School District breaks ground on $51M facility projects The scene just off Legend Lake unraveled just after 8 a.m. Tuesday, with law enforcement surrounding a house deep in the woods on all sides, and multiple agencies coming from several counties away. The Brown County Sheriff's Office and Green Bay Police Department were two of the furthest away agencies on scene. Menominee County, Wisconsin, sheriff's deputies and Menominee Tribal Police were the lead agencies, with multiple ambulances and a SWAT-style BearCat truck also staged in the area. A neighbor tells Local 5 off camera that the home surrounded is owned by a non-Native resident living on Menominee Tribe land. Multiple citations issued to drivers after car show in Wisconsin, many clocked at 25 miles per hour over speed limit Other neighbors tell Local 5 that the area is mostly peaceful, and while there are a few emergencies now and then, none have been anything like this massive scene. 'I live on a dead-end road and it's pretty peaceful,' resident Mark Trester said. 'But I'm sure that can happen anywhere.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Revered by Menominee Tribe, David Overstreet also led excavation of Hebior Mammoth
David Overstreet started working with the Menominee during the late 1960s, a time when Indigenous peoples viewed most archeologists like him as colonial pillagers who stole artifacts and even human remains from tribes for the sole benefit of Western research, museums and universities. Overstreet slowly earned the trust of tribal elders and eventually helped to return some artifacts and human remains back to the Menominee Nation. He also helped the tribe win certain rights in its ancestral homelands. The tribe later adopted Overstreet as a kind of family member, honoring him with appointments as a Sturgeon Warrior and Honorary Thunderbird. The renowned Wisconsin archeologist died Jan. 20 at age 82 in Milwaukee, where he was born in 1942. 'He was solely dedicated to the work, especially with the Menominee Tribe,' said David Grignon, tribal historic preservation officer for the Menominee Nation, who worked with Overstreet for more than 30 years. 'He had so much respect and cultural sensitivity for our reservation. He was just a genuine individual. The Menominee Tribe will really miss him.' The Menominee are generally considered the first people living in what is now much of northeast Wisconsin and much of Michigan's upper peninsula. The tribe has been in Wisconsin — or Wēskōhsek, meaning 'a good place to live' — for at least 10,000 years. One of Overstreet's major accomplishments was to help bring sturgeon back to the reservation in the 1990s. The Menominee had depended on sturgeon from the Wolf River, but 20th century dams had blocked the ancient fish from reaching the reservation. The Menominee still kept the Sturgeon Ceremony and Dance alive hoping one day the sturgeon would return. Through documents, petitions and appeals, Overstreet helped convince state officials of the historic and cultural importance of the sturgeon to the Menominee, and how state-approved dams blocked sturgeon from swimming. Tribal staff and staff from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources now stock the Wolf River on the Menominee Reservation with sturgeon every year, and the tribe celebrates with the Sturgeon Feast Pow Wow. More: Sturgeon revered by Menominee people, who inspired Wisconsin's sturgeon spearing season More recently, in 2022, Overstreet helped convince University of Michigan officials to return human remains and artifacts more than 1,200 years old to the Menominee Nation. The remains and artifacts were excavated by university researchers in the 1950s in Michigan's upper peninsula and had been sitting in boxes at the university for decades. Overstreet collected evidence for several years to provide to the university to prove the Menominee were related to the ancestors that university researchers dug up. He told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in 2022 he and tribal officials submitted lengthy reports to the university three times, including a 150-page report containing oral histories, letters, archeological data and other evidence. University officials finally accepted the data after 10 years. As the reports were being considered, tribal elders would visit their ancestors on the university shelves to pray and promise them they would return home and be properly interred. More: Ancient Menominee remains, 1,200 years old, have returned home after spending decades in boxes at University of Michigan In 2023, Overstreet helped convince federal officials to place an area along the Menominee River in Michigan's upper peninsula on the National Register of Historic Places after years of work. The historic site is the Sixty Islands area, which is known to the Menominee as Anaem Omot (Dog's Belly), and is the place of origin for Menominee people and remains a place of pilgrimage for them today. Archeologists have uncovered settlement remains dating to about 10,000 years ago at the site. The site also is located in the area of where developers of the controversial Back 40 Mine had wanted to dig, a proposal that had been challenged by the Menominee Tribe and environmental attorneys for years. The national historic place designation marked a major victory for the tribe in its fight against the mine. While the designation doesn't prevent all development from happening in the area it gives the tribe a voice and provides an extra layer of consideration of what can be developed. More: Menominee River site gets protection of National Historic Register designation In the Milwaukee area, Overstreet taught at UWM, UW-Waukesha and Marquette. He also was a research associate at the Milwaukee Public Museum and, in 1994, directed the excavation of the Hebior Mammoth found in Kenosha, which is now displayed at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Overstreet also served in the Army from 1960 to 1963. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, whom he married on Jan. 17, 1966. The couple celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary a few days before his passing. 'Dave was a sweetheart of a husband,' Barbara Overstreet said. 'He was loving, funny, so smart, interesting. He was my best friend.' The two first met at Hartford Avenue Elementary School in Milwaukee and Barbara said she had a crush on David ever since. David also is survived by sons Colin and Ryan (who also is an archeologist), sister Carla (Bob) Bisaro and sister-in-law Sandra Seidtia, and nieces, nephews, friends and colleagues. A graveside service will be held at the Menominee Nation Cemetery this spring. A celebration of life will be held soon in Milwaukee at a date and venue to be announced. Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Overstreet, revered by Menominee and excavator of Hebior Mammoth
