#Menominee River | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fatehbaz · 2 years

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Regarding this post going around:

Recommend checking out an article by Kasey Keeler and Ryan Hellenbrand, published at Edge Effects in 2021, which, aside from addressing the Ojibwe story about the Nanabozho fighting against logging, also describes the origin of Paul Bunyan as an icon of clear-cutting timber industry and, later, as a symbol of the advent of the US federal government’s “German-style” forestry management.

Some quick tidbits from their article:

- References to Bunyan appear in local print media from the 1890s onward, but Bunyan became more widely known in 1916 after a scholarly publication about the folklore. In the same year, 1916, an important mass media pictorial representation was made in a promotional pamphlet by the marketing team of a major logging company as a move to give them a folksly and “local” charm as the corporation expanded from Minnesota to California.

- That same logging company had owned the land that would become both Paul Bunyan State Forest and Chippewa National Forest.

- The first national forest created by act of Congress rather than presidential proclamation was actually Chippewa National Forest, which has been described as “a laboratory” to solve “the Indian problem” and discipline/contain Ojibwe people.

- Paul Bunyan was a sort of icon of German folklore in the region. Ironically, even though Bunyan was originally associated with clear-cutting, it would in fact be "German-style” forestry policy that (in Minnesota and later across the US) replaced the original clear-cutting industrial extraction methods with a "modern" and "sustainable" management approach meant for "sustained yield" (which still just treats forests as a resource to be extracted for profit).

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Anyway, some images, captions, and text from the article [all text below is excerpted from the article]:

Across the Northwoods, a geography that spans the U.S.-Canada border, stories are used to make and claim space. [...] Throughout northern Minnesota, legends of Paul Bunyan, the fictional giant lumberjack, have been used to claim space. [...] Bunyan has been credited with creating Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, the Mississippi River, and the Grand Canyon, while simultaneously logging millions of acres of forest. [...] Together, we juxtapose the history of two forests -- the Paul Bunyan State Forest and the Chippewa National Forest -- to reveal how German settlement, logging, and forestry have contributed to placemaking narratives, and how [...] nostalgia links past and present. Paul Bunyan’s literal and figurative imaginings advance American Indian erasure narratives, leading to the invisibility of these same communities today. [...] The Northwoods have been popularized and imagined as America’s version of northern Europe. [...] Across Minnesota, towns like New Ulm, New Munich, Heidelberg, and Luxemburg bear witness [...]. More recently, Native scholars Michael Dockry and Christopher Caldwell have examined [...] “the Menominee people’s profound sense of place and their intimate relationship with place.” [...]

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Ojibwe dispossession, well underway by the late nineteenth century, is not told in any Paul Bunyan story. [...] The "heroic labor" of logging formed a significant portion of Great Lakes region economies [...] on the heels of, and entangled with, Ojibwe dispossession. [...] Formally established in 1908, the 1.6-million-acre Chippewa National Forest (CNF) lies nearly contiguous with the Leech Lake Reservation. [...] [T]he CNF was the first national forest created "for the benefit of [American] Indian people." [...] In 1902 came the Morris Act. Authored by [a] Duluth congressman [...], the act "created the first forest reserve established by congressional action rather than presidential proclamation." The act established the 225,000-acre Minnesota Forest Reserve as a “compromise,” a way to tackle the “Indian problem” while allowing for timber harvest. Here, Ojibwe homelands became “a laboratory for the first comprehensive forest management plans undertaken by a federal agency.” In 1928, the forest was renamed the Chippewa National Forest, as it remains today.

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While the Chippewa National Forest forces us to consider the many ways logging and forestry has usurped American Indian peoples’ access to land, the nearby Paul Bunyan State Forest encapsulates the material legacy of symbolic myth. [...]

Officially recognized in 1935, the Paul Bunyan State Forest evolved from the site of the Red River Lumber Company sawmill. Founded in 1884, the Red River Lumber Company (RRLC) directly participated in and contributed to Ojibwe dispossession. By the end of the nineteenth century, he RRLC had purchased most of the land that comprises the present-day Pual Bunyan State Forest, milling millions of board feet of lumber at the company town of Akeley. [...]

The expansion of RRLC to California precipitated another key move: using Paul Bunyan in their marketing. William B. Laughead (pronounced Log-head), advertising manager in 1914 and a logger himself, spun another Paul Bunyan tale for the promotional booklet “Introducing Mr. Paul Bunyan of Westwood, Cal,” which included Bunyan’s first pictorial representation. This marketing campaign relied on the new and growing nostalgia for the grand logging days in the Great Lakes to keep the transcontinental corporation rooted in place.

With logging long established throughout the Great Lakes region, the ecological damage was clear. To remedy this, in the mid-1930s (German) forestry was introduced to manage timber on a sustained yield base. This, then, is the irony of the Paul Bunyan State Forest: named for an American legends who is said to have literally cleared the path for settlement, forest management now proposes to maintain the integrity of the forest. [...]

Though Paul Bunyan narratives dominate the landscape of the Northwoods, if we look closely we can see the ways Native people resist the legendary exploits. Indeed, a lesser-known Ojibwe oral story reminds us that the Anishinaabe people, their culture, and their histories will always prevail over dispossession and logging. In the story, Nanabozho, an Ojibwe trickster or cultural figure, confronts Paul Bunyan, who had already logged off most of the northeastern states before making his way to Minnesota. Nanabozho tells Paul to leave, to not log any more timber. A fight ensues, and [...] Nanabozho swings a Red Lake walleye at Paul, knocking him off his feet. As Paul stumbles, Nanabozho pulls at Paul’s whiskers, making him promise to leave the area. This is why, today, Paul Bunyan does not have a beard and why he is facing west at the statue on Lake Bemidji, as he prepares to leave the region.

This is also why we have the Chippewa National Forest, because Nanabozho and his Ojibwe kinsmen saved it from being logged. It is this contemporary narrative that highlights the complexity of Ojibwe storytelling [...].

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Images, captions, and text as published by: Kasey Keeler and Ryan Hellenbrand. “Paul Bunyan and Settler Nostalgia in the Northwoods.” Edge Effects. 2 December 2021. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks added by me.]

#abolition #ecology #indigenous #great lakes #imperial #colonial #ojibwe #victorian and edwardian popular culture #tidalectics #imperial forestry #multispecies #interspecies #geographic imaginaries

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tatsuma-forever · 1 year

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a rating of places in wisconsin

hudson: i was born there. it’s fine. the hospital is shit though. 4/10

ellsworth: i only go there for the 10/10 creamery. 6/10

river falls: hell on earth. i love seeing them fail. totally have no connection to rf at all. 2/10

amery: cute. 3/10

byron (fdl): 10/10 for my grandma ❤️

menominee: it’s fine. 4/10

turtle lake: nice lake. 4/10

appleton: i think there’s a water park here? idk. 3/10

barron: hell. file a restraining order. 3/10

baraboo: awwwww. 5/10

mauston: 9/10

black river falls: you wanna be river falls sooo bad. 4/10

eau claire: idc. 3/10

madison: 😀. 2/10

prescott: i think they have a clock or something. 5/10

the dells: got pickpocketed there like i was in victorian england. 3/10

somerset: several people got stabbed there. 3/10

deer park: ❤️. 8/10

#wisconsin #slava.txt

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dear-indies · 2 years

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hi, hello! so, i'm working on a rpg and can never have too many face claims to put as suggestions for prospective applicants so i was wondering if i could possibly get a list of your favorite indigenous fcs aged 25+? i'm a firm believer of ' there can never be too many native characters in the rpc ' but despite being native myself I can't think of that many. thank you in advance!

indigenousfcsdirectory.tumblr.com/ is a fantastic place to start but here are some people with a bunch of resources that'd be great for rpgs!

Third gender:

Kiley May (1987) Cayuga and Mohawk - is two-spirit genderqueer trans woman (she/they) and is queer.

Ellyn Jade / Jade Willoughby (1990) Ojibwe, Afro Jamaican, Taíno, British - two-spirit - she/her - not straight otherwise unspecified, has nephrotic syndrome and celiac’s disease.

Non-binary:

Charlyne Yi (1986) Yuki, Kapampangan Filipino, Korean, Mexican, Spanish, Irish, French, and German - is non-binary (they/them) and queer.

Morningstar Angeline (1990) Navajo, Blackfoot, Chippewa Cree, Nez Perce, Shoshone, Mexican, and Unspecified White - is non-binary (they/she) and pansexual.

Women:

Jennifer Podemski (1974) Saulteaux, Ojibwe, Lenape, Metis, and Polish Jewish - has Chronic Lyme Disease.

Amara Zaragoza (1980) Shawnee, Mexican of Purepecha descent, and German - has Multiple Sclerosis.

Jana Schmieding (1981) Miniconjou Lakota Sioux, Sicangu Oyate Lakota Sioux.

Jennifer Pudavick (1982) Metis.

Cara Gee (1983) Ojibwe.

Heather White (1983) Mohawk / Nakoda Sioux.

Jessica Matten (1985) Red River Metis of Cree and Saulteaux descent, Chinese, French, British, and Ukrainian.

Elle Maija Tailfeathers (1985) Kainai Blackfoot and Northern Sami.

Maika Harper (1986) Inuit.

Nathalie Kelley (1985) Argentinian, Quechua of Peruvian descent.

Kiley May (1987) Cayuga and Mohawk - is two-spirit genderqueer trans woman (she/they) and is queer.

Sofiya Cheyenne (1991) Taino, Dominican, Syrian, and Italian - has Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Congenita.

Tanaya Beatty (1991) Da’naxda’xw and Himalayan.

Rose Matafeo (1992) Samoan / Scottish and Croatian.

Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (1993) Mohawk - is queer.

Yalitza Aparicio (1993) Mixtec and Triqui.

Frankie Adams (1994) Samoan.

