Monuments help us remember. They educate visitors about the past, acknowledging that the society we’re all a part of is built upon the foundation of those who preceded us.
On Sept. 13, the Greater Escarpment Organization of Door County will host “a soft opening and dedication of the first four educational interpretive panels at Escarpment Park in Northern Door.” Among the panels being honored is one titled “Omāēqnomenēw-ahkīheh: In the Land of the Menominee.”
My late Mohican friend, Larry Madden, used to say that he spoke to local historical societies because“Scandinavians need to know that the story of Door County didn’t begin when Odin set them down on the land. It begins with Menominee people.”
Madden passed last November, but his legacy of honoring and perpetuating Native American culture endures. That includes his lifelong friendship with Nancy Goss.
Goss is now the president of GEODC, and she stated that her role is, “bringing the right people together for the right reasons after an idea is created and letting them shine.”
Goss helped spearhead a campaign that drew funding from the Town of Liberty Grove, the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the Door County Community Investment Fund.
“We also fundraise through ‘escarpment related’ tours and educational speakers, and we appear at local festivals and markets to keep our name and mission in the public,” Goss said. “We have received a few significant monetary contributions from local angels.”
According to Goss, the mission of GEODC is, “Education, education, and education. Our mission demands we use every educational tool available to raise awareness of the geological, historical, cultural, environmental and economic significance of the Niagara Escarpment in Door County.”
The idea for the Menominee panel came from Goss. Madden had made Goss aware that Menominee people held the land first, but she noticed that the public acknowledgements of Door County’s original inhabitants excluded them.
“The historical society across the road from us has, for years, held programs exclusively on the Potawatomi as the first Native Americans on the Peninsula. I kind of took issue with that as somewhat misleading,” Goss said.
Goss explained that she wanted the story to be told by the actual living descendants instead of AI or a non-Native historian, but she was having trouble making inroads until she spoke to Madden.
“One afternoon, when I was near where he lived, I stopped in for a routine visit,” she said. “That’s where the real progress began. Larry opened doors for me that had been heretofore closed. We traveled to the Menominee community where he introduced me to President Chris Caldwell, Historic Preservation Officer Dave Grignon and you, Dr. Winn.”
Through these introductions, GEODC found its advisers for educating Escarpment Park visitors.
My involvement led to Goss being connected with the Menominee Clans Committee, whose work is housed on the college’s website. The finished panel features the words and images of the site’s late creators, James Frechette Jr. and Mike Hoffman.
Hoffman’s widow, Karen Ann Hoffman, is one of the website’s caretakers, who both advised on the panel and gave permission for it to feature printed QR codes linking to the site.
“This signage, with its link to the Menominee Place Names Map on the Menominee Clans Story website, brings a fuller, richer understanding of the landscape on which all stand. It uniquely brings thousands of years of history and culture into the palm of our hands,” Hoffman said.
Caldwell added his approval, stating, “Door County is part of the Menominee ancestral homelands, and as Menominee people, we are charged with caring for it. This sign will help visitors realize our continuing commitment to land stewardship and cultural preservation through the work being done at CMN.”
The Escarpment Park installation will also celebrate the installation of panels titled “Ancient Forests,” “Sculpted by Ice and Water” and “Underground Passages.”
“To the rest of the stakeholders, the Menominee panel represents a totally factual and beautifully completed educational representation of a history and culture that, I believe, does not have enough representation,” Goss said. “Many of our local museums focus on ‘early settlers — German, Scandinavian, Belgian, Icelandic. Yes, they settled here; however, the Native Americans were truly the first.”
Monuments help us remember, and beginning Sept. 13, visitors to Escarpment Park will be informed that they are standing on a piece of the Menominee ancestral homelands. Acknowledging that fact is an important step on the journey to truly remembering the history which modern Wisconsinites too often forget.
Ryan Winn, Ph.D., teaches communications, English, history and theater at the College of Menominee Nation. Visit www.menominee.edu for more information about the school.
