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110-687: The Munuscong River is a 31.8-mile-long (51.2 km) river on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States . It is a tributary of Munuscong Lake , which is part of the St. Marys River waterway and an arm of Lake Huron . This article related to a river in Michigan is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan —also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially

220-402: A decline of 3.2% from 2010. According to the 2010 census , 103,211 people live in the 12 towns of at least 4,000 people, covering 96.5 square miles (250 km ). A total of 116,548 people live in the 18 towns and villages of at least 2,000 people, which cover 108.5 square miles (281 km )—less than 1% of the peninsula's land area. Federal censuses indicate that the population of

330-444: A kind of meat turnover originally brought to the region by Cornish miners, is popular among locals and tourists alike. Pasty varieties include chicken, venison, pork, hamburger, and pizza, all of which many restaurants serve. Many restaurants serve potato sausage and cudighi , a spicy Italian meat. Finnish immigrants contributed nisu , a cardamom -flavored sweet bread; limppu , an Eastern Finnish rye bread; pannukakku ,

440-622: A large variety of wildlife. Some of the mammals found in the UP include shrews , moles , mice, white-tailed deer , moose , black bears , cougar , gray and red foxes , wolves , river otters , martens , fishers , muskrats , bobcats , coyotes , snowshoe hares , cotton-tail rabbits , porcupines , chipmunks , squirrels, raccoons , opossum and bats. There is a large variety of birds, including hawks, osprey, owls, gulls, hummingbirds, chickadees, robins (the state bird), woodpeckers, warblers, and bald eagles. In terms of reptiles and amphibians ,

550-592: A law which phased out the Menominee reservation, effectively terminating its tribal status on April 30, 1961. Commonly held tribal property was transferred to a corporation, Menominee Enterprises, Inc. (MEI). It had a complicated structure and two trusts, one of which, First Wisconsin Trust Company, was appointed by the BIA. First Wisconsin Trust Company always voted its shares as a block, and essentially could control

660-680: A line from Lac Vieux Desert to the headwaters of the Montreal River . An 1847 survey established the east branch of the Montreal River as the border. However, the 1908 revision of the Constitution of Michigan specified that the west branch of the Montreal River was the proper border, which would have placed an additional 360 square miles of land on the Michigan side of the border. A 1926 Supreme Court decision awarded this tract of land to Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula contains

770-570: A missionary priest in Michigan, who in his 1878 dictionary wrote: Mishinimakinago; pl. -g. —This name is given to some strange Indians (according to the sayings of the Otchipwes [Ojibwe]), who are rowing through the woods, and who are sometimes heard shooting, but never seen. And from this word, the name of the village of Mackinac , or Michillimackinac , is derived. Maehkaenah is the Menominee word for turtle. In his The Indian Tribes of North America (1952), John Reed Swanton recorded under

880-503: A nickel-copper mine, opened in 2014. Thousands of Americans and immigrants moved to the area during the mining boom, prompting the federal government to create Fort Wilkins near Copper Harbor to maintain order. The first wave were the Cornish from Great Britain, with centuries of mining experience; followed by Irish, Germans , and French Canadians . During the 1890s, Finnish immigrants began settling there in large numbers, forming

990-466: A notable forestry resource and ably manages a timber program. In an 1870 assessment of their lands, which totaled roughly 235,000 acres (950 km ), they counted 1.3  billion standing board feet (3.1 million cubic metres ) of timber. As of 2002 that has increased to 1.7 billion board feet (4.0 million m ). In the intervening years, they have harvested more than 2.25 billion board feet (5.3 million m ). In 1994,

1100-785: A parody of the "Say YES to Michigan" slogan promoted by state tourism officials, shows an outline of the Upper Peninsula and the slogan, "Say ya to da UP, eh!" The dialect and culture are captured in many songs by Da Yoopers , a comedy music and skit troupe from Ishpeming . Newspapers of the Upper Peninsula include The Daily News in Iron Mountain, The Menominee County Journal in Stephenson , The Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, The Daily Press in Escanaba, and

