Siege and survival : history of the Menominee Indians, 1634-1856

Publisher description: The Menominee Indians, or "wild rice people," have lived for thousands of years in the region that is now called Wisconsin and are the oldest Native American community that still lives there. But the Menominee's struggle for survival and rights to their land has been long and hard. David R. M. Beck draws on interviews with tribal members, stories recorded by earlier researchers, and exhaustive archival research to give us a full account of the Menominee's early history. Beginning in the seventeenth century, the Menominee's traditional way of life was intensely pressured by a succession of outsiders. Native nations attacked other Native nations, forcing their dislocation, and Europeans introduced the fur trade to the area, disrupting the traditional economy and way of life. In the nineteenth century Anglo-Americans poured into the Old Northwest and surrounded the Menominee; as a result the Menominee people were confined to a reservation in 1854. Beck examines these crucial early events from an ethnohistorical perspective, adding Menominee voices to the story and showing how numerous individuals and leaders in the trading era and later worked diligently to survive. The story is a complicated one: some Menominees encouraged radical cultural change, while others?as well as some non-Menominees?aided the community in its struggle to maintain traditions. Beck provides the most complete written history to date of this enduring Indian nation Frontmatter List of Illustrations (page ix) List of Maps (page x) List of Tables (page xi) Acknowledgments (page xiii) Introduction (page xv) 1. The Menominee World before Invasion (page 1) 2. Menominee Country Becomes a Trading Frontier (page 25) 3. Sovereign Alliances (page 48) 4. Diminishing Fur Trade and Illegal Treaties (page 73) 5. Menominee Resources under Siege (page 96) 6. "Civilizing" Influences (page 117) 7. A Dissolving Tribal Economy (page 142) 8. Intensifying Encroachments (page 159) 9. The Battle for a Homeland (page 174) 10. Reclaiming a Piece of the Homeland (page 187) 11. Siege and Survival (page 201) Appendix (page 207) Notes (page 211) Bibliography (page 261) Index (page 279) The Menominee World Before Invasion -- Menominee Country Becomes A Trading Frontier -- Sovereign Alliances -- Diminishing Fur Trade And Illegal Treaties -- Menominee Resources Under Siege -- Civilizing Influences -- A Dissolving Tribal Economy -- Intensifying Encroachments -- The Battle For A Homeland -- Reclaiming A Piece Of The Homeland -- Siege And Survival. David R.m. Beck. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [261]-277) And Index.