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GREAT LAKES ~ GREAT NATIONS

Indian Summer Festival Returns to the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee to celebrate our 27th year as the largest Native festival of its kind in the country!
September 6th, 7th and 8th, 2013

The Great Lakes is a chain of inland lakes: Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior — stretching from New York to Minnesota. Because they comprise such a large waterway, they have played a vital role in the lives and histories of Indian peoples who have resided along their shores for millennia. Most Indian groups living in the Great Lakes region for the last five centuries are of the Algonquian language family. This includes such present-day Wisconsin tribes as the Potawatomi, Menominee and Ojibwe. Some tribes — such as the Stockbridge Munsee and the Brothertown — are also Algonquian-speaking tribes who relocated from the eastern seaboard to the Great Lakes region in the nineteenth century. The Oneida who live near Green Bay, belong to the Iroquois language group; and the Ho-Chunk of Wisconsin are one of the few Great Lakes tribes to speak a Siouan language.

Although there have been many differences in language and customs between different Indian tribes, Great Lakes Indian communities have had many things in common. They comprise a general culture called “Woodland” after its adaptation to North America’s northeastern and southeastern woodlands. Woodland Indian societies have depended to a large degree on forest products for their survival, and Great Lakes Indians hunted, fished, gathered wild foods, and practiced agriculture for their subsistence. In many parts of the Great Lakes — particularly northern Wisconsin — Indians depended on wild rice as a dietary staple, while Indians in areas without wild rice generally cultivated corn. Where sugar maples grow, Great Lakes Indians established sugar-making camps in early spring and made sugar from tree sap.

Last year's TV spot was produced by SILVERWATER PRODUCTIONS - JJ Burkart and Rob Pero! Also acknowledging Ronnie Preston for writing and singing the song "Indian Summer... its the place to be.... in Milwaukee". Appearing in this year's TV spots:Ronnie Preston, Darrell Hill and our dancers were: Grace Pushetonequa and the cutest baby ever, Jennifer Connors, Sophia the Great (Jennifer's daughter), Emma Carufel, and Marin Webster Denning, who also narrated both TV and Radio spots.

LISTEN TO OUR 30 SECOND RADIO SPOT!

We thank our families, friends, sponsors, volunteers and guests for their enthusiastic support over the last 27 years.

As we go about planning our 27th Festival, we also want to give a warm thank you to Milwaukee and neighboring communities who have helped make Indian Summer Festival the largest Native American celebration of its kind in the country!

This year, we'll be back with a spectacular Festival that will run September 6-8, at the Henry Maier Festival Grounds in Milwaukee. You'll see American Indian entertainers and performers who are nationally known... BRULE IS BACK! We'll also have spectacular fireworks displays Friday and Saturday nights and a CONTEST POW WOW all weekend long. EVERYONE IS WELCOME! In addition, we have some NEW attractions — please stay tuned!

Festival favorites include: Native American Arts & Crafts: demonstrations and items for purchase; Traditional Villages from Wisconsin Tribes such as Menominee, Oneida and Ojibwe; the ISMA Music Awards featuring top musical talent from all over the country; a Tribal Farmers Market; Native Storytelling and Performances, and so much more! Please check back often to learn about the new things we're adding to the Indian Summer Festival lineup!