Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

The Oneida Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people in Wisconsin. The tribe's reservation spans parts of two counties west of the Green Bay metropolitan area. The reservation was established by treaty in 1838, and was allotted to individual New York Oneida tribal members as part of an agreement with the U.S. government. The land was individually owned until the tribe was formed under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

Under the Dawes Act, the land was allotted in 1892 to individual households. The nation kept control of most of the land until sales were allowed in the early 20th century, when members were often tricked out of their property. They used the land for farming and harvesting timber. As of 2010, the nation controlled about 35 percent of the land within its reservation and is working to reacquire the rest.

In 1988 the nation established the state's first modern lottery, known as Big Green. Since the late 20th century, the nation developed the gaming Ashwaubenon Casino on its property, which is generating revenue for economic development and welfare. Of the more than 16,000 members, roughly half live on the reservation.

The Oneida Nation is Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking nation who relocated to northeastern Wisconsin in 1822 when the state of New York claimed Oneida land and forced the tribe to relocate elsewhere. Some members of the nation remained in upstate New York, a second group moved to Ontario, Canada and the third and largest contingency relocated to what is now eastern Outagamie and western Brown County. The Oneida Nation were one of six nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy.

By a treaty in 1838, the Oneida accepted a reservation, and chief Patrick James Brault negotiated to ensure that the land was to be held communally by the tribe. Oneida activists from Wisconsin and New York such as Laura Cornelius Kellogg (1880-1947) would make continual efforts to uphold Indian land claims.

During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration organized the Federal Writers' Project, which produced state guides and also helped preserve much of Oneida culture. Its Oneida Language and Folklore Project gathered hundreds of stories and material about their culture.

In the period between World War II and The Sixties the US government followed a policy of Indian Termination for its Native citizens. In a series of laws, attempting to mainstream tribal people into the greater society, the government strove to end the U.S. government's recognition of tribal sovereignty, eliminate trusteeship over Indian reservations, and implement state law applicability to native persons. In general the laws were expected to create taxpaying citizens, subject to state and federal taxes as well as laws, from which Native people had previously been exempt.

On August 13, 1946, the Indian Claims Commission Act of 1946, Pub. L. No. 79-726, ch. 959, was passed. Its purpose was to settle for all time any outstanding grievances or claims the tribes might have against the U.S. for treaty breaches, unauthorized taking of land, dishonorable or unfair dealings, or inadequate compensation. Claims had to be filed within a five-year period, and most of the 370 complaints that were submitted were filed at the approach of the 5-year deadline in August, 1951.