1210-489: A plurality of residents claim Finnish ancestry). With the exhaustion of readily available minerals, the area's economy declined in the 20th century, largely becoming dependent on logging and tourism. The Upper Peninsula contains 29% of the land area of Michigan but only 3% of its total population; at the height of the mining and timber era in the early 20th century it had as much as 11% of the state's population. Residents are nicknamed Yoopers (derived from "UP-ers") and have

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1320-627: A small isolated wigwam . As part of this transition, youth meet individually with Elders for interpretation of their dreams, and to receive information about what adult responsibilities they will begin to take on following their rites of passage. Traditional Menominee diets include local foods such as Allium tricoccum (ramps, or wild garlic). Boiled, sliced potatoes of Sagittaria cuneata are traditionally strung together and dried for winter use. Uvularia grandiflora (bellwort) has historically been used to treat pain and swellings. Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, ssp obtusifolium (rabbit tobacco)

1430-529: A sovereign nation. At the time, the Klamath people in Oregon were the only other tribal group identified for termination. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) believed the Menominee were sufficiently economically self-reliant on their timber industry to be successful independent of federal assistance and oversight. Before termination, they were one of the wealthiest American Indian tribes. In 1954, Congress passed

1540-416: A strong regional identity, enhanced by the perception that the rest of the state neglects them. Proposals have been made to establish the Upper Peninsula as a separate state but have failed to gain traction. Its largest cities are Marquette , Sault Ste. Marie , Escanaba , Menominee , Houghton , and Iron Mountain . Because of the surrounding waters and northern latitude, it receives more snow than most of

1650-549: A territory of about 10 million acres (40,000 km ) in the period of European colonization. They are believed to have been well-settled in that territory for more than 1,000 years. By some accounts, they are descended from the Old Copper Culture people and other indigenous peoples who had been in this area for 10,000 years. Menominee oral history states that they have always been here and believe they are Kiash Matchitiwuk (kee ahsh mah che te wuck) which

1760-459: A total area of 362.8 square miles (939.6 km ), of which 355.5 square miles (920.7 km ) is land and 7.3 square miles (18.9 km ) is water. The small non-reservation parts of the county are more densely populated than the reservation, with 1,223 (28.7%) of the county's 4,255 total population, as opposed to the reservation's 3,032 (71.3%) population in the 2020 census . The most populous communities are Legend Lake and Keshena. Since

1870-420: A tribal constitution in 1976, and elected a new tribal government, which took over from BIA officials in 1979. During the period of termination, when the Menominee individually were subject to state law, in 1963 three members of the tribe were charged with violating Wisconsin's hunting and fishing laws on what had formerly been their reservation land for more than 100 years. The tribal members were acquitted. When

1980-498: A variant on the pancake with a custard flavor; viili (sometimes spelled "fellia"), a stretchy, fermented Finnish milk; and korppu , hard slices of toasted cinnamon bread, traditionally dipped in coffee. Some Finnish foods such as juusto (squeaky cheese, essentially a cheese curd , like Leipäjuusto ) and saunamakkara (a ring-bologna sausage) have become so ubiquitous in Upper Peninsula cuisine that they are now commonly found in most grocery stores and supermarkets. Maple syrup

2090-686: A written constitution establishing an elected government. The tribe took over tribal government and administration from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1979. The Menominee are part of the Algonquian language family of North America, made up of several tribes now located around the Great Lakes and many other tribes based along the Atlantic coast. They are one of the historical tribes of present-day upper Michigan and Wisconsin; they occupied

2200-558: A written constitution. It elects a tribal council and chairman. The Menominee developed the College of Menominee Nation in 1993 and it was accredited in 1998. It includes a Sustainable Development Institute. Its goal is education to promote their ethic for living in balance on the land. It is one of a number of tribal colleges and universities that have been developed since the early 1970s, and one of two in Wisconsin. The nation has

2310-470: Is "Ancient Ones". Their reservation is located 60 miles west of the site of their Creation, according to their tradition. They arose where the Menominee River enters Green Bay of Lake Michigan, where the city of Marinette, Wisconsin , has since developed. Their name for themselves is Mamaceqtaw , meaning "the people". The name "Menominee" is not their autonym . It was adopted by Europeans from

