A significant part of Thomas E. Davis’ new memoir, “Beginnings,” grows out of the people, places and events he encountered in Menominee and Shawano counties during a formative period of his life.
Published by All Things That Matter Press, “Beginnings” traces Davis’ life from his childhood in western Colorado through more than five decades as an educator, writer and advocate for Native American education. But for readers in the Shawano area, some of the book’s most compelling stories unfold much closer to home.
Davis’ years in northeastern Wisconsin brought him into contact with the Menominee and with people involved in the emerging movement for Native American-controlled education. His experiences in Menominee County and the Shawano and Gresham area became an important part of his personal and professional development — and ultimately helped shape a career devoted to expanding educational opportunities for American Indian students throughout the United States.
The book recalls people and events associated with Menominee County, Shawano County and surrounding communities at a time when the relationship between Native communities and American education was undergoing profound change. Davis writes not simply as an observer, but as someone who became deeply involved in that transformation.
Those experiences eventually contributed to his role in helping establish the College of the Menominee Nation, the Native American-controlled schools movement and to his broader involvement in the tribal college movement. Over the following decades, his work in American Indian higher education would take him far beyond Wisconsin, including leadership roles at Navajo Technical University.
“Beginnings” is not primarily an institutional history. It is a memoir about the experiences, relationships, setbacks, discoveries and unexpected turns that shape a life, including the turmoil following the Menominee Warrior Society takeover of the Alexian Brothers’ Novitiate outside Gresham more than 50 years ago. Davis combines personal recollection with reflections on education, Native communities, his long-term association with Shawano, family, friendship and the meaning of a life spent trying to make a difference.
For readers familiar with Shawano and Menominee counties, the Wisconsin chapters offer something particularly personal: a look back at people and communities during a period of significant social and educational change, seen through the eyes of someone who was there and whose life was permanently changed by the experience.
“Some of the most important beginnings in my life occurred in Wisconsin,” Davis said. “The people I met and the experiences I had in Menominee and Shawano counties changed the direction of my life. Looking back, I can see how those years became the foundation for much of what followed.”
“Beginnings” is available through major booksellers and online retailers.
Published by All Things That Matter Press, “Beginnings” traces Thomas E. Davis’ life from his childhood in western Colorado through more than five decades as an educator, writer and advocate for Native American education, including his time with the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin. (Contributed)
