News
Homelands and Anniversary Bus Tour
The planning continues and details continue to be updated… please mark your calendar and plan on attending he Home Lands Tour 2023. If there are any questions, please contact: Calumetandcross@gmail.com.
Tentative Itinerary October 7-15, 2023.
Planning continues, stay tuned….or contact Calumet and Cross to offer with helping in the planning!
Program organized by United for Diversity.
https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/ Tonight is a Blanket Exercise and you are invited! A blanket exercise is a powerful interactive teaching of often neglected, “untold stories” of First Nation history, and an opportunity to engage with our indigenous siblings in relationship building and healing. There is no cost to attend, but a free will offering will be taken for Brothertown Indian Nation to offset food costs in the meal they are preparing for us. SPACE IS LIMITED so please register TODAY! Here is the link: https://forms.gle/9hEc8aSak747D2ZT6 . This program is not intended for young children.
Important: Meet The Candidates 2023
Live event This Sunday, April 16,2023
Time: 07:30pm EST, 6:30pm CST, 5:30pm MST, and 4:30pm PST
ALL candidates, citizens, and Brothertown descendants are invited to attend the “Meet the Candidates”
– Sign-in details at bottom of this release –
The May 2023 Tribal election is fast approaching – nominations are made this Saturday March 18th! This year, the Secretary position, two Council seats, and a Peacemaker position are on the ballot.
View and download candidates extensive bios, in the 2023 Voter’s Guide here…
View Election Committee detailed information here.
all ballots will be sent to Members we have addresses on file for.
If any member does not receive a ballot by May 1st, Absentee ballots can be requested by emailing the Committee at elections@brothertownindians.org
The candidates for the 2023 Brothertown Indian Nation elections have been announced as follows:
Secretary:3-year term (1 open position)
Council: 3-year term (2 open positions)
Peacemaker: 5-year term (1 open position)
Zoom Sign-in Information
Topic: Meet the Candidates-2023
Time: Apr 16, 2023: 07:30pm EST, 6:30pm CST, 5:30pm MST, and 4:30pm PST
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82307046038?pwd=em5oMVBVb2JrRE50RzA1ck5DNWJJdz09
Meeting ID: 823 0704 6038
Passcode: 731125
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Meeting ID: 823 0704 6038
Passcode: 731125
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kd8Il4KVg5
View photos of the 6th annual Powwow at the BINCC
View photos of the most recent Brothertown Indian Nation Powwow which happened yesterday’s April 1, 2023. View the April 1, 2023 Powwow Gallery This marks the 20th gallery added to the website in recent weeks.
These are a priority in support of our Restoration process – as it openly showing a continuous and thriving Tribe, inclusive, engaged, and close Tribal family. A special thank you for all our members who have posted and sent to the website committee. We are still trying to fill in the gaps. If you have any photos from past events – please email webmaster@brothertownindians.org – recent events if anyone has any photos include both this years Snow Snake event and the Snow Snake event in 2022, and any of the recent BIN picnics….
Additionally, if you want to view all the recently added Tribal archived Galleries, use the links below to all events of the Brothertown Indian Nation we have photos for:
- Annual State of the Tribes 2023 – March 18, 2023: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/annual-state-of-the-tribes-2023/
- Celebrate commUNITY 2023 – February 18, 2023: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/celebrate-community-2023/
- Brothertown Indian Nation Homecoming 2022 – October 26, 2022: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/brothertown-indian-nation-homecoming-2022/
- Pacific Northwest Gathering – July 2022: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/pacific-northwest-gathering-july-2022/
- Tribute to Mark Baldwin – June 12, 2022: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/tribute-to-mark-baldwin-june-12-2022/
- Lake Winnebago Water Walk 2022: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/lake-winnebago-water-walk-2022/
- Dartmouth College repatriate Samson Occom papers to the Mohegan Tribe April 27, 2022: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/dartmouth-college-repatriate-samson-occom-papers-to-the-mohegan-tribe-april-27-2022/
- Minnesota Gathering 2022 – April 10, 2022: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/minnesota-gathering-2022/
- Water Walk 2019: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/water-walk-2019/
- Brothertown Powwow 2019: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/brothertown-powwow-2019/
- Water Walk 2018: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/water-walk-2018/
- New York Brothertown Cemetery Clean Up 2018: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/new-york-brothertown-cemetery-clean-up/
- Annual Spring Powwow 2018 – April 7, 2018: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/anual-spring-powwow-2018/
- Celebrate CommUNITY 2018: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/celebrate-community-2018/
- Powwow 2017 at the BINCC: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/powwow-2017-and-bincc/
- Brothertown Homecoming 2017: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/brothertown-homecoming-2017/
- Brothertown Pacific Northwest Gathering 2015: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/brothertown-pacific-northwest-gathering/
- Brothertown Homecoming 2015: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/homecoming-2015/
- Brothertown Homecoming 2014: https://brothertownindians.org/galleries/brothertown-homecoming-2014/
Article on the Brothertown Tribe in the Rippon Press
Fond du Lac County tribe seeks federal recognition
by Kat Griffith, Fond du Lac Country District 1 supervisor Mar 24, 2023
submitted photo
At the first County Board meeting I attended I was intrigued to hear a request from the Brothertown Indian Tribe asking Fond du Lac County to support its petition for federal recognition.
Embarrassing confession: Until that night I did not know there was a tribe based in our county!
Here’s a brief primer on the Brothertown and its important request.
Who are the Brothertown Indians?
The Brothertown are descendants of the residents of seven Christianized tribal villages in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. The seven original tribes were decimated by the diseases, famines and wars that accompanied European settlement.