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2420-470: Is a highly prized local delicacy. Fresh Great Lakes fish, such as the lake trout , whitefish , and (in the spring) smelt are widely eaten. There is minimal concern about contamination of fish from Lake Superior waters. Smoked fish is also popular. Thimbleberry jam and chokecherry jelly are a treat. The Upper Peninsula is rich in mineral deposits, including iron, copper, nickel, and silver. Small amounts of gold have also been discovered and mined. In

2530-422: Is also used medicinally. Taenidia integerrima (a member of the parsely family ) is taken as a root infusion for pulmonary troubles, and as chew, the steeped root, for 'bronchial affections'; it is also used as a companion herb in other remedies because of its pleasant smell. The inner bark of Abies balsamea is used as a seasoner for medicines, taking an infusion of the inner bark for chest pain and using

2640-704: Is in Alger County ; Summer Island is Delta County ; and Isle Royale is part of Keweenaw County .The peninsula is divided between the flat, swampy areas in the east, part of the Great Lakes Plain , and the steeper, more rugged western half, called the Superior Upland , part of the Canadian Shield . The rock in the western portion is the result of volcanic eruptions and is estimated to be at least 3.5 billion years old (much older than

2750-494: Is its land area, about 29% of the state. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior , on the east by St. Marys River , on the south by the Niagara Escarpment , Lake Michigan and Lake Huron , and on the west by Wisconsin and (counting the water border on Lake Superior) by Minnesota . It has about 1,700 miles (2,700 km) of continuous shoreline with the Great Lakes . There are about 4,300 inland lakes,

2860-488: Is its northernmost section. About one-third of the peninsula is government-owned recreational forest land today, including the Ottawa National Forest and Hiawatha National Forest . Although heavily logged in the 19th century, the majority of the land was forested with mature trees by the 1970s. There was a boundary dispute over the border with Wisconsin. The northwesternmost portion of the border follows

2970-401: Is popular among students of Michigan Technological University (the university actually owns the mountain). Further up the peninsula in the small town of Lac La Belle is Mt. Bohemia . A skiing purist's resort, Bohemia is a self-proclaimed "experts only" mountain, and it does not groom its heavily gladed slopes. Other ski areas are Pine Mountain located in Iron Mountain, Norway Mountain in

3080-514: The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News . The Mining Journal , based in Marquette, is the only daily newspaper that publishes a Sunday edition, which is distributed, with the exception of Chippewa and eastern Mackinac counties, across the entire UP (the other six days are distributed in its local area only). The Keweenaw Peninsula is home to several ski areas. Mont Ripley , just outside Houghton,

3190-740: The Battle of Mackinac Island . During the ensuing decades, the Menominee were pressured by encroachment of new European-American settlers in the area. Settlers first arrived in Michigan, where lumbering on the Upper Peninsula and resource extraction attracted workers. By mid-century, encroachment by new settlers was increasing. In the 1820s, the Menominee were approached by representatives of the Christianized Stockbridge-Munsee Indians from New York to share or cede some of their land for their use. The Menominee gradually sold much of their lands in Michigan and Wisconsin to

3300-806: The Fox and Kickapoo tribes. All four spoke Anishinaabe languages , part of the Algonquian family. The five principal Menominee clans are the Bear, the Eagle, the Wolf, the Crane, and the Moose. Each has traditional responsibilities within the tribe. With a patrilineal kinship system, traditional Menominee believe that children derive their social status from their fathers, and are born "into" their father's clan. Members of

3410-585: The Green Bay Packers . This is a result of both proximity and the broadcast and print media of the area. The four counties that border Wisconsin are also in the Central Time Zone, unlike the rest of Michigan, which is on Eastern time. In some cases, commercial cartographers draw incorrect maps that inadvertently annex the Upper Peninsula into Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula has a distinctive local cuisine. The pasty (pronounced "pass-tee"),

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3520-670: The Jay Treaty . As an American territory, the Upper Peninsula was still dominated by the fur trade. John Jacob Astor founded the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island in 1808; however, the industry began to decline in the 1830s as beaver and other game were overhunted. When the Michigan Territory was first established in 1805, it included only the Lower Peninsula and the eastern portion of

