The Ancient Knowledge of the Menominee People

We are staying for two nights at an airbnb in the town of Showana, Wisconsin about 40 miles northwest of Green Bay. It feels nice to warm up and dry out after our camping adventure in the North woods. The next town, Keshena, is tribal headquarters and ancestral homeland for the 8,500 members of the Menominee Tribe. We stopped at the Menominee Culture and Logging Camp Museum on the reservation. The museum is home to artifacts the Menominee have repatriated through the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. It was interesting to learn about their culture, agricultural and forestry practices from the Menominee perspective. We have much to learn from them because they have been practicing sustainable agriculture for thousands of years.

We were invited to the Community Harvest Feast on the reservation on Saturday. We were told they will serve buffalo burgers, squash soup grown from seeds that have been passed down for 800 years and other traditional dishes. Unfortunately, we will miss it because we are moving on to Mirror Lake State Park nearer to Madison.

We toured the College of the Menominee Nation (CMN). According to their website, “CMN degree programs, research, and student activities are committed to addressing contemporary problems through modern science and methodologies that are informed by ancient knowledge.” I wonder if Cornell University American Indian Studies curricula (and other degree programs) are also informed by ancient indigenous knowledge?

Looking forward to Sebby joining us at the campground tomorrow!

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