Khadijha Red Thunder (1994) Chippewa Cree, African-American, Spanish - is pansexual.

Coty Camacho (1995) Mixtec and Zapotec - is pansexual.

Chase Sui Wonders (1996) Tahitian, Chinese, Japanese, and Unknown White.

Alaqua Cox (1997) Menominee and Mohican - is Deaf and is a leg amputee.

Morgan Holmstrom (1997) Metis of Cree descent, Ilocano Filipino, and Sambal Filipino.

Madeleine Madden (1997) Gadigal, Eastern Arrernte, Kalkadoon and White.

Amber Midthunder (1997) Hunkpapa Lakota, Hudeshabina Nakoda, Sissiton-Wahpehton Dakota, Thai-Chinese, and White.

Men:

Gil Birmingham (1953) Comanche.

Benjamin Bratt (1963) Peruvian of Quechua descent, German (including Sudeten German), and English.

Keanu Reeves (1964) Kānaka Maoli, Portuguese, English, Scottish, at least 1/16th Chinese, remote Dutch / English.

Zahn McClarnon (1966) Irish, Polish, Hunkpapa Lakota and Sihasapa Lakota.

Michael Greyeyes (1967) Plains Cree.

Marcus LaVoi (1968) Ojibwe.

Robbie Magasiva (1972) Samoan.

Taika Waititi (1975) Māori, as well as distant British Isles, possibly French-Canadian / Irish, English, Scottish, Northern Irish, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish.

Jesse Williams (1980) African-American, Seminole / Swedish.

Tenoch Huerta (1981) Mexican of Nahua, Purepecha, and Spanish descent.

Uli Latukefu (1983) Tongan.

Bobby Wilson (1984) Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Dakota Sioux.

Alex Meraz (1984) Mexican of Purepecha descent.

Martin Sensmeier (1985) Tlingit, Koyukon, Eyak, Irish, and German.

Cooper Andrews (1985) Samoan / Hungarian Jewish.

Kalani Queypo (1986) Blackfoot, Kānaka Maoli, and Swedish.

Kiowa Gordon (1990) Hualapai, English, Scottish, Danish, Manx.

Richard Harmon (1991) Mi'kmaq, French, Italian, English.

Jordan Connor (1991) Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Papua New Guinean, Samoan / Croatian, Spanish, Greek, Italian.

Aason Nadjiwon (1992) Ojibwe and Afro Jamaican.

Angel Bismark Curiel (1995) Taino, Afro Dominican, Spanish - has asthma and a heart murmur.

Cody Christian (1995) Penobscot, Passamaquoddy / English.

Happy rping!

#fc help #rph #rpc

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ravnlghtft · 1 year

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The National Park Service has approved the Menominee Indian Tribe's nomination of a culturally significant site to the National Register of Historic Places. The land is located where a controversial gold mine is set to be developed.

Last year, historic preservation boards in Wisconsin and Michigan approved the nomination of Anaem Omot, also known as the Dog’s Belly. The site on the Menominee River includes the Sixty Islands area where the tribe once lived, and it contains the tribe's dance rings and burial mounds.

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brooklynislandgirl · 2 years

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Do you know me? [Coulson]

In All My Reverie || -

What’s their full name?:

“Josiah.” Skye wrinkles her nose. “Really?” Beth shrugs and holds up the results of the other woman’s physical. “Is right dere, top of his file.” ~*~ “Jacinto.” Ward raises a brow. “What?” “On a chilly April aftahnoon in Eighteen-T’irty Six, a strip of coastal prairie rang wi’ da boom of cannon, crack of musket fiah, an’ shouts of “Remembah da Alamo!” an’ “Remembah Goliad!”. Despite bein’ outmanned, General Sam Houston’s army of settlers, Tejanos, an’ foreign volunteers decisively defeat General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s forces, an’ won Texas’ independence. T’ commemorate it, Mistah Coulson senior named him aftah-” He leaves before she can finish, so Beth shrugs and goes back to knitting. ~*~ “Jamiroquai. Like da band.” May kicks her out of the cockpit, and she is grateful. She escapes back to the lab. Only to run into Fitz-Simmons. Who half talk, half telepathically communicate over their pet project. They ask where she’s been. She explains, and sure enough the question begins to live rent free in their heads, on their faces. So of course they ask her. She smiles blandly. “Javert. Named aftah main antagonist from Les Miserables.”

~*~ Beth stares at a spot just above his shoulder and to the left, her hands behind her as she stands at parade rest. Exactly as she would if addressing the Admiral. The biggest difference is that Coulson’s face isn’t lemon-sour, but rather simply curious. The question as to why she keeps telling different people what the J stands for in Philip J Coulson, each increasingly worse, lingers between them. When she answers, it’s barely audible. “Because dey aks me, sir. Didn’ wanna seem rude or dismissive. An’ hones’ly, no one seems to know, but I assume it’s actually Julian or Julius, aftah ya maddah. But it’s not my right f’ tell, or anyone else’s f’ demand. I’m sorry. It won’ happen again.”

When’s their birthday?: She doesn’t know the time, exactly. Nor does she try to ask him because she knows he’ll see it as unimportant. But she sits on her bunk, several books open. A multifunctional geometric ruler near her knee along with several different coloured pens, a large drawing pad already marked in pencil as she does her research. Without consulting charts, 8 July 1964 makes him a Cancerian, like her. There’s so much water in Phil’s chart, and it explains so much about him. Though she would argue, even with herself, that a person can be summed up in a mathematical sequence. He’s more than cryptic ciphers and star charts, surely. More than he’d even realise if the question of his identity were posed to him. She picks up her green pen and steadies the ruler against the page.

Where were they born?:

Manitowoc, Wisconsin is hell. Oh it tries to fool her, it really does, sitting in the open mouth of the river of the same name, right there on the edge of Lake Michigan. Depending on the inflection of the Ojibwe word, it is named ‘dwelling of the great spirit’, ‘spirit spawns’, ‘spirit woods’ or ‘spirit lands’. The Menominee people ceded the land in a treaty after a small eternity of negotiation on what to do with the tribes removed from New York, and rehomed ~as if they were pets or burdens~ to Wisconsin. Two years before Coulson was born, a twenty pound piece of Sputnik 4 landed on North 8th Street. It is home of the state’s Maritime Museum, and has a great amount of history attached to it, not all of it pleasant. Just ask Gwendolyn Brooks.

But right now, Beth is absolutely convinced that it is the origin point of Fimbulwinter. The icy teeth of the wind rip right through her, going so far as to turn even Pele’s blood in her veins to slush. Her joints ache, her head hurts. She is never going to see the sun again. This is how she dies, without a rainbow bridge or a last glimpse of Kawela bay and her Mother’s warm waves welcoming her as they race toward the Pipeline. “Fire’s roaring,” Phil says, pushing a cup of cocoa ~whipped cream and cinnamon topped~ into her shivering mitten-covered hands. “Are you sure you won’t come in? Or do you intend to make another snow-angel?”

What’s their favourite colour?:

Sometimes, Phil’s suits are black. Exactly like the movies and the rampant conspiracy theories say it should be. When he does put that one on, he occasionally pairs it with a periwinkle shirt and the subtle colour looks sharp on him. Other times he’ll wear dark navy or slate grey. Besides his trademark sunglasses though, the thing that she notices most is that he always wears a touch of blue; shirt, tie, jacket…ambient lighting. It tends to bring out his eyes, though she doesn’t think that’s why he loves the colour. Rather it’s the meaning that seems to nurture something in his soul. Blue is sky and it is sea. That fact isn’t lost on her. It is associated with open spaces, freedom, inspiration, and sensitivity. It spans depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability. It is the colour of faith and intelligence.

It can represent rest and there’s studies that show that it causes the body to produce chemicals that are linked to calm, and releases feelings of tranquillity. Each and every one of these is a trait he embodies or fosters in others. But none of this answers the question he asks her. “This one,” she says, and runs her fingers over the tie he holds up in his left hand, favouring the deep cobalt stripes over the diamond-patterned maroon in his right. She takes it from his grasp, and slides it around the back of his neck, adjusting it so that she can start to tie it. “Masculine. Subtle. Definitely power move.”

What’s their favourite perfume/cologne?:

The minute his door opens, Beth’s head jerks upwards, her nostrils flaring. Cucumber, hints of water lotus. Szechuan pepper, cedar. Sandalwood and musk. It reminds her of the ocean and deep woods. She lets it trickle down into her senses. The scent is light, doubly so because it’s used so sparingly. Embraces a casual effortlessness, distinctive but not in the least attention-grabbing. The ghost of it won’t haunt a room.

“CK Eternity Aqua,” she murmurs, naming the scent. “Should we not wait up for you, sir?” Beth doesn’t even register the tone of her own voice, or the hint of envy that creeps into the back of it.

Do they like baths or showers best?: I’m going to take a shower, then we’ll debrief. She nods as does the rest of the team. If she’s being honest, it’s probably for the best. Once viscera begins to dry out it also tends to smell, tends to crust and it’s just gross. And she knows that Phil works on his own schedule. Showers work better for him, showers also work better for the team. She forgets what they call this particular bunker but there’s plenty of room for everyone in the locker room style bathrooms.

But she still intends to eventually get him in a bath. Soaking overused muscles. Letting essential oils strip away the layers of ache and grit. She spends the whole fifteen minutes she is scrubbing down planning it.