3630-490: The Ojibwe people , another Algonquian tribe whom they encountered first as they moved west and who told them of the Menominee. The Ojibwe name for the tribe was manoominii , meaning " wild rice people", as they cultivated wild rice as one of their most important food staples . Historically, the Menominee were known to be a peaceful, friendly and welcoming nation, who had a reputation for getting along with other tribes. When

3740-605: The Oneota culture arose in southern Wisconsin between AD 800 and 900, the Menominee shared the forests and waters with them. The Menominee are a Northeastern Woodlands tribe. They were initially encountered by European explorers in Wisconsin in the mid-17th century during the colonial era, and had extended interaction with them during later periods in North America. During this period they lived in numerous villages which

3850-539: The U.P. or Yoop —is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan ; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac . It is bounded primarily by Lake Superior to the north, separated from the Canadian province of Ontario at the east end by the St. Marys River , and flanked by Lake Huron and Lake Michigan along much of its south. Although

3960-566: The United States Court of Claims had drawn opposing conclusions about the effect of the termination on Menominee hunting and fishing rights on their former reservation land. The U.S. Supreme Court determined that the tribe had not lost traditional hunting and fishing rights as a result of termination, as Congress had not clearly ended these in its legislation. The tribe regained federal recognition in 1973 by an act of Congress, re-establishing its reservation in 1975. It operates under

4070-502: The "Wisconsin" section: "Menominee," a band named "Misi'nimäk Kimiko Wini'niwuk, 'Michilimackinac People,' near the old fort at Mackinac, Mich." Michillimackinac is also spelled as Mishinimakinago, Mǐshǐma‛kǐnung, Mi-shi-ne-macki naw-go, Missilimakinak, Teiodondoraghie. The Menominee are descendants of the Late Woodland Indians who inhabited the lands once occupied by Hopewell Indians , the earliest human inhabitants of

4180-546: The 19th century, mining dominated the economy, and the UP became home to many isolated company towns . For many years, mines in the Keweenaw Peninsula were the world's largest producers of copper (see Copper mining in Michigan ). The mines began declining as early as 1913, with most closing temporarily during the Great Depression . Mines reopened during World War II , but almost all quickly closed after

4290-465: The Algonquian branches of Ojibwe and Menominee . They arrived roughly around 800 C.E. and subsisted chiefly from fishing. Early tribes included the Menominee , Odawa , Ojibwe , Nocquet , and Potawatomi . Étienne Brûlé of France was probably the first European to visit the peninsula, crossing the St. Marys River around 1620 in search of a route to the Far East. French colonists laid claim to

4400-516: The Chinese. As the canoe approached the shore, Nicolet put on a silk Chinese ceremonial robe, stood up in the middle of the canoe and shot off two pistols. Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, a French Catholic clergyman, professor, historian, author and explorer, kept a detailed journal of his travels through Wisconsin and Louisiana. In 1721 he came upon the Menominee, whom he referred to as Malhomines ("peuples d'avoines" or Wild Oat Indians), which

4510-649: The French had adapted from an Ojibwe term: After we had advanced five or six leagues, we found ourselves abreast of a little island, which lies near the western side of the bay, and which concealed from our view, the mouth of a river, on which stands the village of the Malhomines Indians, called by our French "peuples d'avoines" or Wild Oat Indians, probably from their living chiefly on this sort of grain. The whole nation consists only of this village, and that too not very numerous. 'Tis really great pity, they being

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4620-461: The French visited for fur trading . The anthropologist James Mooney in 1928 estimated that the tribe's number in 1650 was 3,000 persons. The early French explorers and traders referred to the people as "folles avoines" (wild oats), referring to the wild rice which they cultivated and gathered as one of their staple foods. The Menominee have traditionally subsisted on a wide variety of plants and animals, with wild rice and sturgeon being two of

4730-573: The French were dissatisfied with the British occupation, which brought new territorial policies. Whereas the French cultivated alliances among the Indians, the British postwar approach was to treat the tribes as conquered peoples. In 1763, tribes united in Pontiac's Rebellion to try to drive the British from the area. American Indians captured Fort Michilimackinac , at present-day Mackinaw City , then

