Menomonee Valley in Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

American Indians in the Menomonee Valley

— Hank Aaron State Trail —

Photographed By Devon Polzar, 2019

1. American Indians in the Menomonee Valley Marker

Inscription. For more than 12,000 years, the Menomonee Valley was home to American Indian people. The Menomonee Valley, with its abundant plants and wildlife, was attractive to early hunters and gatherers. From about 500 BC to 1200 AD, the native people built mounds and other impressive earthworks shaped like animals and birds. They made pottery and grew corn, beans, squash, and tobacco.

By the 1700s, the Potawatomi were the primary residents of the region. Chippewa (Ojibwa), Fox, Menominee, Ottawa, Sauk, Winnebago (Ho-Chunk), and others also lived here at various times. Their villages with nearby gardens included homes of sturdy sapling frameworks covered with rush mats or bark. They trade furs for traps, brass kettles, guns, axes, textiles, and beads.

As European settlement progressed, the United States government negotiated treaties to buy Indian lands and move Indian people. The Menomonee Valley was included in the Potawatomi Treaty of Chicago in 1833. Though the treaty called for their relocation, many Potawatomi refused to move West and eventually settled in Forest County, Wisconsin.

American Indian people still live and work in Milwaukee while keeping their family and tribal ties.

Learn more, do more...Visit Indian Country at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Read books by and about Native Americans at Woodland Pattern

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Erected by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc., Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA03NOS4190106.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Native Americans.

Location. 43° 1.455′ N, 87° 57.613′ W. Marker is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Milwaukee County. It is in Menomonee Valley. Marker can be reached from Menomonee Valley Passage. The marker is located along the Hank Aaron State Trail just south of the western-most bridge in Three Bridges Park. The marker is on the south banks of the Menomonee River. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3711 West Canal Street, Milwaukee WI 53215, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Immigrants and Silver City (here, next to this marker); The Machine Shop of the World (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Menomonee Valley Native Plants (about 700 feet away); Milwaukee Road Shops (approx. ¼ mile away); A Changing Landscape (approx. 0.4 miles away); Hank Aaron (approx. 0.4 miles away); Hank Aaron State Trail

Photographed By Devon Polzar, 2019

2. American Indians in the Menomonee Valley Marker

(approx. 0.4 miles away); Hank Aaron - Changing Times (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Milwaukee.

Photographed By Devon Polzar, 2019

3. American Indians in the Menomonee Valley Marker

Marker is located along the Hank Aaron State Trail in Three Bridges Park. The marker is hiding in the trees and bushes.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 27, 2019, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 398 times since then and 54 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 27, 2019, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. 3. submitted on October 28, 2019, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.