How do they sleep? Do they snore?:

She never understood how he could sleep on his back. Sure, the pillow cradles his neck. With his eyes closed, Phil seems to be at peace, not even breathing hard. Just deep. Soundless. His chest rises and falls and Beth can’t help but blush a little when she notices he isn’t wearing a shirt. It doesn’t stop her from climbing onto the bed and curling up beside him. Her arm comes to rest across his hips. Her head nestles on his chest, where she can hear his heartbeat change from rest to wakefulness. But he doesn’t say anything. She imagines if she looks up she’ll see that Mona Lisa look, a little confusion etched around his brows. But what Phil Coulson doesn’t do is question her. Maybe because he knows her file like the back of his hand. Maybe because he knows she’d ventured into the lion’s den and barely made it out with hide intact, the Admiral’s jaws all but clenching around her. Regardless, he only shifts a little; one hand lifts the blanket when his fingers graze the cold of her skin before the hand slides up her arm to cup the back of her head. There’s nothing sensual about any of this, not in the way some people would look to take it. He’s offering her shelter. He’s offering her enough safety to let her own eyes close. Neither of them really sleep.

What’s their favourite flower? If they have one which one?:

The gunshot splits the air. They have guns, the team only has icers and she can’t do a thing with that. She doesn’t waste microseconds wishing she had a gift involving the art of seasons…Time. It isn’t a spell, or countermagick, so much as it’s a wild and desperate Hail Mary call, and she flings her mana like water or glitter. Reality takes hold of it and shapes it. Offers a new and different trajectory. What would have caught Coulson in the chest is redirected. But all things come with a price and the impact knocks her back. Pain splinters outward from her lung and she can feel herself trying to breathe her own vital fluids but chokes on them instead. A minute, an hour, an eternity later his hands come to put pressure on the wound. “I’ve got you,” he says. She watches his lips move, but she can’t hear what he’s saying. Her lashes flutter. “Agent Riley!” The darkness rises up like a plunging wave, spawned from offshore winds. They have high energy and travel swiftly, making them dangerous to unsuspecting surfers. “Beth. What’s…what’s my favourite flower?” Whether it’s the wound or something deeply intrinsic to her subconscious, Beth closes her eyes, and blames the tears on not being ready to let go. “Daisy.” Do they drive? If so how’s their drivers licence picture?:

He never asks her why. Neither does she volunteer. She doesn’t fight him pushing the wheelchair out of the sliding glass doors of the hospital entrance, it’s regulation and she doesn’t have the energy to baulk. She knows he looked up the statistics. She knows he wants to ask why she didn’t allow him to get her back to Jemma to be treated, or SHIELD medical. What wasn’t a surprise was that she’d chosen Columbia. And why when she woke she was critically disappointed. All the unspoken things crowd in around them as he makes her sit in the passenger’s seat. No one drives Lola but Phil. Not even Beth.

“Do you even have one drivah licence?” she finally glances at him, slow when she turns, gingerly readjusting the seat belt. He fishes out his wallet and hands it to her. The Coulson in the picture is almost eight years younger. The only difference she can really see is slightly less laugh lines, and slightly more, darker hair. Phil has always been handsome, it seems, in an entirely average way. A warm and friendly mien, an immeasurably wide aura of calm. Of patience. Of basic human kindness that cannot be corrupted.

“So. How’re you doing?” She hands it back. “Not gonna lie, could murder a bacon cheeseburger righ’ now.” A brow raises at the comment. “Kinda low on iron.” “I know just the place.” Coulson pulls smoothly into traffic.

Do they like reading? If so guess how many books they have?:

Her fingertips glance across the spines of the small collections of books on his shelves; westerns, biographies, histories weighed down by the dust of the dry academic language. They might as well be fantasies, of old myths for as familiar as they are to her. But then she stops. Her lips pull tight as she pulls the volume and traces the bright red title on the blue background. The tightness becomes a full sneer over the misspelling. Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure by Julia Flynn Siler. Beth opens the flap, reads aloud the summary; “Only one American state was formerly a sovereign monarchy. In this compelling narrative, the award-winning journalist Julia flynn Siler chronicles how this Pacific kingdom, creation of a proud Polynesian people, was encountered, annexed and absorbed. Around two hundred A.D., intrepid Polynesians paddled thousands of miles across the Pacific and arrived at an undisturbed archipelago. For centuries, their descendants lived with almost no contact from the Western world but in Seventeen-Seventy Eight, their profound isolation was shattered with the arrival of Captain Cook. Deftly weaving together a memorable cast of character-” The book slams shut with very little regard for its safety. Sneer becomes vitriolic rage burning in her eyes, choking her throat. “You’re upset,” his voice is mild. Beth turns, imperiously lifting her chin despite being nearly a foot shorter, and far less intimidating that he could ever be. Here it is. A descendant of those ancient kings and queens, royal blood from both sides of the family tree, standing ready to defend her homeland. This might be the one time the Admiral could show any pride. “Of da hundreds of books you own, dis? Dis is da one you bring wi’ you?” “I thought it was a good place to start-” “Betrayin’ da Kanaka Maoli? Relishing in da illegal occupation of our lands, deposin’ our Ali’i Lili’uokalani?-” “-To understand the mistakes of the past, so that we don’t continue to make them in the future.” His tone is low, as it is tight. She bears her teeth. It isn’t a smile. Phil closes the distance between them, gingerly laying his hands atop hers before gently prying the book out of her grasp, returning it to its place on his shelf. “May I suggest something else to take to bed with you?” She leaves him standing there as she flees his space, cheeks impossibly red. It took almost a precise two weeks and a movie with the younger agents for him to understand what exactly had happened.

Public or state school?: “So, d’ you t’ink dere’s a difference between governmen’ school like you went to, as opposed to a private one?” The question posed comes on the heels of her trying to explain how important one’s high school alma mater was to the Hawai’ian identity. By government, she meant public school where as private meant a religious institution, a military or prep academy, charter, or otherwise funded by the often very rich parents that patronised them. It might not be a surprise that she could name his schools, ~Jackson Elementary, Washington Middle, Lincoln High School~ even if everyone, including himself, is reasonably sure she doesn’t much know the difference between Wisconsin and Minnesota. “Of course there is,” he begins carefully. “Allocated and logistical resources for one, the varying arts and culture that can be offered based on funding by a state rubric that makes no fiscal sense. I’m pretty willing to bet that aside from sadistic nuns, you would have been more comfortable at an integrated Kamehameha school than you did at Sacred Heart.” She raises a brow and he has to confess. “It’s because everyone has at least one Catholic school called Sacred Heart.”

Did they attend university? If so which one and what is their degree?:

As the night progresses, they talk of opportunities and the importance of providing safe avenues for education, they talk fond memories, embarrassing incidents, and Phil maybe laughs more than he has in a while. Beth becomes highly animated when she’s passionate about things, and she makes him remember things he hasn’t thought about in decades. She seems most embarrassed about receiving early admission to university, and was offered a scholarship that would have provided for everything she could need to succeed, and she turned that down. Said someone else benefited from her family’s ability to pay for pre-med and medical school a hundred times over without feeling it. But then her tone softens. “D’you t’ink, Uncle, dat when you retire….ah…if.... If you retire, ya might go back to school? Mebbe take up ya teaching degree? I know Director Fury poached you straight out of high school, an’ I no can help but feel dat might be one of ya regrets.”

Who’s the chef and who’s the taster?:

There is something indescribably sensual the way she breathes and then exhales that into a moan, all while hovering by his side. Her kitchen is a wreck and he knows it, but she did offer to do the clean up. It’s also taken him hours to do all the work; creating the roux, scalding the milk so it’s not scorched, then slowly stirring in the various cheeses. Then there was boiling the noodles while the dough rested and rose, then got punched down to rest again. It’s an old recipe from his childhood, but it seemed like the perfect thing to make for his vegetarian leaning shark; macaroni and cheese pizza. Now it’s baking in her oven, and he’s putting the final touches on the salad that is going with it, a token nod to health concerns. Like a cat, Beth seems content to prowl around him, stopping on occasion to put a hand on his exposed forearms, and looking up at him with a beatific look. He plucks a halved cherry tomato from her wooden bowl, and offers it to her. Then Beth becomes a goblin. She doesn’t take it from him with his fingers, instead carefully putting her teeth close to his skin, close enough that her lips form around his fingertips. Weaker men have toppled empires for less. Phil only smiles. “Table set yet? Can’t let you eat out of the bowl.”

Do they like wine? If so Róse, red or white? Beer? Whiskey?: “It is, yes.” Full words, a rarity. And like a ghost, she vanishes from view. When she appears again, she’s just on the edge of his periphery. A splash of colour from her floor length, gauzy skirt, but sleek and tawny from the arms up in a grey camisole. The bandage that peeks out might bring a frown to his face. It’s been a while now and the wound isn’t healing like he knows it should. He almost wants to ask her why she doesn’t use her gifts on it but somehow he knows her answer would be similar were she to ask why doesn’t she let him give him his old arm back. Some things need to be lived through, survived. Or maybe the enemy has finally found something that prevents even her accelerated healing to kick in, and that worries him. Almost as if she can follow his train of thoughts, she smiles. This time the expression is a little dreamy at the edges, lacking the sharp physically longing look from moments ago. She holds up a glass of wine in one hand ~hers~ and in the other… Phil blinks. “Spotted Cow!” A farmhouse ale that can only be found in his home state because it’s not sold anywhere else. It’s never easy to catch him off guard but she’s managed that. “Where did you even--” She giggles. “Magic.”

Any favourite items of clothes?: She sits on the end of the bed, the black lace dress fitting her like a second skin, the scalloped edges flirting with her knees. Her hair is half up and half down, she’s wearing tasteful diamond solitaire earrings. She hates having to leave the safety of the Retreat but rebuilding SHIELD requires funding from indirect sources, and one of her best job skills is the ability to schmooze. She looks up when Phil enters the room. For once his tailored dress shirt is open at the collar, though the tie still hangs down his chest. She makes an appreciative murmur. It will never cease to amaze her that he actually likes wearing ties and suits, and that while they are technically a uniform, they look incredible on him. She rises and meets him halfway where his hand comes up to cup her cheek, his fingertips losing themselves in her hair. “You’re going to do fine,” he tells her. He means it as an assurance. She’s taking it as a direct order. Her hands come up and she wraps the loose ends of the tie around her wrists, holding them tightly in her fists. Her eyes half close and she takes a deep breath for calm, thinking if she can just envelope herself with him, that she can do anything asked. “Can I take dis wi’ me?” She gives the tie a tug. “Only if you promise you’ll give it back. I know you still have my one denim shirt, Agent Riley.” She can’t help but grin. “Yes, sir.”

