Manabush and Mahwow
The Menominee Indian Tribe is an indigenous group of Wisconsin who also have close ties to the wolf. The Menominee Tribe is located west of Green Bay in Wisconsin. Menominee have a story about one of the first people, Manabush, and the wolf, Mahwow in the Menominee language (Hoffman, 1890):
“When Manabush had accomplished the works which the Great Spirit had sent him to do, he moved far away and built his wigwam on the northeast shore of a large lake. Since he was alone, the spirits wanted to give him a companion in the form of his twin brother. The spirits brought his brother to life. Manabush’s brother looked like a human being but could also assume the shape of a Wolf, which he used when he hunted. Since Manabush had always been aware of the jealousy of the evil spirits from under the earth and the water, he warned his brother the Wolf never to return come home across the lake but rather to always go around it by shore. One day, after the Wolf had been hunting all day, he found himself directly across the lake from his wigwam, and so he decided to cross directly over the frozen lake. When he was partly across the lake, the ice broke and he fell through. He was seized by the bad underwater spirits and destroyed.
“Manabush immediately knew what had happened to his brother, and he mourned his brother for four days. Every time Manabush sighed it made the earth tremble, forming the hills and valleys. The spirit of his brother the Wolf appeared before Manabush and Manabush realized that his brother would not return to him. He told the wolf’s spirit to go to the west to become the chief of all the departed spirits. Sadly, Manabush gave up his home by the lake and hid himself inside a large rock near Mackinaw.
“For many years, the people would visit Manabush there and hold the Medicine Dance which he had taught them. And when Manabush wanted to interact with the people but did not want to show himself in human form, he appeared to them in the shape of a little white rabbit with trembling ears, just as he had appeared to Nokomis when he was a baby.”
Treaty Rights
The Menominee Tribe was once terminated and this has caused the Tribe to advocate for the recognition of treaty rights off reservation (Menominee Treaties).
“In 1968, the United States Supreme Court ruled Termination did not end the tribe’s reserved treaty rights. Therefore, the Menominee had the right to hunt and fish in the portion of the Wolf River running through their reservation without being hindered by state laws and regulations. In 1973, the Menominee regained federal recognition, restoring their sovereign powers as a nation and their undisputed right to regulate hunting and fishing on their reservation.
“In 1996, Federal Judge Barbara Crabb (who decided many of the Ojibwe treaty rights cases in the 1980s) stated the federal government had never led the Menominee to believe that they retained the right to hunt, fish, and gather on their ceded lands, therefore the Menominee have no reserved rights to these lands today. Although the tribe initially promised to appeal Crabb’s decision, the tribe has considered dropping their federal suit due to the expenses involved in litigation.”
Protecting Mahwow
In 2002, the Menominee Tribe took in a pack of wolves that the Wisconsin DNR translocated (Winkleman, 2002). The Deerbrook Pack had been located in Langlade County and seemed to be responsible for killing some farm animals.
“Before the wolves were released, Menominee tribal historian David
Nahwaquaw-Grignon spread tobacco around their pens in a ceremony to give thanks for the wolves’ return to tribal land. A small group of tribal members and DNR staff formed a circle around the pens while
Nahwaquaw-Grignon blessed the wolves.
“’The wolf is regarded by the Menominee as a brother,’ said Tribal Deputy Chief Warden Al Fowler.”
Works Cited
Hoffman, W. J. (1890). Menominee Oral Tradition. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from http://www.mpm.edu/content/wirp/ICW-138.html
Menominee Treaties and Treaty Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2019, from http://www.mpm.edu/content/wirp/ICW-108.html
Winkleman, C. (2002, September 16). A pack of controversy DNR relocates wolves that killed farm animals. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from http://www.timberwolfinformation.org/a-pack-of-controversy/
Know Ma'iingan 