Menominee

The Menominee or Menomini or Mamaceqtaw are a federally recognized group of Native American tribes. They live in Wisconsin. Their territory used to be much larger. It was about 10 million acres. They are part of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their large language group is the Algonquian-language. They speak the Menominee language. The five clans include the Bear, the Eagle, the Wolf, the Crane, and the Moose. An important food was wild rice. The Ojibwe people called them "wild rice people" or "manoominii". The tribes were usually peaceful. Descent and inheritance were through the father (patrilineal). The tribes had similar cultures to the Chippewa. The tribe had early contact with French colonists. In the 19th century, the Menominee sold much of their land to the United States. This included parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. In "Menominee Tribe v. United States" (1968), the Supreme Court decided that the Menominee could keep their right to hunting and fishing.