First Nations
Celebrate Indigenous Histories and the First Nations in Wisconsin
Explore and learn about the histories, cultures, and contemporary statuses of the Native Nations and Indigenous people who call Wisconsin home.
Browse featured resources from the Wisconsin Historical Society and our partners, including high quality educational material for teachers, as well as books written by and about Native people from the WisHistory Press. Learn more about the banner image above.
2025 Report Card
We’re about more than preserving history.
Check out the Society's innovative contributions to Wisconsin's economic, educational and cultural health!
NAGPRA & WisHistory
The Wisconsin Historical Society has been working diligently since NAGPRA passed in 1990 to ensure full compliance. We work closely, responsively, and in good faith with Nations in Wisconsin and beyond on this important, collaborative work. We have staff specifically dedicated to this work and over the years we have made special efforts to assist with this effort. It continues to be a high priority.
NAGPRA Inquiries
Have a need to talk to our staff about Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act matters?
Passages Exhibit
Madeline Island Museum | La Pointe, WI
Travel to the ancestral homeland of the Lake Superior Anishinaabe and discover passages through time and place that have long identified Madeline Island as a powerful hub of connection, travel, culture and history.
How the Native Nations Council (NCC) was formed
In March of 2023, the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC) directed the Wisconsin Historical Society to work collaboratively with the Native Nations in the place we now call Wisconsin throughout the process of planning, designing, and building the new Wisconsin History Center. Tribal Leaders appointed Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) and other cultural leaders to participate in the Native Nations Council.
Learn More About the Wisconsin History CenterSince May of 2023, the Native Nations Council has meet with Society leadership, staff, and project partners to guide planning and development across four major areas:
Architecture & Engineering
Exhibit Gallery Content
Multi-media Productions
Programs & Operations
The Society works directly with each Nation on proposed storylines, objects, and media productions. The Native Nations Council also supported such initiatives as the Call for Native Art and Call for Regalia. The Society is committed to ongoing collaboration and partnership opportunities throughout the WHC project and beyond the Wisconsin History Center opening in 2028.
Call For Native American Powwow, Drum, & Dance Songs
Call For Native American Powwow, Drum, & Dance Songs
The new Wisconsin History Center is set to open in early 2028 in Madison, WI.
The Center will include a culture gallery with a powwow section showcasing the stories of Native dancers and including a drumbeat interactive. Visitors will push one of eight buttons, each one plays back a recording of a Native Drum or singing group.
We invite your drum group to submit a song(s) for consideration. Compensation will be provided for those selected.
Key Dates
Application Due: November 30, 2026
Notifications Sent to Selected Submissions: February 2027
Complete Application
Call for Artists & Makers
Call for Artists & Makers
Opening in 2027 and located on Wisconsin’s Capitol Square in Madison, the Wisconsin Historical Society’s new flagship building, the Wisconsin History Center, will reflect a modern approach to sharing history and connecting communities.
The center will include a retail store that showcases the history and stories that are told throughout Wisconsin and within the center's galleries. The retail space will be located on the first floor of the center and will serve visitors and the public, hosting an array of merchandise that is custom made, but also will be a showcase for consignment, wholesale, or collaborative art or merchandise from communities and regions around the state.
We recognize the stories told at the Wisconsin History Center and around the state center on the impact that our communities have created, and we aim to reflect that influence in our retail setting with an open call to artists and makers!
Complete Application
Call for Native American Powwow and Veterans Regalia
Call for Native American Powwow and Veterans Regalia
The new Wisconsin History Center is set to open in 2027 in Madison, WI. The Center will feature a cultural gallery featuring a powwow section that will showcase Native dancers of our region. The display will feature four dancers including a veteran carrying a flag—all dance styles and categories—both worn and/or new—will be considered.
Selected regalia will be part of the permanent collections and able to be used for the exhibition in the inaugural display in the History Center.
Key Dates
Entries Due: January 5, 2025
Artists Selection: February 2025
Artwork Completed: August 28, 2026
CLOSED
Act 31
Explore these resources to deepen your understanding of American Indian Studies requirements and educational frameworks in Wisconsin.
Our newsletter brings you the news, events, and stories you need to stay informed and engaged with the Wisconsin Historical Society's work with Native Nations in Wisconsin and beyond.
WisHistory Press Books on Native History and Culture
A History In Indigenous Voices
Book by Carol Cornelius
Oneida/Stockbridge Munsee and Montauk, Turtle Clan
The Story of Act 31: How Native History Came to Wisconsin Classrooms
Book by JP Leary
Cherokee & Delaware
People of the Big Voice
Book by Tom Jones Ho-Chunk, Amy Lonetree Ho-Chunk, George A. Greendeer Ho-Chunk, Michael Schmudlach, and Matthew Daniel Mason
Highlighted Resources from our Partners
Chief Oshkosh
Menominee
Chief Oshkosh faced difficult choices as he led his people through trying times. He spoke out for the health of his people and the conservation of their forest.
Walter Bresette
Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe)
Walter led rallies in the 1980s and 1990s to educate others on how the rights the Ojibwe retained in 1800s treaties with the United States still hold true today.
Electa Quinney
Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican
This educator endured hardships and injustice to lift up Native and non-Native people through her generosity and guidance.
The Mendota Canoes
Connecting Past & Present
The Wisconsin Historical Society, in partnership with First Nations in Wisconsin, is preserving a pair of historic dugout canoes recovered from Lake Mendota. Testing revealed the first canoe is 1,200 years old and the second 3,000 years old.
Learn More
Native Nations in Wisconsin
Explore whose tribal lands and which nations are located closest to you.
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
News: Eyinakamigak
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Website
Brothertown Nation
Forest County Potawatomi
Ho-Chunk Nation
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
News: LCO News | WOJB 88.9 FM
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Website
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Website
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
News: Menominee Nation News
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Website
Oneida Nation
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Newsletter: Miisaninawiind
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Website
Sokaogon Chippewa Community
Sokaogon Chippewa Community
News: Sokaogon Chippewa Community News
Sokaogon Chippewa Community Website
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
News: The Vision
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin Website
Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians
Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians
News: Mohican News
Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians Website
Tribal Centers & Cultural Museums
Explore their history and culture as told by the Nations themselves at these Tribal Centers & Cultural museums around the state.
Ojibwe Storytelling Series
Winter is storytelling season
Free Virtual Storytelling From 2022 - 2024
In Ojibwe culture, winter is storytelling season. The Wisconsin Historical Society celebrates by featuring Ojibwe storytellers in a virtual series launched in early 2022.
View the Recordings OnlineLearn more about the people and items featured in our banner image
1Groundbreaking of Wisconsin History Center with members of Tribal Nations, April 23, 2025
2 3rd annual Neshnabék Wigwas Thiman Mawtheshnëwen (Birch Bark Canoe Gathering) at Devil's Lake in Crandon on September 26, 2026
3 Drum Ceremony at Groundbreaking of Wisconsin History Center with members of Tribal Nations, April 23, 2025
A Copper effigy, Sauk County, after 1000
B Black ash storage basket, made by Helen Lonetree, Ho-Chunk, 2013
C Ceramic vessel, Jefferson County, 1000-1150
D "Singing for their Dead," made by Karen Ann Hoffman, Oneida, 2026
E Tobacco Bag, made by Janae Grass, Sac and Fox of Oklahoma, 2026
F Yarn bag, made by Zausquasinokwayo (Blue Sky Woman), Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe, 1933
G "Native Turtle," painted by Terri O'Connor, Stockbridge-Munsee, 2026
Questions?
The Society is happy to answer any questions you may have.
Rachel Byington
Tribal Liaison
