Before the reservation was established, the Menominee people lived in the areas near what is today known as north-eastern Wisconsin to the west of Menominee River and into Michigan. They were established as a tribe through a series of treaties beginning in the early 1800s. The Menominee Reservation was established in 1854 and included most of Menominee County and a small percentage of neighboring Winnebago County in Wisconsin. The reservation was owned by the Tribe until 1961 where tribal-owned properties were consolidated and managed under the name, Menominee Enterprises Inc., in accordance with the federally passed Menominee Termination Act of 1954.
After Menominee Enterprises Inc. was found to be selling reservation lands to non-Menominee buyers, the Menominee people, led by Ada Deer, formed a group known as DRUMS (Determination of Rights and Unity for Menominee Stockholders) to reclaim those lands. Their activities lead to the restoration of lands and their lobbying encouraged the passing of the Restoration Act in 1973. Their activities also increased awareness of the drastically decreased standard of living on the reservation since the removal of tribal status.
During this same time period, the years following the Termination Act, the Menominee began the process to form their own school district. Through petitions, educational statistics and letters from parents and students alike, the Menominee County School District was formed in 1974. DRUMS was an instrumental voice in lobbying for this cause as well.
The Menominee Tribal News (now known as Menominee Nation News) formed as the reservation newspaper in 1976. The goal, as stated in their 1978 publications, is for the paper to “[contain] all of the news concerning tribal affairs, feature stories, Indian poetry, art work, advertising and other news concerning Indian country today.” The Shawano Evening Leader (now known as the Shawano Leader) was the main publisher in the area, producing Menominee Tribal News, DRUMS and Shawano Evening Leader at that time. The Shawano Leader and Menominee Nation News are still published as of 2014.
