Month: July 2025

Daphne Lemke – Fond du Lac Reporter
July 11,2025

Read the entire article here: https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2025/07/11/brothertown-indian-nation-in-wisconsin-marks-samson-occom-day-july-14/84535173007/

Here’s what that means: Samson Occom Day honors an early leader of the tribe, which dates to the 18th century on America’s East Coast. Samson Occom, a Mohegan statesman and preacher, played a key role in uniting people from several tribes in the 18th century, ultimately leading to the formation of the Brothertown Indian Nation.

FOND DU LAC – Did you know July 14 is a day to celebrate with the Brothertown Indian Nation? Samson Occom Day honors an early leader of the tribe, which dates to the 18th century on America’s East Coast.

Brothertown Indian Nation will celebrate with a special event at 7 p.m. July 14 over Zoom or phone, with featured speaker Jason LaVigne, Mohegan tribal historian and Tantaquidgeon Museum operations manager, and special guest David Freeburg, Mohegan archivist and librarian, who will share some of Occom’s original manuscripts.

The Brothertown community is composed of descendants of Mohegan, Eastern Pequot, Mashantucket Pequot, Niantic, Narragansett, Montauk and Tunxis peoples, all from the areas of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many nations fled where they were living because of war, displacement and other pressures on the land, according to Phyllis Tousey, chair of the BIN Council.

Born in the Mohegan nation in Connecticut in 1723, Occom was a statesman and a preacher who bonded with many groups that had started to form amid displacement, according to Brothertown history. So, when he was trying to bring people together, he had people he could help reorganize into the Brothertown Indian Nation.

The article continues on the Fond du Lac Reporter, here: https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2025/07/11/brothertown-indian-nation-in-wisconsin-marks-samson-occom-day-july-14/84535173007/

Brothertown Indian Nation’s 6th Annual Samson Occom Day Celebration

Please join us via Zoom or phone on Monday, July 14th, at 7:00 p.m. CST
(8:00 p.m. EST, 6:00 p.m. MST, and 5:00 p.m. PST).

To learn more about the event and to request the Zoom information via email please view the Event posting here…

**(Unfortunately, space is limited on the Day of the event to 100 attendees. Please request the Zoom information details early. On the day of the event, we will admit take all people until we reach our space limit of 100 attendees.)

Everyone is invited, this is an open event: Brothertown members, family, and friends of the Brothertown Indian Nation including our Parent Tribes; the Mohegan Tribe, Pequot, Narragansett, Montauk an Nehantic Native Nation have received special invitations to attend to join our Tribal member to leant more about our common ancestor and moving force in early New England and through is vision of the Brothertown Movement, with the focus on survival of our heritage and traditions.

The Brothertown Tribe is so fortunate to have a Mohegan Historian and a Mohegan archivist presenting. This is a rare event and will be filled with History, knowledge, and introspection.

The presentation is planned to include the early years of Samson Occom in New England, touching on his travels to England, and concluding with our migration to Oneida, NY (and the Brothertown Movement), with plenty more in between

• Featuring distinguished speakers from the Mohegan Tribe, our parent tribe, and close cousins.
  • Jason LaVigne: Mohegan Tribal Historian and Tantaquidgeon Museum Operations Manager.
  • Special Guest: David Freeburg – Mohegan Archivist and Librarian, who will be sharing some of Occom’s original manuscripts.

The link to information on how to attend is abvailable here….

To read the entire article and video on Univsity of Wisconsin – Wisconsin Sea Grant website, Click here….

Over the last 200 plus years, increased populations, shoreline development, and dams have stripped much of Lake Winnebago of this treasured resource. But through research initially funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant, the Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization team aims to restore wild rice beds, bringing together tribal nations, researchers, and conservationists in a project that bridges history, science, and community collaboration.

The Intertribal Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization Project is a multi-year effort focused on reestablishing wild rice beds to harvestable levels. Co-led by the Brothertown Indian Nation and UW-Madison’s Dr. Jessie Conaway, the team seeks to answer critical questions: Where did the rice go? What conditions are needed to bring it back? And how can restoration efforts honor both traditional ecological knowledge and modern science?

For members of the Brothertown Indian Nation, whose ancestors were relocated to the eastern shores of Lake Winnebago in the 1800s, this work is deeply personal. “These waters are our responsibility,” says Vice Chair of the Brothertown Indian Nation Jessica Skeesuck, one of the project leaders. The restoration effort is not just about bringing back a plant – it’s about strengthening tribal nations, supporting wildlife, and fostering a healthier watershed for all fishers, hunters, harvesters, and Lake Winnebago communities.

Since receiving funding from Wisconsin Sea Grant in 2022, the team has had a number of successes. University students and agency partners have helped gather water quality data and monitor plant growth, creating a new baseline of wild rice data in the Lake Winnebago watershed. This data, as well as Indigenous knowledge, has helped the team begin reseeding portions of the watershed.

Community engagement has also grown, with more volunteers, tribal members, and local residents actively participating in restoration efforts. For the Brothertown Indian Nation, this work has been an opportunity for nation-building, strengthening connections to tribal conservation networks and providing the small nation with their first full-time staff members. 

