The present whereabouts of the Mascoutens presents somewhat of a mystery. Most students of the subject at present believe that members of the Prairie Band of the Potawatomi, who also call themselves the Mascoutens, are the descendents of that tribe, which is so often referred to in early Wisconsin history. The early Mascoutens were closely related to the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo, according to early reports, in language and culture, and usually were the political allies of these tribes as well. Some bands of the Prairie Potawatomi are found associated with the Kickapoo in Oklahoma and Kansas, and also in Mexico.
As for the Santee Sioux, who were in northern Wisconsin even before the arrival of the white man, it is again difficult to give accurate present population figures. The term Santee originally designated one band of Indians, but eventually came to mean all of the forest bands of the Sioux, of whom, in all probability, many never resided in Wisconsin. There are, according to the 1940 estimate, 1,197 Sioux living on the Santee reservation in Nebraska, and there are 585 Sioux in Minnesota who would be included in the Santee division. If we were to include all tribes generally classed as Santee Sioux today, expressed in round numbers, 5,000 would probably be a conservative estimate. However, many of these are not derived from those bands formerly living in Wisconsin.
Returning to the Wisconsin scene today, we learn from the 1940 estimates of the Office of Indian Affairs that the present Indian population in Wisconsin is 13,678. Of this total, 5,605 are Chippewa, residing at the Bad River, Lac Court Oreilles, Lac du Flambeau, and Red Cliff reservations. Also included in this figure are the Mole Lake Chippewa and the St. Croix band.
FOX INDIAN, IOWA.
THE CHIPPEWA STILL PREPARE BUCK-SKIN.
Included in Wisconsin’s present Indian population are also 2,454 Menomini, located at their reservation in Shawano County; 460 Stockbridge and Munses, on their reservation adjoining that of the Menomini; 1,700 Oneida, scattered around the village of Oneida, 10 miles southwest of Green Bay; 1,498 Winnebago, on public domain land allotments, primarily in Jackson, Wood, and Shawano counties; and 310 Potawatomi, in Forest County. While only a small number of Potawatomi have returned to this state since their removal, over half of the Winnebago are now back in their Wisconsin homeland. In addition to the Winnebago who returned to Wisconsin after their removal by the United States Army, 1,268 remained at their reservation in Nebraska. Thus of this reportedly numerous and powerful tribe first encountered by the French when Nicolet landed near Green Bay, in 1634, about 2,766 still survive.
A CHARACTERISTIC WISCONSIN ONEIDA.