Anything you like of theirs that makes you smile when they wear it?:

“What….is… dat?!” “It’s a bathrobe.” “No, dat is a crime of nature is what dat is. Where did you even ge’it?” “This little gift shop in Santa Fe, on my way to Puente Antiguo. I think it’s rugged.” “I t’ink it’s…jus’...wow. “You want I should take it off-” Oh the colour in her face. Especially as he unbelts the robe and his chest beneath is bare.

What do they wear on holiday?:

“Absolutely not.” “What?” “Ya not wearin’ suit an’ tie f’ da beach, Phillip.” “It’s a beautiful day, Elizabeth. I was going to leave the jacket behind.” “Soonah ya wear dis bikini.” “Somehow, I don’t think it would fit. But I do like the bottoms.”

What do they wear if they’re just around the house?: Time is hard to tell in an underground bunker, but if she had to guess, it’s just past three in the morning; the witching hour. Phil isn’t curled up beside her when she jolts awake and puts her hand out and all she can think to do is crawl out from under the covers. She’s still in the cargo pants and tee-shirt she’d been wearing when they’d arrived, an almost identical outfit to his. They needed to blend into the dark. Once they’d been certain that the base was still secure, they’d sacked out as is with no energy for anything else. The dark is eating at her as she moves through the fairly narrow confines; this was meant to be a bolt hole, not a holiday hotel room in a five star resort. “Phil?” She whispers as she moves into each new room, only to hear her own footsteps and the hum of electricity in the walls but for no purpose she can gather. She could, if she put her mind to it, find its source and trace its routes but terror and exhaustion make clear-headed thought almost impossible.

After an eternity, she comes into a small space allotted for food and its preparation. A single spare bulb glows overhead, and there he stands, hunched over a map. She immediately rushes him, throwing her arms around his chest, and kneading his arm with her brow. “Phil!” “Hey. I’ve got some of the gps working and for now, it seems we’re safe here in--” A pause. Then a low mixture of concern, and stiffness. “You okay?” She clutches his leather jacket tighter, not thinking about the animal who sacrificed its skin. “I woke up and you…you were…” He presses a kiss to her forehead. “Yeah, I get it. Why don’t you sit, and I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”

Who’s the holiday planner and who isn’t allowed to hold the passports?:

“Okay.” One word is all she says but it takes at least three times as long to pull herself away from him and even then she still feels a little queasy about it. He expects her to be made of sterner stuff, though, and she can’t bear disappointing him again. Her eyes follow him as he moves through the space. There are so many questions but she doesn’t even know where to begin. Maybe it’s the touch of otherness, the Spirit of Vengeance existing within him, that hears her anyway. “The last verified ping on May was thirty-six hours ago at an old second generation secret base, one called Radiant. How’s your Russian?”

“Ya imeyu v vidu, moglo byt' i khuzhe.” It could be worse, she says. “Good girl. Now, our best bet is to get to the Finnish border, drive the rest of the way. What do we have in the way of resources to get there?” Beth looks a little green around the gills. “I think I know someone who can get us there, but…I don’t think you’re gonna like it, and that’s assuming she’ll talk to me.”

Which type of phone do they have?:

Phil pulls out his Vivo. It’s an old generation but it’s running a proprietary OS designed specifically for SHIELD, the same one she runs on her Galaxy. He goes to pitch it once, twice, before he lets go and she catches it. Proof her reflexes are getting better despite the fact that she’s still too thin, too banged up for his taste. Reading her face, he frowns. “What’s the problem?” “She doesn’t use phones.” “Then how do we get a hold of her?” “You’re not going to like it.” “Why? We have to find the others. If that involves--” She cuts him off. “I’m going to need salt, bread, an’ your patience.”

What music do they like? Be specific if you know?: The bunker is entirely too quiet. It’s not anything like the bus where there’s a constant stream of subaudible white noise and the lives of the other people on it. Staring up into the blackness with little else to distract her beyond Phil’s breathing, the urge to toss and to turn, to get up and pace the floors until she’s worn ruts in her circuitous path, is near overwhelming. Drowning on dry land is what she would call it if she spoke aloud. Very carefully, she starts to slide her way towards the edge of the bed. And gasps when the hand not made of flesh and bone coils around her forearm. She’d never felt or heard him wake up, didn’t realise she’d disturbed him. “I’m sorry- I-I couldn’t sleep.” He nods. This is not new for him. He was used to her wandering all over the bus while others dreamed, was used to finding her curled up for those few moments of sleep inside of Lola. Where she felt safe. He is gentle as he pulls her back down, turning on his side and turning her, too, so that her back was pressed into his chest, where his other arm wrapped around her waist. She doesn’t know what to make of the bridge of his nose and his mouth close to the shell of her ear. At least until his voice, which wavers in its own way, a pleasant but raspy tenor, a contrast from her brother’s baritone. But she recognises Assemblage 23, and particularly the words of Lullaby.

“May you find solace…in the gentle arms of sleep. Despite the wolves outside your door. In time you will see them all as harmless, and their idle threats easy to ignore.” His voice pours right through her and she bites back the slightest gasp. “And if ever fate should choose to smite you; stand your ground, never walk away. Please don’t ever let the world defeat you, don’t get buried in its decay. As you drift into the gauzy realm of dreams, may you take comfort in the thought that you are safe…” Beth turns in his arms, resting her face just under his chin and slides one leg between his own.

Any favourite movie/tv shows?: “I loved Star Trek and Star Wars growing up,” he says while his eyes never leave the road. “The Man from U.N.C.L.E, too.” Her brows knit. “I dunno what is dat.” “It was a show centred on a two-man troubleshooting team working for the the multi-national secret intelligence agency, U.N.C.L.E ~United Network Command for Law Enforcement~” “Wha’ is it wi’ spy networks an’ dey like ridiculous uhm…breviations? Is dere like a room somewhere dat got a bunch of people from lotsa countries sittin’ around makin’ dis stuff up?” He laughs. She isn’t entirely wrong. “...Anyway, there was American Napoleon Solo played by Robert Vaughn, and Russian Illya Kuryakin played by David McCallum. Leo G. Caroll played Alexander Waverly, the British Chief of the organisation. Barbara Moore was eventually introduced by Lisa Rogers, in the fourth season. Fun fact-- the series, while fictional but probably loosely based on SHIELD, reached such cultural prominence that props, costumes, documents and a video clip are now housed in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum’s exhibit on spies and counterspies. They have similar displays in the museums belonging to the CIA and other intelligence agencies.” “F’real, how you know all dis stuff?” Her answer is that Mona Lisa smile.

Do you see yourself being with them for a long time?:

When the metaphoric and literal smoke and fire clear, Beth turns away. Phil and May deserve a moment’s privacy to reassure one another that if nothing else, they are alive. Safety will come later, after they’ve left. She’ll assure him that he can take Melinda in the car, that she will meet him at the rendezvous spot and can get there, sight unseen, under her own power. What she won’t tell him is that she will do so by traversing the umbra, and once on the other side of the Gauntlet, she will shape-shift into something sleeker or faster. A bird, a cheetah. The contact that they owe will be pleased to get this favour done, and if Beth has to borrow a few things, the cost won’t be much. The time apart will be all well and good. It will give her time to grieve in privacy for the things that she will lose, now that they are slowly starting to repatriate the rest of the team. She’ll miss the feel of his arms around her. The gentleness in those embraces, the kisses that follow. Her bed will feel like some sort of barren wasteland without the warmth and comfort of his presence.

She will never be far from Phil. There to call on and do as he wants her to at a split-second notice. For as long as he wants her to be. But oh, how she’s going to ache for these last few weeks, fraught as they were. She clears her throat but it sounds brittle, rusty in her own ears. “We need f’ go soon, dey regrouping, sir.”

Do you share a home? If not why not?:

It is a gruelling trek back to the secret bunker. She still doesn’t know what secret name this one is called, but the homecoming is bittersweet. While May is taking a shower and Phil is rustling up a meal for them in the kitchen, Beth is in the room they’ve been sharing. She packs her meagre things carefully, not that there is much, but she knows better than to leave behind any sort of spore. Briefly, she picks up his pillow and hugs it to her chest. She breathes in the scent of him, and holds it in as long as she can. Some part of it should have known it would all be temporary. He’d rescued her first because she’d been one of the last to be taken into custody, ultimately inconsequential. The only threat she really posed was easily disabled by the collar. He’d needed her resources, her informational intelligence, the comfort of not being alone. She turns to go. And nearly jumps out of her own skin when she’s brought up short with a sharp, audible gasp. Startled to the point she drops the pillowcase she used for packing. She hadn’t expected to see him standing there, watching her silently with a face like a thunderstorm.

“Beth?” A wealth of questions in a single word. It takes her a moment to realise what he’d called her, and it wasn’t Agent Riley. “Y-you don’ haf’ worry ‘bout dis being a scene, Phil. I jus’ wan make da transition easier-” “What transition?” She gestures with a head-tilt in the direction of where the shower is running, presumably with May still under the hot water. “Huh.” Not a word, not even an inflection really. She doesn’t know what to make of it, or the fact that he crosses the narrow space and envelopes her into his arms. The embrace pulls her close and he bends down to put his chin on the top of her head. She isn’t treated to the sight of his eyes boring holes into the wall behind them, nor the look of his own grief when he closes them. “You…don’t have to.” “But she-” “Agent May is an adult. My oldest friend. I’d like to think she’d be understanding.”