4840-474: The Great Lakes, depositing a variety of fresh and salt water fish and invertebrates, most notably the zebra mussel , Dreissena polymorpha . There are also many plant species that have been transported to the Great Lakes, including purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria and Phragmites australis , both of which are considered to be a threat to native hydrophyte wetland plants. The emerald ash borer

4950-537: The Keweenaw Peninsula the snowiest place east of the Rockies . Herman averages 236 inches (5.99 m) of snow every year. Lake-effect snow can cause blinding whiteouts in just minutes, and some storms can last for days. Hancock is found frequently on lists of the snowiest cities in America. The banana belt along the Wisconsin border has a more continental climate since most of its weather does not arrive from

5060-523: The Lake Michigan region. As the Hopewell culture declined, circa A.D. 800, the Lake Michigan region eventually became home to Late Woodland Indians . Early fur traders, coureur-de-bois, and explorers from France encountered their descendants: the Menominee, Chippewa (Ojibwa), Ottawa , Potawatomi , Sauk , Fox , Winnebago , and Miami . It is believed that the French explorer Jean Nicolet

5170-585: The Lower Peninsula are commonly called " trolls " by Upper Peninsula residents, as they live " Under the Bridge ".) This regionalism is not only a result of the physical separation of the two peninsulas, but also the history of the state. Residents of the western Upper Peninsula take on some of the cultural identities of both Wisconsin and Michigan. In terms of sports fandom, residents may support Detroit professional teams or those of Wisconsin—particularly

5280-577: The Toledo Strip to Ohio. A constitutional convention of the state legislature refused, but a second convention, hastily convened by Governor Stevens Thomson Mason , consisting primarily of his supporters, agreed in December 1836 to the deal. In January 1837, the U.S. Congress admitted Michigan as a state of the Union. At the time, Michigan was considered the losing party in the compromise. The land in

5390-510: The U.S. government through seven treaties from 1821 to 1848, first ceding their lands in Michigan. The US government wanted to move them to the far west in the period when Wisconsin was organizing for statehood, to extinguish all Native American land claims. Chief Oshkosh went to look at the proposed site on the Crow River and rejected the offered land, saying their current land was better for hunting and game. The Menominee retained lands near

5500-681: The UP a year-round tourist destination. During the Cold War , the U.P. was home to two U.S. Air Force bases, Kincheloe south of Sault Ste. Marie , and K.I. Sawyer , south of Marquette . Both were bases of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), with B-52H bombers ; Kincheloe closed in 1977, and Sawyer in 1995. In 2004, microbreweries began opening across the Upper Peninsula; 14 opened by 2014, and 23 by 2019. In 2019, their annual economic impact totaled $ 346 million. As of 2018 , three of Michigan's fifty largest breweries were in

5610-652: The UP has common garter snakes , red bellied snakes , pine snakes , northern water snakes , brown snakes , eastern garter snakes , eastern fox snakes , eastern ribbon back snakes , green snakes , northern ringneck snakes , eastern milk snakes (Mackinac and Marquette counties) and eastern hognose snakes (Menominee County only), plus snapping turtles , wood turtles , and painted turtles (the state reptile), green frogs , bullfrogs , northern leopard frogs , and salamanders . Lakes and rivers contain many fish such as walleye , muskie , northern pike , trout , salmon , bullhead catfish , and bass. Invasive species like

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5720-505: The UP, but not elsewhere in the state. Critics of the DNRE's position on the species, including the founder of the MCCR, say that the department is attempting to "avoid paying for a cougar management program". There also many invasive species that are primarily brought in the ballast water of foreign ships, usually from the ocean bordering northeastern Asia. This water is dumped directly into

5830-466: The Upper Peninsula grew throughout the 19th century as European settlers moved into the region, then boomed around the turn of the century, and experienced gradual decline overall during most of the 20th century. The decline was uneven, however: the population in the largest cities – Marquette, Sault Ste Marie, and Escanaba – grew somewhat, while smaller cities and non-urban areas have generally declined in population. The six westernmost counties experienced

