Junior Docent School Program - Milwaukee Art Museum

Chronological Organization
Settlement to Statehood (1634 to 1847)
1634 French explorer Jean Nicolet, the first European in WI, crossed Lake Michigan and
reached the site of present-day Green Bay and met the Winnebagos (Ho-Chunk).
1673 Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet travelled the St. Lawrence River, through the
Great Lakes, and down the Mississippi River.
1718 French settlers built a fort at Green Bay.
1763 British defeated French: WI became part of British territory under the Treaty of Paris.
1825 Opening of Erie Canal increased settler migration to WI.
1846 Solomon Juneau was elected the first mayor of Milwaukee.
Comments and Questions
Who were the first people in Wisconsin? The Indian tribes who lived here prospered as
hunters, gatherers, and trappers. What Indian names do you know?
o Milwaukee comes from a Chippewa word meaning “gathering of waters”.
o Other Indian names of towns and cities are Waukesha, Oconomowoc,
Pewaukee, Okauchee, Shawano, Tomahawk, Winnebago, Kickapoo,
Manitowish, and Poynette.
o What were the names of the Indian tribes who lived here? In the early 1600s –
Winnebago, Dakota, and Menominee. Others came later – Chippewa, Sauk, Fox,
Ottawa, Kickapoo, Huron, and Potawatomi.
What was the land like? The geography? We need to recognize the importance of Lake
Michigan and Lake Superior, of the other inland lakes and rivers such as the Mississippi
on the west, because these waterways provided the key transportation networks for
Indians, French trappers and traders, missionaries, and later immigrants.
Who was the first European to come to Wisconsin? The first European was probably
Jean Nicolet, a Frenchman who in 1634 was seeking a northwest passage to China.
When he stopped in Green Bay, he dressed in mandarin robes before he went to meet
people he hoped were Chinese. Wisconsin was a frontier province of New France for
100 years. What French names do you know? Marquette, Fond du Lac, La Farge, Lac
du Flambeau, La Crosse, and others.
What did the first Europeans want to do in Wisconsin? Some Catholic Jesuits came as
missionaries and others came in order to obtain furs and wealth. Both England and
France wanted to control the fur trade. A British victory in 1763 gave the British control.
Artist Title Location
Allston, Washington Scene in an Eating House Lower Level
Audubon, John James Trapped Canada Otter Lower Level
Bierstadt, Albert
Wind River Mts. Nebraska Territory Lower Level
Eastman, Seth Indian Scalp Dance Lower Level
Goodwin, Richard LaBarre Hunting Cabin Door Lower Level
Tait, Arthur F. The Pursuit Lower Level
American Sculpture of Indian Folk
Phillips, Ammi Portrait of a Woman Folk
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JDSP – Docent Packet