Menominee Restoration Act facts for kids

The Menominee Restoration Act was a very important law signed by Richard Nixon, who was the President of the United States, on December 22, 1973. This act gave back special rights and self-governance to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. It meant the tribe could once again manage its own land and people. It also brought back federal services that other American Indian tribes received.

This new law officially ended the Termination Act of 1954. That older law had taken away many of the Menominee Tribe's rights. The Restoration Act also created the Menominee Restoration Committee. This group was in charge of writing new rules for the tribe. They also acted as the tribe's leaders until a new government could be elected. Plus, all Menominee people born after the 1954 termination were added back to the tribe's official list of members.

Why Restoration Was Needed

The Menominee Tribe faced many problems after the Menominee Termination Act of 1954. This act had caused years of difficult social and economic times. Before 1954, the Menominee had their own reservation. After the Termination Act, all tribal land was given to a new company called Menominee Enterprises, Inc. (MEI). The reservation then became a new county in Wisconsin, called Menominee County.

This new county was the poorest and had the fewest people in Wisconsin. It struggled to collect enough taxes to pay for important services. Things like schools, electricity, water, and the local hospital became very hard to fund. The main source of jobs was a lumber mill, but it could not hire everyone in the tribe. Life became much harder for the Menominee people. Services they depended on were greatly reduced. These tough conditions led to people wanting to make a change.

How Activism Began

The difficult situation led to strong activism within the Menominee community. A group called Determination of Rights and Unity for Menominee Stockholders, or DRUMS, was formed. Ada Deer and Jim White were important leaders of this group. They started fighting against a plan to build homes around Legend Lake. This was an artificial lake and housing project owned by non-Menominee people.

Selling tribal land to non-Menominee people was a direct result of the tribe's poor economic state after termination. DRUMS successfully stopped this land development. After that victory, DRUMS began a bigger fight. They wanted to reverse the Termination Act and get back their status as a federally recognized and self-governing Indian tribe. At first, DRUMS was against MEI. But over time, members of DRUMS gained positions within MEI. From there, they began to ask the United States Congress to restore the Menominee Tribe's rights.

Restoring the Tribe

The Menominee Restoration Committee, led by Ada Deer, took over managing the Menominee Tribe's affairs on April 23, 1975. This was a big step towards rebuilding the community. In the years that followed, many important changes happened:

• The tribal roll, which is the official list of tribal members, was reopened.
• A tribal police force was created to keep order.
• New laws and rules for the tribe were written.
• A public school district was set up for Menominee children.
• The tribe regained control over hunting and fishing rights on their lands.
• The federal government provided money to build a health clinic.

Finally, in 1979, the Menominee Indian Tribal Constitution was put into place. Under this new constitution, the first nine-member Tribal Legislature was elected. This marked the official return of the Menominee Tribe's self-governance.