December 22, 2023, will mark the 50th anniversary of the Menominee Indian Tribe’s Restoration from the federal policy of Termination.
The U.S. Congress passed the Menominee Termination Act in 1954 but it did not take effect until April 30, 1961. The Termination Act discontinued federal services and set in motion an economic collapse, social disruption and failure of infrastructure in the Menominee community, according to the tribe.
A core group of Menominee that included Ada Deer, Sylvia Wilber and others lobbied to once again become a federally recognized tribe.