Disclaimer: The following blog post is not a reflection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s opinion on any of the topics or subjects discussed below.
By KJ LeFave
Wisconsin is home to twelve tribes, eleven of which are federally recognized: Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Nation, Forest County Potawatomi, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians and the Brothertown Nation.[1] These nations have historically found themselves concerned with sovereignty and treaty recognition, with many Wisconsin Natives still taking action to bring attention to these issues. While many efforts to maintain treaty rights proved unsuccessful, the 1971 protests by Native activists in Milwaukee were a rare example of Native protests that resulted in Indigenous gain.
Prior to the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from Milwaukee, the city served as a “gathering place” for multiple tribes, including the Potawatomi, Menominee and Ho-Chunk, in part due to its many waterways.[2] The 1830s saw the forced removal of Natives from Milwaukee, with tribes not returning until the 1920s. While the Oneida were the first and largest tribe to return to Milwaukee, the Ojibwa, Menominee, Stockbridge-Munsee, Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk also returned to the city in the following years.[3]
Inspired by the actions and achievements of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement, Native Americans called for their own movement. As a result, the Red Power Movement of the 1970s was born. Consequently, Milwaukee saw a boom in Native activism, with more than 10 American Indian organizations calling Milwaukee home by the early 1970s.[5] The most influential and well-known of these groups was the Milwaukee chapter of the American Indian Movement (AIM). Established by Herb Powless (Oneida) and Jerome Starr (Ojibwe), the chapter participated in a wide variety of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, from marches in support of Wounded Knee to demonstrations at the Milwaukee Public Museum.[6]
Like other groups within the Red Power Movement, the Milwaukee chapter of the AIM was concerned with sovereignty and treaty recognition. These issues became the focus of the chapter and by 1971, the group made headlines for taking back land allotted to them via the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.[7] This treaty, between the federal government and Lakota Sioux, “[allowed] non-reservation Indians to file claims on government land ‘not used for a specific purpose.’”[8] The Milwaukee chapter feared police intervention and were ready for conflict, but the conflict never came, resulting in a peaceful take over.
The land that the chapter reclaimed was the abandoned lakefront McKinley Coast Guard Station and surrounding seven acres and buildings that had closed in 1969.[10] By August 1971, it was under the control of the Milwaukee chapter of the AIM. Once in control of the property, the chapter immediately started implementing programs to benefit the Native community of Milwaukee. One of these programs was the Indian Community School, which aimed “to restore American Indian dignity and pride in Indian youth through cultural education, social activities and through channeling the natural talents of Indian youth toward making contributions to their community.”[11] The school, run by Menominee woman Dorothy LePage, started in the living rooms of Oneida women Marge Funmaker, Darlene Funmaker Neconish and Marj Stevens.[12] The occupation of the Coast Guard Station allowed for the school to be moved to the building, which resulted in student enrollment increasing over seven-fold. Eventually, after eight years, the school was relocated to Bartlett Avenue, where student populations continued to increase.[13] After closing temporarily, the school population had gotten so large that school leadership purchased the former Concordia College and Lutheran College campuses.[14] These campuses were the new homes to the school and cultural centers funded by the school, which provided space for “housing for the elderly, a museum, a spiritual center and space for Indian-serving agencies.”[15] The school, which remains open today in Franklin, WI, provided incalculable benefits for both students, staff and community members, giving them a haven to learn about their culture and space to live according to their traditional values.[16]
The Indian Community School was not the only program advanced by the takeover of the Coast Guard Station. Another program that thrived because of calling the Station home was “a culturally based alcohol treatment initiative.”[18] The initiative was structured around a halfway house on the property, providing sober living for Indigenous peoples recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. According to Dorothy Ninham (Oneida), the wife of Herb Powless, the Milwaukee Indigenous community was “fighting alcohol and drug abuse,”[19] making rehabilitation programs a focal point for the newly acquired land. The initiative was an expansion of Herb Powless’ American Indian Council on Alcoholism, the first of its kind, which was established in 1970.[20] Powless incorporated traditional treatments into the sober living facility, relying heavily on spiritual and cultural teachings and ceremonies.[21] While eventually relocated, the half-way house at the McKinley Coast Guard Station helped many Indigenous people utilize and connect with their culture on their journey back to sober life.
The Milwaukee AIM chapter took control of the Coast Guard Station peacefully, and was able to catapult the Indigenous communities of Milwaukee and Wisconsin as a whole forward during its occupation. The school and rehabilitation programs that called the station home helped countless of Indigenous peoples reconnect with their traditions and values. The station also provided a space for the Indian Community School to flourish, resulting in an expansion so large that the school and its cultural centers spanned across two college campuses. These initiatives also created revenue streams, jobs, and served as a gathering place to discuss activism. This rare success story of Land Back in the Red Power Movement, the 1971 takeover of the McKinley Coast Guard station reminds us that when we return land back to its First Peoples, progress follows.
[1] “Tribal Nations of Wisconsin.” Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, September 7, 2021.
[2] Doxtator, Antonio J., and Renee J. Zakhar. “The Gathering Place.” Chapter. In American Indians in Milwaukee, p. 9. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publ, 2011.
[3]Doxtator and Zakhar, “Indians Return to the City.” Chapter. In American Indians in Milwaukee, p. 27. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publ, 2011.
[4] Gurda, John. “American Indians Occupied Milwaukee’s Coast Guard Station 50 Years Ago. It Was a Uniquely Successful Operation.” Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 29, 2021.
[5] Doxtator, Antonio J., and Renee J. Zakhar. “Red Power Movement.” Chapter. In American Indians in Milwaukee, p. 67. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publ, 2011.
[6] Rindfleisch, Bryan. “American Indian Movement.” Encyclopedia of Milwaukee, February 10, 2020.
[7] Krouse, Susan Applegate. “What Came out of the Takeovers: Women’s Activism and the Indian Community School of Milwaukee.” American Indian Quarterly 27, no. 3/4 (2003): p. 535.
[8] Doxtator and Zakhar, “Red Power Movement.”
[9] Rindfleisch, “American Indian Movement.”
[10] “Commemorating 50th Anniversary of McKinley Coast Guard Occupation.” WISN. WISN, August 16, 2021.
[11]Krouse, “What Came out of the Takeovers: Women’s Activism and the Indian Community School of Milwaukee,” p. 535.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Krouse, “What Came out of the Takeovers: Women’s Activism and the Indian Community School of Milwaukee,” p. 538.
[14] Gurda, “American Indians Occupied Milwaukee’s Coast Guard Station 50 Years Ago. It Was a Uniquely Successful Operation.”
[15] Ibid.
[16] “ICS at-A-Glance.” Indian Community School, May 30, 2021.
[17] Gurda, “American Indians Occupied Milwaukee’s Coast Guard Station 50 Years Ago. It Was a Uniquely Successful Operation.”
[18] Ibid.
[19] WUWM 89.7 FM | By Mallory Cheng. “Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the McKinley Coast Guard Takeover.” WUWM 89.7 FM – Milwaukee’s NPR, January 7, 2022.
[20] “Powless, Herbert George.” Oneida Nation. Accessed August 4, 2022.
[21] Ibid.