Missionaries gathered some survivors together into seven “Praying Towns” and many of the young men and women attended a mission boarding school. There, they reimagined a shared future and decided to form a single community together.
They requested and received land from the Oneida Tribe of New York, where they founded the Brothertown community in 1784. Eventually they prospered there. However, between 1796 and 1815, unscrupulous land speculators and the state of New York — via fraudulent and illegal treaties, leases and acquisitions — dispossessed both the Oneida and the Brothertown Tribes of most of their land.
Read the entire interesting article here on he Ripon Press newspaper
Important Reminder: Election Nominations Due this Saturday’s Council Meeting
The May 2023 Tribal election is fast approaching – nominations are made this Saturday March 18th! This year, the Secretary position, two Council seats, and a Peacemaker position are on the ballot. Per the Tribe’s constitution, the Elections Committee will provide a report at the March Council meeting, identifying nominees. Nominations may also be taken from the floor at that meeting.
If you would like to learn more or express interest, you can contact Shaun Nadolny at shaunnadolny@hotmail.com or (414-403-3339) . The March Council meeting will take place this Saturday, March 18th at 10am CST at the BINCC.
The Brothertown Indian Nation Galleries continue to expand!
These are an important way to show how we all come together as a Tribal Family. Celebrating as a family no matter where we are or come from. While centered in our ancestral home in Brothertown, Wisconsin, all members are vital to our Brothertown family. When we come together to celebrate or join in an event, the miles melt away. You can feel the fun, inclusiveness and respect for each other in the following photos. Enjoy these and they will continue to grow as our Tribe does.
The website and communications committee ask if anyone has photos of any event (past or present) to please forward them to webmaster@brothertownindians.org. These galleries are both for members and also showcase who we are as a tribe to the outside world.
- Here is a list of our recent Gallaries:
- Celebrate commUNITY 2023 February 18, 20230 images
- Brothertown Indian Nation Homecoming 2022 October 26, 2022
- Pacific Northwest Gathering – July 2022 August 1, 2022
- Tribute to Mark Baldwin – June 12, 2022 July 13, 2022
- Lake Winnebago Water Walk 2022 June 18, 2022
- Dartmouth College repatriate Samson Occom papers to the Mohegan Tribe April 27, 2022
- Minnesota Gathering 2022 April 30, 2022
- Water Walk 2019 June 20, 2019
- New York Brothertown Cemetery Clean Up June 14, 2018
View the 19th Annual State of the Tribes
Yesterday’s 2023 State of the Tribes Address delivered from the State Capitol in Madison was given by Sokaogon Chippewa Community Chairman Robert VanZile. Many topics were covered and called on state lawmakers to help improve rural health care, fight the opioid crisis and tackle environmental issues. Additionally, Chairman VanZile called on state lawmakers Tuesday to work with tribal leaders as they craft their budget this year. “Every budget cycle, there is an opportunity for local, county, state, and tribal governments to collaborate on critical services and investments to bring greater efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of those services,” VanZile said.
Another moment of pride for the Brothertown Indian Nation was the recognition of the Tribe by Chairman Robert VanZile to Jessica Ryan Vice -Chair who was in attendance. Also attending and representing the Tribe were Dawn Kraintz-Council and Melissa Kavonius-Secretary The entire State of the Tribes can be viewed here…
with Eagle Staffs and Colors around the rotunda
on the east side of the capitol
Happy 250th Anniversary! March 13, 1773
Building Brothertown: March 13, 1773 – March 13, 2023
Used with permission from A Brothertown Citizen read the complete blog here…
250 years ago today, on March 13, 1773, our ancestors gathered in Mohegan to discuss plans to form their own Native town, away from the decimating and demoralizing influence of the Europeans. Joseph Johnson (Mohegan/Brothertown), “the first mover of this design”1, called the Indians of Mohegan, Montauk, Narragansett, Niantic, Farmington, Stonington, and Groton together.
It was decided to ask the Oneida, our northwestern brethren, for a tract of land upon which we and our children could live in peace. Then, as now, our Oneida brothers welcomed us. In 1774, a land agreement was signed.
In March and April of 1775, the ablest individuals left their homes in Farmington, Montauk, and Narragansett, and went on ahead to forge the new town. They built homes and planted corn. Among them were Joseph Johnson, Elijah Wampy (Tunxis/Brothertown), David Fowler (Montauk/Brothertown) and Samuel Niles (Narragansett/Brothertown)2. More people followed.
A couple of years later, forced to flee for their lives amidst the dangers of the Revolutionary War, the majority of our people found temporary shelter with the Stockbridge in Massachusetts. After seven years, when the fighting had ceased, we returned to our Oneida home, bringing our Stockbridge brethren with us. Since then, our two tribes have been inseparable.
Shortly after their return, through the help and pen of Reverend Samson Occom (Mohegan/Brothertown), our formal naming and founding was memorialized. On Monday, November 7, 1785 Occom wrote in his journal, “But now we proceeded to form into a body politick, we named our Town by the Name of Brotherton, in Indian Eeyawquittoowauconnuck.”
For a more in-depth look at the formation of the Brothertown Indians, please see “Building Brothertown: From Farmington To Brotherton” at https://brothertowncitizen.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/tunxis-project-final-draft-122922.pdf or find the video presentation at the bottom of this page: https://brothertowncitizen.com/stories-of-the-brothertown-indians-podcast-episodes/
Used with permission from A Brothertown Citizen read the complete blog here…
To research more on the Brothertown Indian Nation, use this link to access all their extensive historical and ancestral information…