“We had passed into the Fox River, and were just entering that beautiful little expanse known as Butte des Morts Lake… The water along its shores was green with the fields of wild rice, the gathering of which, just at this season, is an important occupation of the Indian women.”
Juliette Kinzie, wife of Indian Agent John Kinzie, recalling her September 1830 travels

Euro-American settlers were not the first people to live in our area. The Native American groups with the longest and most evident association with the Lake Winnebago watershed were the prehistoric Oneota and two historic native Wisconsin Indian tribes, the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) and the Menominee. The Oneota lived in our area from approximately 950 A.D. to 1600 A.D. Many of the artifacts illustrated on this page were found at the prehistoric Oneota village known as Lasley’s Point. This site is located on the east shore of Lake Winneconne and dates to 1030 to 1430 A.D. The Ho-Chunk, most likely the descendants of the Oneota, lived in our area since about 1600. The Menominee, indigenous to the Green Bay area, moved to this area around the turn of the 19th century. Beginning in the 1820s and ending in 1848, these two tribes ceded their lands in this area to the United States government in a series of treaties.

The bounty of natural resources in our Wetlands and Waterways environment and the Indians’ knowledge and practice of horticulture allowed for the establishment of permanent villages. The Wetlands and Waterways resources included fish, waterfowl, mollusks (fresh water clams) and wild vegetation.

Fish were an important part of the Native American diet. Fish were caught by spears, hooks, nets and weirs. Sturgeon ice spear-fishing has a long tradition that dates back at least to the Oneota. Fish lures were carved from mollusk shells and harpoon spear points were made from animal bone.

Oneota shell lure, nearly 3 inches long, from the Butte des Morts site located along Lake Butte des Morts. OPM # 1998.22.220

Oneota bone harpoon, 5 inches long, from Lasley’s Point. OPM # 2111-142

Bone harpoon, 6 inches long, from along the shore of Lake Poygan, undated. OPM # 800-122

Another food source was mollusks or fresh water clams. The Oneota site, Lasley’s Point, has numerous mounds or middens of discarded clam shells indicating that clams were a staple food source. But the shells of the mollusks were also used to make fishing lures (above) and spoons. Spoons were decorated with scalloped edges as pictured below. Historic Native Americans were also known to use clam shells to scale fish. Clam shells were also crushed and mixed with clay to make pottery vessels. Ceramic vessels were used for storage or cooking.

Oneota decorated clam shell spoons from Lasley’s Point. Length of shell at center bottom is 4 ½ inches. OPM # 2111-116, 2111-85, 2111-111-T1, 2111-125-T1, 2111-102, 2111-106

Reconstructed Oneota ceramic jars made with crushed shell temper, diameter of larger jar is 9 inches, from Lasley’s Point. Oneota ceramic vessles were decorated with incised lines and punctates. OPM # 2111-12, 2111-13

The most important native vegetation to the Native Americans was wild rice which grew along the shallows of the lakes in our area. Wild rice served as an important food source for Native Americans as well as migrating waterfowl. Wild rice ripened in the late summer and after harvesting, most was dried and stored for winter use.

Below are images of Menominee bags used for storing food and other household or personal items.

Menominee basswood bag, 26 inches wide by 18 inches high, circa 1900-1940. Made of strips of basswood bark, some dyed, stitched together with basswood cordage, the top edge is braided. OPM # L189-T4

Menonomee woven wool bag, 19 inches wide by nearly 16 inches high, circa 1900-1940. This woven bag is made of dyed wool yarn but earlier woven bags were made from natural and dyed basswood fiber yarn. OPM # L181-T11

The vegetation growing in the shallows of the lakes and marshes included cattails and reeds. These were harvested and used for housing. Cattails were stitched together with basswood cordage to make mats that were used to cover the exterior of the branch framework of the dome-shaped wigwam.

Needles made from deer ribs were used to stitch the cattail mats. These long needles had an eye near their midsection, as seen below.

Menominee bone mat needle, 12 ¼ inches long, circa 1900-1925. OPM # L189-1

Broken Oneota bone mat needle, 3 inches long, from Lasley’s Point. OPM # 2111-248

Woven reed mats were used to decorate the interior walls of the lodges and were also used as floor or sleeping mats.



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