OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — A crowd gathered in Oshkosh's Menominee Park Friday to rededicate a monument to the city's namesake Chief Oshkosh and unveil some updates designed to tell his story better.
Dignitaries from the of Oshkosh, and Menominee Nation, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers attended the ceremony, to celebrate Chief Oshkosh's life and legacy, and unveil new plaques around the monument telling the details of his life.
Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin Chairwoman Gena Kakkak says the new additions to the monument are essential because they tell the real history of Chief Oshkosh and his people.
“It’s important to have that representation of the Menominee people, that we’re still here…" she said, "to be able to share that story and make sure we have accurate information being told by the Menominee people. That’s important, if our story is going to be out there [we have] to make sure it’s told by us.”
While the old plaque on the monument said Chief Oshkosh's "greatest achievement in this life was giving to this city [his] name," The new plaques highlight, among other things, his contributions to sustainable forestry and his role in negotiating the Treaty of Wolf River, which secured the land on which the current Menominee reservation sits.
Chief Oshkosh died in 1858, but some of his descendants were in attendance at Friday's ceremony.