What quirk do they have that you love?: “Oh, oh! Is this the part where you threaten to tear us limb from limb? Because I’ve got to say, I’ve already watched this movie and bought the tee-shirt.” Clearly, the moke of a HYDRA agent wasn’t sure what to do when Phil didn’t cower under the weight of his threat. Or reasoning that the threat was stupid, as Coulson implied, because half of the enemy were laying in pools of their own agony thanks to Agent May, and Beth herself has fried most of the electronics at his command thanks to a few little tricks up her sleeve. She absolutely loves those moments where, the more dire the situation, the snarkier Phil gets, an unparalleled aplomb of sarcasm and pop culture that is so incongruous with his typical unflappable mien. She gazes from Phil, where she sees that muscle in his jaw pop, to the HYDRA jerk, to Daisy’s face, where she can still see traces of pain from the jolt the woman received from the arm cuffs on her, so similar to the collar they’d kept Beth shackled with. It all takes place in fractions of seconds. She mouths the word “duck.”

Lastly what do you like watching them do?: Daisy does as she’s told, confused but understanding that she hasn’t got time to argue. At the same moment there’s the crack of bone that gives Beth an almost uncomfortable twitch through her whole body and the roar of fire. Phil gives himself over bodily to his Vengeful Spirit, and then the gun fires. She can smell the burning ozone of the blast, charring metal and flesh and cloth alike. Honestly, he should have listened to Phil when he politely requested the man turn Daisy over and let them walk away. Sometimes, though, Darwin is right and she feels no pity. If anything, she’s blushing and it has nothing to do with the heat the Spirit puts out. So many people seem to underestimate Phil Coulson. All they see is a mild mannered government angel. They never take into consideration that beneath the veneer, he’s a badass superhero. Even without having the benefit of being the Devil Driver. The Spirit relinquishes its hold, and Phil once more is himself. He shoulders that mini-canon, and helps Daisy up to her feet. Like with May, and Beth before her, he takes a moment to quietly ask her if she’s okay, to promise her she’s safe. Once they’ve had a few moments and May joins them, Beth comes over, and takes hold of the arm cuffs. A quick manipulation of the energy sequence and the hum winds down into a soft sound of unlocking. Daisy is now free to be Quake again. Beth takes her place on the girl’s other side, and for a brief instant, her hand and Phil’s brush. She leeches the lingering heat of them. “T’ree down, two f’ go,” she murmurs and he nods, a weary smile in place. “With that in mind, ladies, let’s go home.” “Wheels up in five,” May says and leads the way.

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whitepolaris · 17 days

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Hill of the Dead

The west shore of Little Lake Butte de Morts is the site of a well-known Native American burial mound known as the Hill of the Dead, or Petit Butte de Morts. Stories of intrigue and heartbreak have long surrounded this area.

Many years ago, a series of battles between the Fox Indians and the French led to the near annihilation of the tribe. Like most wars, it was political, economic, and involved the pride of both groups of people.

It was common practice for the Indians living along the river to demand a toll for passing by their village. The French, who wanted safe passage for fur traders and for other goods and supplies, did not want to pay those tolls, so they entered into a war with the Fox Tribe.

The series of battles included deadly confrontations, with the French burning houses and crops in an attempt to keep the Fox from making it through the tough Wisconsin winter. The French also tried to get other tribes to help them get rid of the Fox.

The battles ended with the last war effort chronicled on the historical marker located at the entrance to Fritzy Park in the town of Menasha. It states, "In 1730 the French government decided to destroy the Fox village on the shore of this lake because of the depredations of the Foxes on the fur traders. Captain Morand came up the river with a large force of French soldiers and Menominee warriors. The soldiers were concealed under canvas until they were opposite the Indians gathered on the shore. Then they rose and fired into the crowd. The Menominee, meanwhile, attacked the village from the rear. The village was destroyed and its inhabitants slaughtered. The bodies were piled up in a heap and covered with earth, forming the Hill of the Dead."

In 1863, the railroad came through the south side and within thirty feet of the Hill of the Dead. For miles along the right-of-way, bones and relics from the mound were scattered. Other tales include stories of ancient cemeteries and burial firepits being located here, of early area doctors rubbing the hill for skeletons to study, and of a native man who murdered two women and was burned to death.

The land is supposed cursed by the Native peoples. One day, it is said, their skeletons will spring to life and take revenge against the white people. There are also reports of apparitional powwows, with strange sounds of beating drums being heard on a still dark night.

If a quiet day at the park is what you are looking for, there may be more lingering under your feet then you think. -Rachel Rohloff

#weird wisconsin #type read

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twistingtreeancestry · 3 months

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My Cherokee Princess

It's a tale as old as bloodlines.

In honor of Canada's observance of National Indigenous Peoples Day, I want to talk about the Indigenous North American myths in the closets of my family history.

Before I get to that, however, I want to highlight some amazing, educational, funny, dedicated, and/or crafty Indigenous creators or brands I follow. They are not listed in a particular order, and this is not a comprehensive list. I do my best to only use the names and titles that the individuals publicly use themselves. Please let me know of corrections!

None of the links I'm including in this post are affiliated or endorsed in any way.

Birdie Sam, T'lingit

Bisan Owda, Palestinian

Angeline Boulley, Nish Kwe

Ari Tison, Bribri

Melissa Blair, Anishinaabekwe

Dani Trujillo, Indigenous and Chicana

Azalea Crowley, Kānaka Maoli and Filipino American

Ida Helene Benonisen, Sámi - Reconnecting

One Way Sky, band, Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O'odham Nation

Turanga Morgan-Edmonds, Māori

Yolteotl Creations (Angie Zuzeth), Tongva - Reconnecting

Mozart Gabriel, Taos Pueblo and Diné Navajo Salt Clan

Birdy Brzezinski, Menominee/Potawatomi

Paaka Davis, Māori

Che Jim, Diné, Nishnaabe, and Chicano

Vanessa Brousseau, Inuk

Waŋblí Luta Win, Sicangu and Oglala Lakota

Ray Tony Charlie, Coast Salish Elder

Hāwane Rios, Kānaka 'Ōiwi

Lily Hi'ilani Okimura, Kānaka Maoli

Nikki Apostolou, Kanien'kéha

Kayuula Nova, Inuk

Tse shá’íí Chíníí, Lipan Apache and Shoshone

Next, I want to share some websites (also in no particular order and non-comprehensive) that I'm currently adding to a Linktree that I hope to air soon.

Land Back

Protect Uncontacted Tribes Petition

Helping Homeless Keiki Succeed

Demand a Ceasefire in Gaza

Orange Shirt Society

Native Justice Coalition

MMIWUSA

Defense for Children International Palestine

Indian Residential School Survivors Society

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

Lāhui Foundation

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs

A Little Background

It was said my paternal side had distant blood relations to the Apache, Blackfoot, Cherokee, and Comanche nations (as well as French and English), while my maternal side had distant blood relations to the Sioux Confederacy (as well as Scandinavian and Irish).

As a child, I took this at face value. I thought surely the elders of my family would know with certainty who we were and where we came from. As an adult, I know better.

Raised with my paternal family, we "knew" we had Native American blood, but it wasn't something to specify outside of the home. My Pawpaw would tell me since we didn't live the way Native Americans did, it wasn't right to call ourselves that. We were proud Cajuns, and that's all anyone else needed to know. At the time, and even among some today, it's believed that to be Cajun automatically makes you at least part Native, though that's a false generalization.

My mother never spoke much about the alleged Sioux connection within her family. It was just a "truth" passed down. She used to call me her "Indian baby" [mega cringe to think back on] due to my tanned skin when I was born and how dark my tan could get as I grew. In elementary school, I was called an "Indian Coonass" and was relentlessly told that my skin wasn't tanned, it was dirty. Spoiler: No, it wasn't.

Whether I was Native American or not, it became a minute piece of my identity—a negative one, at that. By middle school, I rejected the Cajun and Native American identities that were forced on me and I stayed out of the sun as much as I could. By high school, I was no longer fluent in Cajun or Metropolitan French, had largely dropped my accent, and all thoughts of being Native American or Cajun were banished to the void.

After I left Louisiana, my actual knowledge of Native American issues began to deepen, and it finally started sinking in that the family lore was likely wrong. I never considered myself Native American again, as I doubted I would find proof to the contrary.

Nearly Caught Up

It was about this time that I initially made my first family tree on Ancestry.com. I had multiple reasons for doing so, but it was in part to set my familial record straight. I wanted to prove once and for all that we had no Native American blood or affiliations to stop the perpetuation of the Cherokee Princess myth. It was literally the least I could do.

I realized fairly quickly that I didn't know much about my relatives. I didn't care to know my biodad's side of the family that I already knew, and my mother's side had always been somewhat of a mystery.

Thankfully, the family members that I kept in my life were able to give me a great headstart. Sadly, I didn't know much about how to research family history at the time. When I kept hitting brick walls, I got bored and put it down. It was largely forgotten about for years.

In 2016, I discovered Find a Grave. I regularly visit cemeteries, so it seemed like a great idea to help connect the dead to their living or departed families. It gave me a chance to discover more about these long-forgotten people and to tell their stories—to let them live if but for a moment in someone's consciousness.

While researching, I discovered multiple other sites and tools. It eventually led me back to my family tree. This time around, I've learned more than I ever thought I would. As I added individuals and family to my tree, it was amazing to make speculative connections from the past to things about me now. I've always been afraid of sailing across the ocean. Could that be generational trauma that influenced my genes from my ancestors and their families dying aboard ships during Le Grand Dérangement?

Now, as I briefly mentioned in my essay, Happy National DNA Day!, I have 0.3% Indigenous American traces in my DNA. This lends credence to having a Native American ancestor. Is it on my maternal side? Paternal? Who knows, because I haven't definitive proof that the individual even exists.

