Politics, Society & Government

Pipe bowl. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

Region 1 - North West / Ojibwe Presentation Pipe / Madeline Island / Politics, Society & Government / 1840-1860 / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Bayfield County / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Religion

OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

This Ojibwe presentation pipe consists of two pieces: a pipe bowl and a pipe stem. It was most likely for spiritual ceremonies. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the pipe bowl is carved from heavy stone, and has two common images to…

Read More

0 Comments

November 17, 2020

Vernon County / La Farge / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve / Region 6 - South West / Pre-1600 / Related Stories / Politics, Society & Government / Nature & Environment / Education / Ethnicity & Identity

Wisconsin’s Ancient History in the Kickapoo Valley

If you look closely, the landscapes around us tell stories about the past. Sometimes in the curve of a road, a line of trees, or stretch of prairie careful observers can find evidence of the people and animals that used to call…

Read More

0 Comments

September 24, 2020

Region 5 - Center East / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat' / Door County / Clothing & Fashion / Politics, Society & Government / 1900-1920 / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity

OBJECT HISTORY: Potawatomi Beaded ‘Soldier Coat’

An elder spokesman for the Potawatomi Indians, Chief Simon Onanguisse Kahquados made a number of trips to Washington, D.C. in the early twentieth century in an effort to regain land that his people had lost through treaties with the United States government in the 1800s. Kahquados wore this coat on his last trip to Washington and also wore it on other important occasions, such as trips to the state capital in Madison where he often spent time researching and presenting information about his ancestry.

Read More

0 Comments

September 10, 2020

Old Abe, the Live War Eagle / Region 7 - South Center / Madison / Dane County / Politics, Society & Government / 1900-1920 / Object Histories

OBJECT HISTORY: Old Abe, the Live War Eagle

A bald eagle stands guard over the State Assembly Chamber in Wisconsin’s Capitol building. Between two and three feet tall, the raptor has the characteristic white head and tail feathers, a brown body, and a yellow beak and talons. He sits atop a tree stump in front of a large mural called Wisconsin that represents the state’s…

Read More

0 Comments

September 10, 2020

Langlade County / Region 2 - North East / CCC Pillow Sham / Home Furnishings / Politics, Society & Government / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / 1920-1940

OBJECT HISTORY: CCC Pillow Sham

Created in 1933, this commemorative pillow sham was just one of a number of textiles created by second-generation Hungarian immigrant Rose Mary Drab to honor her brother Edward’s service in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Rose Mary appliquéd the black cotton sateen sham with a small cotton tent, a blue eagle and two small stars, and hills, pine…

Read More

0 Comments

September 9, 2020

La Crosse County / Region 3 - Center West / La Crosse / A Hmong Baby Sash / Politics, Society & Government / Clothing & Fashion / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / 1960-1980 / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections

OBJECT HISTORY: A Hmong Baby Sash

We are surrounded by objects that seem very ordinary, but once we look closer, they often reveal deep connections to the history of our state and our communities. In this Object History, Pao Vue writes about the thread-bare baby sash he found in his mother’s room that, it turns out, once saved his life and…

Read More

0 Comments

September 9, 2020