Native Milwaukeeans

There is not much known about the earliest people who lived in the Milwaukee area. It is likely that the Winnebago (Ho Chunk) and Menominee tribes were descended from these early settlers. Most of the tribes that spent some time in Southeastern Wisconsin were refugees who were pushed westward by encroaching white civilization. Some of these tribes were the Iroquois, Chippewa, Sauk and the Potawatomi. The most influential tribe in Southeastern Wisconsin was the Potawatomi. They were the dominant tribe in the area when French explorers first started venturing into the territory.

In the years immediately following the arrival of the Europeans, the native population declined rapidly succumbing to diseases brought here from Europe. The Winnebago were the hardest hit tribe in Wisconsin. Local tribes traded furs with the French who had started to arrive in the area after 1674. The fur trade eventually destroyed the Indians' traditional way of life.

By the 1830s, there were still a few groups of Native Americans in the area although their population had dwindled even further because of a smallpox epidemic in 1831. In 1835, nearly all the land belonging to the Native Americans had been ceded to the United States. The Potawatomi were given permission to remain on the land for three more years. When their time was up, they were rounded up by federal contractors and led west of the Mississippi. The few who remained became the city's first minority group.



Time Line

1674 to 1840
Native Milwaukeeans
The French
The Founders

1840 to 1865
The Bridge War
A City Joined
The Germans
BEER
Wheat

1865 to 1900
Growth
Steel & Iron
Workers vs. Owners
The Poles

1900 to 1920
Socialist Era Begins
Mayor Dan Hoan
WWI Anti-Germanism

1920 to 1950
Prohibition
The Depression
"Best Governed City in the U.S."
World War II

1950 to 2003
Growing Pains
Civil Rights
Urban Renewel
Braves & Brewers
 

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