23andMe traces back roughly 8 generations, so I have an approximate time frame. That's not overly helpful when I can't even make it past 3rd great-grandparents on some branches. Still, I've ended up with 3 unverified possibilities.

"Potential" Indigenous Ancestors

Marie "Madam Treville" Lantier

The first possibility is my supposed paternal 4th great-grandmother, Marie. She was an alleged Indigenous traiteur who lived in Egan, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, USA. I learned of her through a distant relative that I met while inquiring about my 3rd great-grandmother Mary Louise (Marjolet) Simon. No sources or additional information were given, save for the warning that my relative couldn't verify Marie existed. Neither have I.

Joseph Doucet

The second possibility is my paternal 5th great-grandfather (of a different lineage), Joseph. Other descendants of his have accepted the claim that he is Joseph "of Atakapa" Doucet. Granted, I haven't done a lot of research on this family unit, but I did make it a point to look into this for a few days.

According to a French adventurer named Louis LeClerc Milfort, Joseph was a European Jesuit who had been chosen by a band of Atakapa Natives to be their chief and had been living with them for barely over a decade with his six children.

I've read and reread the entry Milfort wrote in 1781 that discusses this encounter, and I cannot rightfully claim that my ancestor Joseph Doucet is Joseph "of Atakapa". There is no substantial identifying information that possibly links the two. For one, it never mentions Joseph's surname. As a matter of fact, these are the only two times his name is even mentioned.

"He told me that his name was Joseph [. . .]" "[. . .] I took leave of Joseph and of the Atakapas [. . .]"

The entry doesn't list a wife, and the only wife I have a record of is Celeste Bellard, but they didn't marry until 1805. The only children I have a record of are their two children, the first (my ancestor) was born after the entry. None of the six children mentioned in the entry were named.

"I have six children whom I love a great deal, and with whom I want to end my days."

There's also an issue with the timeline. Based on the father I have listed for my Joseph, he couldn't have been born before the late 1760s. However, based on the listed siblings I have for him, it's more likely he was born in the early to mid-1770s. This would put him at approximately 11 years old or younger. That's pretty young to have 6 kids and be a chief. Even if you assume he was born in the late 1760s, that really only tacks on an extra few years.

Based on a lack of substantial information and evidence, as well as my observations, I don't consider my Joseph and Joseph "of Atakapa" to be the same individual.

Germain Doucet

The last possibility is Joseph Doucet's 3rd great-grandfather, my 10th, Germain. According to the Mi'kmaq Nation's tribal pages (which has since been modified and no longer shows this passage) said:

"Germain Doucet, born 1641, is a Mi’kmaq man with a Turtle Island YDNA haplogroup, his lineage founded a ship building company that is still in business today, the family-owned fishing schooners and some Doucet men were registered owners of ships in the international shipping industry during the early 1700s. Germain and his descendants are Mi'kmaq men and members of the Mi'kmaq Tribe."

Now, there is a new passage that reads:

"The genealogy of the Doucet Turtle Island YDNA haplogroup descending from Germain Doucet raised by the French colonist, Germain Doucet is possibly the YDNA male clan lineage of the Membertou family of the Mi’kmaq Tribe. DNA testing of the 1610 Wampum Belt Treaty with Pope Paul V could confirm Turtle Island YDNA and MTDNA haplogroups of all who have touched the 1610 Wampum Belt Treaty, including Pope Paul V. DNA is a molecular clock. Because the identity of Germain’s mother is not recorded it is unknown what the mtDNA haplogroup is of Germain’s mother. Autosomal DNA test results of Germain and his wife Marie Landry’s descendants will eventually assist in the triangulation of kinship relationships to identify and confirm the identity of Germain’s mother and her relationship to the Membertou family."

Due to the Native Heritage Project, it seems beyond a shadow of a doubt that Germain is indeed a Mi'kmaq Native. I don't count him as an ancestor yet, despite getting a DNA match with another descendent of his, because I haven't done my own research and collected documented evidence that I'm a direct descendent of his and Mary/Marie Landry.

So. . . Am I Indigenous? Can I claim Indigeneity and join a tribe?

What happens if I can definitively prove these three ancestors (or anyone else) are Indigenous? Does that make me Indigenous? Well, in the most basic of ways, yes. I have Indigenous American DNA, so to that extent, I am a wee bit Indigenous American. Does that mean I get to claim Indigeneity? No, it certainly does not. Can I join a tribe? No, I certainly cannot.

While some tribes or individuals are quick to genuinely welcome anyone with a single drop of Native blood with open arms, that isn't the rule, and it shouldn't be expected or demanded by white folk who get excited at trace amounts of Native DNA.

According to the Native Governance Center, "about 70% of the federally recognized Native nations that share geography with the United States use blood quantum as a metric for citizenship." Generally, you'd need about 25% of your DNA to be Indigenous American to be recognized as such. I have less than 1%. How could I seriously justify making such a claim about myself? How could I seriously think I have a rightful place within a tribe?

Being Indigenous

Due to the history of Indigenous people being stripped of their land, families, spirituality, and other cultural and religious practices, many tribes and individuals are stringent on who can call themselves Native. Many white folks get up in arms about this, calling it gatekeeping and racist, when in actuality it's a safeguard against further whitewashing and colonization. It's a protective barrier against those who willy-nilly want to be "Indian Princesses" or want to reap the few benefits that Indigenous people can get.

This brings me to the term "Pretendian". A Pretendian is someone who is not of Native descent, typically knows that they aren't, but still peddles the false narrative that they are in order to capitalize off of the (usually) stereotypical identity/product/service. This term also encompasses my family, even if we assumed it to be an honest mistake. The issue is that for generations we blindly accepted that we were Indigenous, took on Indigenous trauma and triumph that we had no right to, without ever looking to verify it.

Pretendians happen for many reasons. Some are intentionally malicious while others are completely innocuous, or somewhere in between. It could be shame over the atrocities ancestors committed against Natives, assuaged by assuming a Native identity. It could be for a leg-up on land claims over other colonizers. It could be that other races/ethnicities would rather be thought of as Native instead of their actual race/ethnicity. It could be that a non-Native family lived among Native families, and over time the story changed to the non-Native family being a Native family.

No matter the reason, it's never a good excuse to continue perpetuating this harmful practice when you either know better or could easily learn better in 2024.

Indigenous people have always deserved better from us, and we've failed them at every turn. They simply want their right to exist as they please and return to being stewards of the land we've decimated.

Indigenous Voices

There is still a lot that I don't know about Indigenous issues. Am I using the proper terms? Is the history I reference/know true or colonized and whitewashed? Am I misrepresenting a people I'm not part of? What if there are conflicting viewpoints among the same group or individuals?

Until I get checked, I won't know.

The important part of striving to be an ally and accomplice to Indigenous people is accepting that because you're not of them and don't share their experiences, you'll likely never know everything you should or want, but you should never stop learning what you can.

It's also important to accept that you'll be checked at least once as long as you're participating in discussions involving Indigeneity. I've been checked multiple times over the years, most recently by a Romani person. Due to listening to other Romani voices, I pushed back against a picture posted on Facebook that used the g-slur. It definitely wasn't used in an intentionally offensive way, but I'd learned that as an ally and accomplice, I should still push back.

I wasn't aggressive but offered an alternative picture that didn't use the word with an explanation of why. Then the Romani person confronted me and told me that I shouldn't speak on behalf of their people and that they saw no issue with the use of the word. What should I do in that situation? There are conflicting voices and I'm being publicly reprimanded.

When Indigenous people (or anyone of any race/ethnicity/nationality) use their voice to correct you on topics that pertain to them, you should put your pride and ego aside to listen. Could they be way off-base? Sure. They're human, too. Does an individual or tribe speak for all individuals or tribes? No, humans are too varied for that kind of overarching consensus (most of the time, anyway).

However, it's worth the time to reflect on what was said to you (especially if it triggers you). You might discover a mindset or behavior that you never realized was problematic.

For me, I was triggered momentarily when the Romani person corrected me because I was merely trying to do what I was asked to do in a situation where the slur was used and then suddenly I was being scolded for interfering. It was contradictory and confusing, which can easily lead to irritation or even aggression.

Instead of arguing, I politely explained why I interjected, that I accepted their voice on this topic, that I apologized, and that I would use more caution in the future. Afterward, I was still a bit spiffed at the way I was admonished, but I took time to reflect on my actions and their words.

Honestly, I'm still learning how to navigate potential similar scenarios to come, and have curtailed how often I interject on behalf of others until I figure things out. Allyship and Accompliceship are positions of constant learning and evolving. It's hard, which is why it's so easy for others to see and call us out when we're not being genuine or doing our due diligence. Besides, being an ally or accomplice can't compare to the hardships of being the actual marginalized person or community.

In Conclusion

My family, purposefully or ignorantly, are/were Pretendians, and I'm sorry from the pit of my gut for my part in it. I take full accountability for my naivety and ignorance. Despite undoubtedly having Indigenous American trace DNA, I do not and will not have the right to claim Indigeneity and all that entails.

The importance of uplifting Indigenous voices cannot be overstated. They are still fighting against the systemic and systematic oppression that endangers their rights, protections, families, practices, and land. Follow Indigenous creators, learn whose land you live on, listen to how you can help (and be flexible on the feedback you get from doing so), stop believing the racist and dehumanizing things you've been told about them, and don't make trouble that they will incur the consequences of.

#CherokeePrincess #Pretendians #Indigenous #Indigenous peoples day #Native Americans #Indigenous Americans #indigeneity #First Nations #indigenous rights #indigenous history #indigenous creators #genealogy #ancestry #family #familyresearch #ancestryblog #accountability

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topchoptreeservice · 4 months

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The History of Plymouth WI

Plymouth, Wisconsin, nestled in the heart of Sheboygan County, boasts a rich history dating back to the early 19th century. Originally inhabited by the Menominee, Potawatomi, and Winnebago tribes, Plymouth's land was gradually settled by European immigrants, primarily Germans, in the mid-1800s.

