Muskego Historical Society
Potawatomi
Timeline of Potawatomi History
In the beginning, the Neshnabek (Original People) settled along the shores of the great salt water (Atlantic Ocean), near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.
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1,000 Years Ago
Movement began towards the Great Lakes.
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1500’S
Near Saulte Ste. Marie, the Neshnabek split into three groups – the Ojibwe (Keepers of the Faith), the Odawa (Keepers of the Trade), and the Bodewadmi (keepers of the Fire). This relationship is known as the Three Fires Confederacy.
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The Potawatomi moved towards Southwestern Michigan.
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1634
First encounter with Europeans: the French explorer Jean Nicolet visits the Potawatomi near Red Banks (Green Bay, WI).
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17th and 18th Century
As strong allies of Nouvelle France, the Potawatomi control the fur trade in the Western Great Lakes.
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1789-1867
In 43 treaties, the Potawatomi were forced by the US Government to cede all their lands between Wisconsin and Ohio.
In the 1833 chicago treaty, the largest land cession contained 5 million acres.
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1838
After the signing of the 1833 treaty, most Potawatomi were forcibly removed west. This march became known as the “Potawatomi Trail of Death”.
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Source: Forest County Potawatomi: Keepers of the Fire, Timeline of Potawatomi History, https://www.fcpotawatomi.com/cultural-preservation/timeline-of-potawatomi-history/
Potawatomi of the Muskego Region
The name Muskego is derived from the Potawatomi Indian name for the area who named it "Mus-kee-Guaac," meaning sunfish.
The Potawatomi were the original inhabitants of Muskego and they enjoyed an abundance of wild rice, water fowl, fish and muskrats. They lived in villages of birch covered houses and dome shaped wigwams.
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In 1833, the Potawatomi ceded their lands in Wisconsin to the U.S. government. Despite being relocated by the federal government in 1850, the Potawatomi continued to return to hunt and fish in and around Muskego's lakes until the 1870s.
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In 1916, human remains representing one individual were removed from the Camp Thomas Cemetery Site on the Ralph Holtz Farm in Muskego by Rudolph Boettger. The three associated funerary objects are a small copper alloy bucket, a small wooden bowl with projecting animal effigy tab, and an iron knife blade. The associated funerary objects date this burial to circa 1800. The date is consistent with historical evidence for Potawatomi occupation of the area. The Camp Thomas Cemetery Site is a known Potawatomi cemetery and camp utilized until the 1870s.
In 1892 a buried Potawatomi dugout canoe was found buried on the Caesar farm on Muskego Dam Road.
Present Day Potawatomi
Today, the Forest County Potawatomi is the largest employer in Forest County and is among the largest employers in Milwaukee County. Economic enterprises within the tribal nation include tribal administration, a health care clinic, social services, lodging, gaming, a deer farm, a gas station, a newspaper, capital investment, and real estate, among others.​
Source: American Indian Nations of Wisconsin, Forest County Potawatomi, https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/forest-county-potawatomi/​