5940-476: The Upper Peninsula was described in a federal report as a "sterile region on the shores of Lake Superior destined by soil and climate to remain forever a wilderness." This belief changed when rich mineral deposits (primarily copper and iron) were discovered in the 1840s. The Upper Peninsula's mines produced more mineral wealth than the California Gold Rush , especially after shipping was improved by

6050-486: The Upper Peninsula, particularly near Marquette and the community of Jacobsville . The sandstone was used in many buildings, both locally and around the United States. Since logging of white pine began in the 1880s, timber has been an important industry. Stands of hemlock and hardwood in the western reaches of the forest experienced larger scale selection-cutting beginning in the mid-20th century. Because of

6160-530: The Upper Peninsula. In 1819, the territory was expanded to include the remainder of the Upper Peninsula, all of what later became Wisconsin , and part of Minnesota (previously included in the Indiana and Illinois Territories). When Michigan applied for statehood in the 1830s, the proposal corresponded to the original territorial boundaries. However, there was an armed conflict known as the Toledo War with

6270-629: The Upper Peninsula: Keweenaw Brewing Company , Blackrocks Brewery , and the Ore Dock Brewing Company . There are 15 counties in the Upper Peninsula. State prisons are located in Baraga , Marquette , Munising , Newberry , and Kincheloe . During most of the " System of 1896 ", the Upper Peninsula was overwhelmingly Republican even by the standards of Michigan during this era. However,

6380-473: The Wolf River in what became their current reservation. The tribe originated in the Wisconsin and are living in their traditional homelands. The Menominee Indian Reservation is located in northeastern Wisconsin. For the most part, it is conterminous with Menominee County and the town of Menominee , which were established after termination of the tribe in 1961 under contemporary federal policy whose goal

6490-660: The alewife and sea lamprey can be found in the Great Lakes. The UP also contains many shellfish, such as clams , aquatic snails, and crayfish . The American Bird Conservancy and the National Audubon Society have designated several locations as internationally Important Bird Areas . After being nearly extirpated from the conterminous United States , gray wolves survived in the remote northeastern corner of Minnesota and Ontario. The repopulation of wolves in this region has occurred naturally as they have expanded their territory after they were protected under

6600-440: The available habitat and the number of this predators the region can support. The department supports delisting as wolves have met and exceeded the biological recovery goals that would necessitate protection. There is significant discussion and studies over the presence of eastern cougars in the UP. Historically, the last of the species, or subspecies, was extirpated near Newberry in 1906, although there have been sightings of

6710-609: The claim finally in 1952, awarding the Menominee $ 8.5 million. The Menominee were among the Native Americans who participated as soldiers in World War II with other United States citizens. During the 1950s, federal Indian policy envisioned termination of the "special relationship" between the United States government and those tribes considered "ready for assimilation " to mainstream culture. The Menominee were identified for termination, which would end their status as

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6820-470: The conversion: to provide their own services or contract for them as a county. Menominee County was the poorest and least populated Wisconsin county during this time, and termination adversely affected the region. Tribal crafts and produce alone could not sustain the community. As the tax base lacked industry, the Menominee could not fund basic services. MEI funds, which totaled $ 10 million in 1954, dwindled to $ 300,000 by 1964. Struggling to manage financially,

6930-408: The county (and its geographically equivalent town) are not considered as part of the reservation. These amount to 1.14% of the county's area, so the reservation is essentially 98.86% of the county's area. The largest of these pockets is in the western part of the community of Keshena, Wisconsin . According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the combined Menominee reservation and off-reservation trust land have

7040-411: The creatures over the years since. These reports increased in number over the first decade of the 21st century. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) formed a four-person team to investigate sightings in the state. The biologists with the DNRE currently do not believe that there is a breeding population anywhere in the state, rather that the sighted animals are visitors to

7150-410: The daylight hours are short—around 8 hours between sunrise and sunset in the winter. Lake Superior has the greatest effect on the area, especially the northern and western parts. Lake-effect snow causes many areas to get in excess of 100–250 inches (2.5–6.4 m) of snow per year—especially in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Gogebic County, and to a lesser extent Baraga, Marquette and Alger counties, making