The town's official founding dates back to 1845 when three settlers, Henry and George Smith, and Samuel White, established the first permanent residence. The area's fertile soil and proximity to the Sheboygan River made it an ideal location for agriculture and commerce, leading to rapid growth and the establishment of various industries, including milling, brewing, and manufacturing.

One of Plymouth's most significant historical moments occurred during the Civil War era. The town rallied behind the Union cause, sending many of its young men to fight in the conflict. In honor of their sacrifices, a monument was erected in Union Park, serving as a solemn reminder of Plymouth's contributions to the nation's history.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed further development and prosperity for Plymouth. The arrival of the railroad in 1872 enhanced transportation and trade opportunities, while advancements in technology spurred industrial expansion. The town became known for its thriving businesses, including the Plymouth Furniture Company and the Plymouth Brewing Company, which produced the renowned Old Pilgrim Lager.

Throughout the 20th century, Plymouth continued to evolve, adapting to changing economic landscapes and societal shifts. World War II brought about increased industrial activity, with local factories contributing to the war effort. Post-war suburbanization and the rise of automobile culture reshaped the town's demographics and infrastructure.

Today, Plymouth remains a vibrant community that cherishes its heritage while embracing modernity. Visitors can explore its historic downtown, characterized by well-preserved architecture and charming shops. Annual events such as the Mill Street Festival celebrate Plymouth's culture and traditions, providing a glimpse into its storied past.

As Plymouth looks towards the future, its rich history serves as a foundation upon which to build a thriving and inclusive community for generations to come.

Top Chop Tree Service is more than just a tree care company; it's a testament to expertise, dedication, and a commitment to preserving the natural beauty of landscapes. With a passion for arboriculture and a focus on customer satisfaction, Top Chop Tree Service has established itself as a premier provider of tree care solutions in the community.

At Top Chop Tree Service in Plymouth WI, we understand that trees are not just part of the scenery; they are essential components of the ecosystem, providing shade, oxygen, and beauty to our surroundings. That's why we take pride in offering a comprehensive range of services aimed at promoting the health and vitality of trees while ensuring the safety and aesthetics of properties.

Our team consists of highly skilled and certified arborists who possess the knowledge and experience to handle any tree-related task with precision and care. Whether it's tree trimming, pruning, or removal, we employ industry-leading techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to deliver superior results safely and efficiently.

We also specialize in tree preservation and disease management, providing expert diagnosis and treatment plans to address various tree health issues effectively. Our goal is not just to remove trees but to preserve and protect them whenever possible, allowing them to thrive for years to come.

At Top Chop Tree Service, safety is our top priority. We adhere to strict safety protocols and procedures to ensure the well-being of our team members, clients, and properties. From thorough risk assessments to meticulous cleanup, we strive to minimize disruption and maximize safety throughout every project.

Customer satisfaction is at the core of everything we do. We pride ourselves on our professionalism, reliability, and attention to detail, ensuring that every client receives personalized service and exceptional results. With transparent pricing and clear communication, we aim to exceed expectations and build lasting relationships with our valued customers. Learn more.

Whether you need routine tree maintenance, emergency tree removal, or expert advice on tree care, Top Chop Tree Service is here to help. Contact us today to experience the difference our expertise and dedication can make for your trees and property.

Top Chop Tree Service & Land Management 1015 Jay Rd, Cedar Grove, WI 53013 920 838–0520 http://topchoptreeservice.com/

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ovpwebnetwork · 1 year

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DNR News

Oct. 13, 2023

Contact: Christian LeSage, 517-449-7073

Natural Resources Commission approves changes to fishing regulations

a bare outstretched hand holds a shiny silver and gray fish, with a large dorsal fin, over calm, blue water. Mature green conifers in back

Several changes to statewide and local fishing regulations were approved Thursday by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission during its meeting in Escanaba. The updated regulations, outlined below, take effect Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.

Statewide: The phrase “attempting to take” has been removed in reference to fishing for Arctic grayling (shown above) in Michigan since grayling currently are being raised in preparation for a limited, future stocking program. This change will allow anglers to catch and immediately release Arctic grayling. It will not allow anglers to possess the species.

Statewide: A northern pike regulation wording change now states where northern pike 24 inches or greater are allowed on waters where up to five northern pike of any size may be taken, with only one 24 inches or greater allowed in the daily possession limit.

The following waters were added to the list of waters where up to five northern pike may be kept, with only one 24 inches or greater allowed in the daily possession limit:

Black Lake tributaries and Black Lake River from Alverno Dam upstream (Cheboygan County).

Norway and Rock lakes (Dickinson County).

Chain Lakes (Iosco County).

Dawson Lake (Iron County).

Lake Ann (Menominee County).

Additional approved regulations include:

Dowagiac River (Berrien County): The upstream boundary for Type 4 trout regulations has been changed from “Niles Dam site” to “from source downstream” since the dam has been removed.

Reid Lake (Alcona County) was removed from Type B trout regulations.

Youngs Lake (Luce County) was removed from Type A trout regulations.

Half Moon Lake (Muskegon County) was removed from Type C trout regulations.

The online Michigan Fishing Guide (available at Michigan.gov/DNRDigests) and regulations hotline (888-367-7060) will be updated to reflect these changes.

For more information on fishing opportunities and resources – including licenses, locations, beginner tips and more – visit Michigan.gov/Fishing.

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roamanddiscover · 1 year

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by Michigan to the east, Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, and Illinois to the south. Known as the "Badger State," Wisconsin offers a wealth of history, geography, culture, and attractions that draw visitors from around the world. The state's history dates back to the indigenous peoples who have inhabited the area for thousands of years. In the 17th century, French explorers arrived in the region and established settlements, followed by British and American expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries. Wisconsin's rich history includes pivotal events such as the Black Hawk War and the Underground Railroad, both of which were instrumental in shaping social and political history in the state. Geographically, Wisconsin is unique in that it is home to both the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, and is dotted with natural wonders like the Ice Age Trail and the Niagara Escarpment. The state is also home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, including the state's emblematic animal, the badger. Wisconsin is known for its environmental stewardship and its efforts to preserve its natural resources. Despite these efforts, however, the state is also grappling with environmental issues like pollution and habitat loss. Wisconsin offers a rich cultural scene, with music, art, and festivals that draw visitors from around the country. The state is also home to a number of famous people, from politicians like former Vice President Joe Biden to entertainers like Liberace and Dan Harmon. Visitors to Wisconsin can enjoy a diverse range of activities and attractions, from outdoor recreation to museum hopping to exploring historic sites. Whether you're looking to explore Wisconsin's unique geography, delve into its rich history, or soak up its vibrant culture, the Badger State has something for everyone.

Etymology

The name "Wisconsin" has its origin in the Wisconsin River, which was named Meskonsing by the Native Americans. The name Meskonsing roughly translates to "red stone place" or "place of the hills." The French explorer Jean Nicolet is credited with being the first European to set foot in what is now Wisconsin in 1634, and he adopted the name Meskonsing for the region. Over time, the name evolved into its current form. Some sources suggest that it was shortened to Ouisconsin or Ouisconsin by French traders and explorers, and the spelling gradually changed to Wisconsin. Another theory is that the name Wisconsin comes from the Miami-Illinois word Ouisconsin, meaning "grassy place" or "gathering of the waters." This theory is supported by the fact that much of Wisconsin is covered by grasslands and wetlands, and the state is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and streams. Regardless of its origins, Wisconsin has a rich history and culture that are intertwined with the state's name. The name Wisconsin is now synonymous with cheese, dairy products, beer, and bratwurst, as well as breathtaking natural landscapes and friendly Midwestern hospitality.

History

Wisconsin's history dates back to before European contact, when Native American tribes including the Menominee, Ojibwe, and Ho-Chunk settled in the region. In the 1600s, French explorers and traders arrived in Wisconsin and established a fur trade network. The French made alliances with some Native American tribes, while others, including the Fox and the Potawatomi, resisted their presence. During the 1700s, the French, British, and Native Americans fought for control of Wisconsin, which was strategic for its access to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. In 1763, the British gained control of Wisconsin as part of the Treaty of Paris that ended the French and Indian War. The British established trading posts and forts, including Fort Mackinac and Fort Crawford. In the early 1800s, Wisconsin became part of the newly formed United States. The 1803 Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent Lewis and Clark Expedition opened up the western frontier, including Wisconsin. The federal government negotiated treaties with Native American tribes to acquire their land and allow for white settlement. During the War of 1812, Wisconsin was a battleground between the British and the Americans, with major battles taking place at Fort Mackinac, Fort Dearborn, and Prairie du Chien. After the war, Wisconsin became part of the Indiana Territory, then the Michigan Territory, and finally the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Wisconsin became a state in 1848, becoming the 30th state in the Union. In the mid-1800s, Wisconsin was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses and secret routes that helped slaves escape from the South to freedom in the North. During the Civil War, Wisconsin sent over 91,000 soldiers to fight, one of the highest percentages of any state. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Wisconsin became known for its progressive politics and social reforms, including the first workers' compensation program and the first American kindergarten. Throughout the 20th century, Wisconsin continued to be a leader in manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. The state was also home to important civil rights movements, including the fight for desegregation in Milwaukee schools and the 1960s open housing marches in Milwaukee. Today, Wisconsin is a diverse and dynamic state with a rich history and culture. Its history, geography, and people have helped shape its unique character and identity. Pivotal events Wisconsin has been shaped by a number of pivotal events throughout its history. These events have influenced the state's culture, politics, and economy, leaving a lasting impact on its residents and visitors alike. In this section, we will explore some of the most significant historical events that have shaped Wisconsin's past and present. The Black Hawk War was a major conflict that took place in Wisconsin in 1832. The war was fought between the United States and a group of Native American tribes led by the warrior Black Hawk. The conflict was sparked by tensions over land rights and settler encroachment on Native American territories. The war lasted just a few months, but it left a lasting legacy in Wisconsin's history. The Underground Railroad was another pivotal event in Wisconsin's history. During the 19th century, Wisconsin became a key stop on the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used to help slaves escape to freedom in the North. Many abolitionists and activists dedicated their lives to this cause, risking their own safety to help others. Today, Wisconsin is home to many historic sites and landmarks associated with the Underground Railroad. In addition to these events, Wisconsin has played a key role in many other historic moments. For example, during World War II, the state became an important center for war production, with many factories and industries ramping up production to support the war effort. In the civil rights movement, Wisconsin was a key battleground, with activists and advocates pushing for greater equality and civil rights for all. Wisconsin's history has been shaped by a rich and complex tapestry of events, people, and movements. By exploring these pivotal events, we can gain a deeper understanding of the state's past and present, and how it has become the diverse and vibrant place it is today.

