06/28/2019- Towering almost 14 feet above the water, a new feature at the mouth of the Menominee River will teach visitors at Menekaunee Harbor Park about the region’s history that dates back thousands of years. A replica of the ancestral bear that stands in the Menominee Indian Tribe’s cultural museum in Keshena was erected at the park Wednesday after years of planning and coordination between the tribe and the City of Marinette. Tribal Chairman Doug Cox says the significance of the statue goes back to the tribe’s creation story.
The fiberglass statue was crafted at FAST Corporation in Sparta and took almost a year to create. Future plans to recognize the significance of the Menekaunkee Harbor area to the Menominee Nation also include constructing a granite monument near the ancestral bear that will represent the five individual clans of the Menominee Tribe.