Continue reading the extensive article here…

EEYAMQUITTOOWAUCONNUCK
CULTURE CAMP JULY 16-19, 2025

BROTHERTOWN INDIAN NATION CULTURAL CENTER N1866 HWY 151, Chilton, WI

Questions about theCamp? Call Dawn at Office (920-929-9964) or Jessica (612-508-3364)

Saturday August 23rd
12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Milo McIver State Park
Estacada, Oregon

Come hear stories, our history, and unknown tales of our ancestors from our Elders. This event reaffirms our common roots, goals, and family ties each year. Learn about our Restoration progress from our Council member attending

Important message: For children who want to be present, much work (including paperwork, research, and other relevant tasks) needs to be accomplished by Dawn in the Tribal Government offices in Fond du Lac. Please contact her with any paperwork, questions, or other issues you may have. She is vital to this process.

For this and any other questions, please reach out to Dawn at;
BrothertownOffice@brothertownindians.org or call the office at (920) 929-9964

It all kicks off with our July Brothertown Indian Nation Council meeting, where we learn about priorities, plans, and communication from Tribal Leadership.

Directly following the Coucil meeting is the Gathering of Relatives Event where the converstion includes (as well as other things) or stories, and Share our vision for the future of our Tribe and our future generations and more…

Then to one of our foundational events we all look forward to — our Annual Brothertown Picnic! A favorite time for decades, a time to sit with our extended tribal family, hear stories and unknown tales of our ancestors from our esteemed Elders, and reconnect with our extended family. This vital event reaffirms our common roots, goals, and family ties once every year.

The Brothertown Mission Statement:

“The mission of the Brothertown Tribe is to continue a stable and dynamic government which will promote and maintain the spiritual, physical, intellectual, social, and economic well-being of our citizens; to restore and preserve our unique historical, cultural, and traditional beliefs; to preserve and protect our sovereignty in order to achieve self-determination and self-sufficiency; to promote a positive image of integrity, honesty, respect, and fairness when pursuing cultural, economic, and social initiatives; to promote peace and harmony for the fulfillment of our vision as a community when all people can prosper and grow in mind, body, and spirit. The Brothertown Tribe recognizes and accepts the relationship which must be forged between all who will be affected by our sovereignty. It is in faith we undertake these tasks, and it shall be with a spirit of cooperation and friendship that we reach the goals which we have set.”

Wisconsin’s Brothertown Indian Nation is fighting for federal acknowledgement

The Wisconsin tribe lost its sovereign status in the 1830s. They’ve spent decades trying to get it back.

By Colleen Leahy – Wisconsin Public Radio

There are nearly 1,000 Native American tribes. But according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are 574. What happened to the other 400? Federal recognition is a legal status that grants sovereignty to tribes, allowing them to have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

“I can remember when I was a lot younger, if you said you were a Brothertown Indian, somebody might say, ‘What, who?’ That can be quite detrimental to your self-concept and your identity,” she said. 

For the Brothertown, lack of federal recognition has even threatened the tribe’s ability to preserve its own heritage. Tousey told a story about how a non-Native man came in possession of a trove of tribal documents that he tried to sell to the tribe for $1 million. “We had no ability to reacquire that,” she said. 

The Oneida Nation, a recognized tribe that often acts as an ally to the Brothertown and has some shared history, stepped in to protect and preserve the Brothertown’s collection. The story highlights the vulnerability of unrecognized tribes; they are at risk of losing control of their own history.

The Brothertown people were forced to move many times over the course of their history, eventually making their way from the East Coast to Wisconsin. When the government tried to force the tribe to move again in the 1830s, this time to Kansas, the tribe refused via legal maneuvering.

“I believe that our ancestors, our leadership, looked around and realized, of course, that no one was asking the non-Indians to move so their land could go to someone else,” Tousey said. 

The tribe has spent the last 45 years trying to get the government to fix this problem. For three decades, the Brothertown worked to gather the necessary documentation to apply for federal recognition. But the government rejected the tribe’s petition in 2012, informing the tribe  they should have been petitioning for restoration, not recognition. 

You can view the entire article and podcast here on the WPR website….

A note from Colleen Leahy I’d like to pass along to the Tribe:

If you attended the 2025 Brothertown Indian Nation event in April, you may have noticed a friendly, polite, and energetic woman walking around with a large recorder, speaking to everyone with her eyes wide open, seemingly trying to take it all in and observe it all.
Her name was Colleen Leahy, a producer for Wisconsin Public Radio. She wrote the Communications Committee with some nice words following the airing of the Brothertown Story. Her excitement was still prominent in her note. She said she had “learned a TON doing this story, perhaps more than about anything she’s done before!” She thanked everyone for their help and added that “the story could not have been completed without all of you, and she truly appreciated your efforts“. She was pleased to know it was received well and wishes us luck going forward.

A special thank you to each who helped her out; and those who were interviewed. It was a helpful story that showcased the Brothertown Indian Nation’s struggle and perseverance. As Phyllis Tousey, Brothertown Indian Nation Chair, optimistically mentioned at the end of her interview with Colleen… “We are still here.”

–The Brothertown Communications Committee