Indians on a Seesaw: An Article on the Menominees in the August, 1974 National Geographic Magazine

left: Carl Maskewit and his children pose with raccoon pelts.







The August 1974 issue of the National Geographic Magazine featured an article about the Menominees written by Patricia Raymer with photographs from her husband, Steve Raymer. The full title of the article was "Wisconsin's Menominees: Indians on a Seesaw" (pages 228-251).


The Raymers spent time with the Sanome Sanapaw family, one of a few families still living, to a large extent, off the land.

"In the past the Menominees believed that the Great Spirit had granted the tribe two foods to be their own forever - wild rice and maple sugar. but the Sanapaws are the only family still tapping sugar maples in the spring" (page 242).

Patricia Raymer walked behind the hunters and heard their reaction when they got this Black Bear. The caption on page 232 states that Dude Valliere is carrying a 75-pound yearling. As of 1974, hunters still honored the old tradition of sharing their harvest with "friends, the sick, and the elderly."




According to the article, the tribe's economy at that time was based on the lumber mill and leaving the reservation to find other work.