Tribal Sovereignty and Government in Wisconsin
In 2021, newly elected Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly announced that civics education was going to be a focus in her administration. Throughout work that would become the Wisconsin Civics Project, a scan of resources as well as requests from teachers and district administrators showed a large gap in understanding of and resources to teach tribal sovereignty and tribal government, especially on First Nations of Wisconsin. Understanding that it would be difficult to employ classroom teachers to write lessons on every one of the 12 Nations in our state, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) worked with Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers to write comprehensive lessons intended for use in Kindergarten through high school focused on the general ideas of tribal sovereignty and tribal government.
Please note that teachers should review the suggested lesson plans to determine what changes will need to be made to align to their district curriculum and students’ needs.
Tribal Sovereignty and Government of the First Nations of Wisconsin: Lessons for K-12
- Lessons for K-12
- At-A-Glance spreadsheet with an overview, driving questions, learning targets, and standards alignment for each lesson
- Infographic: First Nations of Wisconsin Government Structure
American Indian Studies Program at DPI
The American Indian Studies Program exists primarily to assist with the implementation of the curricular requirements in the areas of American Indian history, culture, and tribal sovereignty.
Wisconsin First Nations Website
This collection of resources provides educators and pre-service teachers accurate and authentic educational materials for teaching about the American Indian Nations of Wisconsin.
Information and Links to all Tribal Nations of Wisconsin
These links are to the official websites for each of the American Indian Nations of Wisconsin. These websites provide information about each nation or community, including news, resources, and contacts.
Frequently Asked Questions from the Wisconsin First Nations site
It is natural to have questions when teaching about Wisconsin’s First Nations. Here are some common questions educators ask, such as "Which is the correct term - American Indian, Native American, or First Nations?" and "Is there a difference between tribe, nation, community, and band?"
Wisconsin State Tribal Initiative
The WSTI offers resources such as individual tribal references and webpages, state agency staff persons for each Nation, and contact information for Tribal head officials.
Current Tribal Lands Map and Native Nation Facts
Guide your students in learning who their Native neighbors are by exploring this map of the current tribal lands and nations in Wisconsin. Facts about each of the Native nations are also provided, including Native population on tribal lands and within Wisconsin, tribal land size, seat of government, and more! Wisconsin’s First Nations vetted the map and facts.
For added flexibility in the classroom, multiple formats of the information are provided for download.