Geology

Wisconsin's geology is a fascinating mix of varied landscapes and geological features that are uniquely formed by the state's glacial past. One of the most distinctive geological attractions in Wisconsin is the Ice Age Trail, which spans over 1,000 miles and showcases the state's glacial history. This trail features picturesque views of glacial lakes, kettles, and moraines, all created by the last Ice Age approximately 12,000 years ago. Another significant geological feature in Wisconsin is the Niagara Escarpment, which extends over 650 miles from Wisconsin to New York. The Niagara Escarpment offers picturesque views of exposed rock formations and cliffs that are up to 200 feet high in some places. Along with providing stunning scenery, the Niagara Escarpment also serves as a vital aquifer, providing valuable drinking water to Wisconsin's residents. Wisconsin also boasts a wide range of deposits of minerals and resources, including iron ore, zinc, copper, lead, and much more. In addition, over 21,000 wells are drilled in Wisconsin every year to collect natural resources such as oil and natural gas. Aside from these natural resources, Wisconsin is also home to a variety of fossilized species that hold great scientific significance. These fossils come from a range of geological formations, including Ordovician limestone and Cambrian sandstone. The state's fine-grained rocks serve as an excellent basis for studying ancient oceanic and terrestrial environments. Wisconsin's geology is a unique and integral part of the state's identity, providing a foundation for its natural beauty and resources.

Geography

Located in the Midwest region of the United States, Wisconsin is known for its diverse landscapes. To the east, the state is bordered by Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes, which provides a variety of recreational opportunities and scenic beauty. To the west, the state is home to the Mississippi River and the St. Croix River, offering both commercial and recreational use. Wisconsin is also home to a number of forests and parks, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which covers over 1.5 million acres and offers opportunities for camping, hiking, fishing, and more. The state is also home to the Kettle Moraine State Forest, which features rolling hills and glacial formations, as well as the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, which offers opportunities for kayaking, hiking, and exploring sea caves. In addition to these natural areas, Wisconsin is also home to a number of urban centers, including Milwaukee, the largest city in the state, as well as Madison, the state capital, and Green Bay, home to the famous Green Bay Packers football team. Each of these cities offers its own unique attractions, from museums and galleries to shopping and dining. - Some of the major cities include: - Milwaukee: Known for its beer, brats, and beautiful lakefront, Milwaukee is a vibrant city that offers an array of cultural attractions, including the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Harley-Davidson Museum. - Madison: Home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison is a college town that offers a variety of cultural events and outdoor recreation opportunities, including the Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the Henry Vilas Zoo. - Green Bay: Known for its football team, Green Bay is also home to the Packers Hall of Fame, as well as a variety of other cultural attractions, including the Neville Public Museum and the National Railroad Museum. Wisconsin's geography offers a unique and diverse array of landscapes, from the Great Lakes to the rolling hills and forests of the state's national parks. Whether you're a nature lover or a city dweller, there's something for everyone in Wisconsin. Cities and regions Wisconsin is a state known for its unique blend of historical significance and modern appeal. The major cities and regions of Wisconsin offer visitors a glimpse into its fascinating culture, traditions, and lifestyle. Among the most visited cities in Wisconsin are Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay. Milwaukee is one of the largest cities in Wisconsin and is famous for its rich cultural and industrial heritage. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, Milwaukee boasts a beautiful lakeside skyline and is home to numerous attractions, including Harley-Davidson Museum, Miller Park, Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Basilica of St. Josaphat. In addition, Milwaukee is renowned for its breweries and is often referred to as the Beer Capital of the World. Visitors can take a brewery tour and sample some of the finest craft beer that the city has to offer. Madison is the state capital of Wisconsin and is known for its stunning natural beauty. The city is situated on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona and offers visitors a wealth of recreational opportunities, including boating, fishing, hiking, and biking. Madison is also home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the country. The university campus is a major attraction and includes notable landmarks such as the Memorial Union Terrace, the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, and the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Green Bay is a charming city situated on the shores of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan. The city is perhaps best known for its football team, the Green Bay Packers, and is home to the legendary Lambeau Field stadium. Green Bay also boasts a rich cultural heritage and is home to numerous museums, including the National Railroad Museum, the Neville Public Museum, and the Heritage Hill State Park. Visitors can also enjoy outdoor recreation activities, such as kayaking, fishing, and hiking in the nearby Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and the Bayshore County Park. - Other notable cities and regions in Wisconsin include: - Wisconsin Dells - known for its water parks and scenic beauty - La Crosse - a quaint town famous for its picturesque river views and historic architecture - Door County - located on a peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan, Door County is a popular tourist destination for its natural beauty, quaint shops, and stunning lighthouses Wisconsin's cities and regions offer visitors a wide range of recreational, cultural, and social experiences. Whether you're interested in history, arts, sports, or nature, you're sure to find something to suit your tastes in Wisconsin.

Ecology

Wisconsin is home to a diverse array of wildlife and plant species, thanks to its varied geography and climate. The state's emblematic animal is the badger, which can be found in the southern part of the state. Other mammals that are common in Wisconsin include white-tailed deer, coyotes, and red foxes. Wisconsin has an abundance of bird species, with over 400 species recorded in the state. Some of the most famous birds found in Wisconsin include the bald eagle and the whooping crane. The state is also home to a variety of freshwater fish, such as walleye, muskellunge, and northern pike. In terms of plant life, Wisconsin has a rich variety of species, from forests of maple, oak, and hickory trees to wetlands filled with cattails and sedges. The state is known for its wildflowers, including the state flower, the wood violet. In addition, Wisconsin is one of the top producers of cranberries in the United States, and apple orchards are a common sight in the state's rural areas. Unfortunately, many of Wisconsin's native plant and animal species are threatened by habitat loss and degradation, as well as pollution. The state government and various conservation organizations are working to protect these important ecosystems and ensure the survival of these species for generations to come.

Biodiversity

Wisconsin is home to a great variety of plant and animal species, many of which are unique to the state. The state's geographic and ecological diversity has led to the development of a wide range of ecosystems, from wetlands to forests to prairies. The biodiversity of Wisconsin is of great value, both ecologically and economically. Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is responsible for monitoring the state's natural resources and protecting endangered and threatened species. There are currently about 70 species of animals and plants that are listed as endangered, threatened, or special concern in Wisconsin. Endangered species in Wisconsin include the gray wolf, the piping plover, and the Kirtland's warbler. Threatened species in the state include the eastern massasauga rattlesnake and the Hine's emerald dragonfly. Some of the species of special concern in Wisconsin are the northern bog lemming, the long-eared owl, and the Blanding's turtle. Wisconsin's DNR works with other organizations to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species. The Wisconsin Endangered Species Program was established in 1972 and has since played a crucial role in protecting rare and threatened species. The program also aims to educate the public about the importance of biodiversity and the need to protect endangered and threatened species for future generations. Threats to Wisconsin's biodiversity come from various sources, including habitat loss, climate change, disease, and pollution. Invasive species are also a major threat to the state's native species. Invasive species such as the emerald ash borer, the sea lamprey, and the Japanese knotweed can cause significant damage to Wisconsin's ecosystems and pose a threat to native species. Efforts to protect Wisconsin's biodiversity include the restoration of degraded ecosystems, the use of conservation easements to protect habitat, and the creation of wildlife corridors to connect fragmented habitats. The state's Natural Heritage Inventory identifies areas of the state that are of high ecological value and need to be protected from development. Wisconsin's DNR also works with private landowners to encourage the protection and restoration of habitats on private lands. - the biodiversity of Wisconsin is a vital part of the state's natural heritage and contributes to the ecological and economic well-being of the state. Endangered and threatened species in Wisconsin need to be protected and conservation efforts need to be continued to prevent the loss of biodiversity in the state.

Kirtland's warbler

Climate

Wisconsin experiences a continental climate, which is characterized by warm summers and cold winters. The state lies in the Northern Hemisphere, so it also experiences seasonal changes, with distinct spring, summer, fall, and winter periods. Generally, the state has long, cold winters and short, warm summers. The climate in Wisconsin is influenced by both its location and geography. Wisconsin's proximity to the Great Lakes has a significant impact on its weather patterns. The warm, moist air over the lakes can lead to lake effect snow, causing localized heavy snowfall in areas near the lakes. In addition, the lakes moderate the temperature, keeping the areas surrounding them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. The western parts of Wisconsin are mountainous, which means they experience a slightly different climate than the rest of the state. There, the winters are colder and the summers are milder. The western region also experiences more snowfall than other parts of Wisconsin. Precipitation in Wisconsin is distributed evenly throughout the year, with an average annual precipitation of around 32 inches. However, droughts and heatwaves do occur occasionally. Read the full article

#NorthAmericaTours #TravelTheWorld #visitWisconsin #Wisconsintours #WisconsinTravel

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