Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Treaty Councils, from Prairie du Chien to Madeline Island
During August 1825, thousands of Indians representing all the Wisconsin tribes gathered in Prairie du Chien. Territorial governors William Clark of Missouri and Lewis Cass of Michigan facilitated discussions that produced a general treaty of peace among all the tribes. Henry Schoolcraft left a long account of this seminal event in chapter 23 of his memoirs (see below), and painter J.O. Lewis captured the scene and dozens of Indian leaders in color (all included here).
Although it granted no land to the United States, the Prairie du Chien treaty of 1825 opened the door for talks with individual... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | Gen. Joseph Street, Indian agent to the Ho-Chunk, Sauk and Fox. |
| Essays and speeches by Brothertown and Stockbridge leaders. |
| Menominee Vocabulary, 1893 |
| Indian Versions of Some Early Wisconsin Events |
| Ojibwe Place Names in Wisconsin, ca. 1890 |
| John Shaw recalls Tomah, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and other Indian leaders. |
| Walking Cloud recounts episodes of the Black Hawk War. |
| The Oneidas claim land in New York |
| A participant tells how the Oneida, Stockbridge, and Brothertown came to Wisconsin in the 1820s. |
| A trader relates his family history and personal adventures, 1745-1857. |
| Ho-Chunk chief Spoon Decorah looks back over a long life. |
| Speeches of Pontiac (1763) and Souligny (1848) against white incursions. |
| A memoir of Indian agent Joseph Street |
| Early History of the Brothertown Indians |
 | Ojibwe ceremonial pipe given to Gov. James Doty, 1844 |
 | The Commissioner of Indian Affairs visits the Ojibwe in 1826. |
| Caleb Atwater describes the 1829 talks at Prairie du Chien |
| A guide to the Mohican language, 1789 |
| The language spoken by the Brothertown Indians when Europeans arrived in America |
| An Oneida prayer-book, 1816 |
| The language of the Brothertown Indians' ancestors, 1722 |
| A missionary's speech in Oneida, 1815. |
| The first book printed in Wisconsin, an Ojibwe almanac |
| A religious primer in Mohican, 1818 |
| A speech by Brothertown Indian leader Samsom Occom, 1771 |
| Report on the Menominee at Termination, 1958 |
| A life of Jesus in Ottawa, 1837 |
| A Ho-Chunk grammar textbook, 1945 |
| Stockbridge and Munsee Testimony, 1892 |
| A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 2) |
| A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 1) |
| An Oneida spelling book for children, 1820 |
| Fr. Baraga's 1853 Ojibwe Dictionary |
| Memoirs of an Interpreter among the Ojibwe, 1840-1900 |
| A Munsee language edition of Methodist hymns, 1874 |
| The Stockbridge-Munsee Constitution, 1857 |
| The history and traditions of the Chippewa Valley |
| Menominee chiefs refuse to give up more land in 1832. |
 | The Killing of Chief Joe White (Gishkitawag), 1894 |
 | Oneida Chief Daniel Bread in 1856 |
| Pictures of the Ojibwe in the 19th and 20th centuries. |
| Pictures of the Menominee in the 19th and 20th centuries. |
| Pictures of the Ho-Chunk in the 19th and 20th centuries. |
| Pictures of the Meskwaki (Fox) Indians in the 19th century. |
| Pictures of the Potawatomi from the 1820's to the 1920's |
| Pictures of the Sauk Indians during the 1830's |
| Ojibwe leaders represent their credentials to Washington in a picture |
| Stockbridge Chief John W. Quinney in 1849 |
| Stockbridge Indian leader Austin E. Quinney, 1849 |
| Menominee Chief Oshkosh in 1858 |
| Wisconsin Indian leaders as they attended treaty councils in the 1830's. |
 | The U.S. government deceives the Ojibwe, 1850. |
| Ojibwe chiefs protest broken treaties to officials in Washington in 1864. |
| The new Indian agent describes tensions in the Lead Region in 1827. |
| Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Black Hawk War (1832) |
| The Treaty of Prairie du Chien, 1825 |
| Chief Oshkosh protests U.S. government treatment, ca. 1848 |
| A French visitor describes the Menominee's 1838 annuity payment. |
| The Menominee and Ho-Chunk negotiate with the New York Indians in 1821. |
| Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Winnebago War (1827) |
| Brief Potawatomi Language Vocabularies, 1920-1932. |
| A Long Ho-Chunk Vocabulary, 1880 |
| Brief Ho-Chunk Language Vocabularies, 1830-1930 |
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