Where do we start? At the Beginning.
Who are the original caretakers and ancestral relatives of Milwaukee’s waters? The Menominee people. Acknowledging this helps center our work on the past, present, and future caretakers, protectors, and keepers of our waters.
The Menominee Connection
Sturgeon are an enduring part of Menominee history & culture. While the Wolf River is their ancestral home, Milwaukee, is part of Menominee ancestral lands.
Menominee People have a “Fish Dance” that replicates the movements of the fish (Sturgeon).
“When Sturgeon return home, we should be thinking about what kind of home that place will be. Like us, as Native people, sturgeon had been removed from their original homelands…so now our relatives are able to return, but return to what?”
— Marin Webster Denning, Sturgeon Clan, Oneida Nation
Lacrosse
The “Medicine Game” known as Lacrosse is a part of Menominee's heritage.
But how is Lacrosse related to Sturgeon?
In Menominee culture, both are related to Spring. Spring is signaled by the Thunderbeings which bring growth and renewal.
Two lacrosse sticks striking each other replicate the sound of the Thunderbeings. Sturgeon underwater also replicate the sound of the Thunderbeings.