7260-471: The eastern U.S. The heavily forested land, soil types, short growing season, and logistical factors (e.g. long distance to market, lack of infrastructure) make the Upper Peninsula poorly suited for agriculture. The region is home to a variety of wildlife, including moose, wolves, coyotes, deer, foxes, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, eagles, hawks, and owls. The first known inhabitants of the Upper Peninsula were tribes speaking Algonquian languages , specifically

7370-555: The eastern portion) and contains the region's ore resources. Banded-iron formations were deposited 2 billion years ago; this is the Marquette Range Supergroup . A considerable amount of bedrock is visible. Mount Arvon is within the Huron Mountains , located in Marquette and Baraga counties. The Porcupine Mountains are located in the extreme northwest of the peninsula. All of the higher areas are

7480-418: The federal Endangered Species Act in 1978. Michigan Department of Natural Resources's principal goals set in 2008 included maintaining a viable wolf population, facilitating wolf-related benefits, minimizing wolf-related conflicts and conducting “science-based and socially acceptable management of wolves”. Michigan removed wolves from the state's list of threatened and endangered species in 2009 having reached

7590-561: The federal level as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (1993–1997). In 1970 the activists formed a group called the Determination of Rights and Unity for Menominee Stockholders (DRUMS). They blocked the proposed sale of tribal land by MEI to non-Indian developers, and successfully gained control of the MEI board of directors. They also persuaded Congress to restore their status as a federally recognized sovereign tribe by legislation. At

7700-634: The finest and handsomest men in all Canada. They are even of a larger stature than the Potawatomi . I have been assured that they had the same original and nearly the same languages with the Noquets , and the Indians at the Falls. Initially neutral during the War of 1812 , the Menominee later became allied with the British and Canadians, whom they helped defeat American forces trying to recapture Fort Mackinac in

7810-539: The highly seasonal climate and the short growing season, agriculture is limited in the Upper Peninsula, though potatoes, strawberries and a few other small fruits are grown. Tourism has become the main industry in recent decades. In 2005, ShermanTravel, LLC listed the Upper Peninsula as #10 in its assessment of all travel destinations worldwide. The peninsula has extensive coastline on the Great Lakes, large tracts of state and national forests, cedar swamps, more than 150 waterfalls, and low population densities. Because of

7920-443: The lakes. Summers tend to be warmer and winter nights much colder. Coastal communities have temperatures tempered by the Great Lakes. In summer, it might be 10 °F (5.6 °C) cooler at lakeside than it is inland, and the opposite effect is seen in winter. The area of the Upper Peninsula north of Green Bay through Menominee and Escanaba (and extending west to Iron River) does not have the extreme weather and precipitation found to

8030-536: The land in the 17th century, establishing missions and fur trading posts such as Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace . Following the end of the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years' War ) in 1763, the territory was ceded to Great Britain . Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest European settlement in Michigan and the site of Native American settlements for centuries. American Indian tribes formerly allied with

8140-1141: The largest decrease, from a 1920 population of 153,674 to a 2020 population of 79,392. Many ghost towns exist in the region . A " [REDACTED] " indicates an increase in population from the previous census, and a " [REDACTED] " indicates a decrease in population from the previous census. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has three state universities ( Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Technological University in Houghton, and Northern Michigan University in Marquette) and five community colleges ( Bay Mills Community College in Brimley, Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba and Iron Mountain, Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, and Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College in Baraga). Early settlers included multiple waves of people from Nordic countries , and people of Finnish ancestry make up 16% of

8250-412: The largest of which is Lake Gogebic , and 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of streams. Its lowest elevation is along the shoreline of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, averaging 577 feet (176 m) above sea level. Its highest elevation is Mount Arvon , at 1,979 feet (603 m). Michigan's Upper Peninsula is bounded on land by Wisconsin to the southwest and west; and in territorial waters by Minnesota to

8360-407: The late 20th century, the members of the reservation have operated a number of gambling facilities in these communities as a source of revenue. They speak English as well as their traditional Menominee language, one of the Algonquian languages . Current population of the tribe is about 8,700. The Menominee have traditionally practiced logging in a sustainable manner. In 1905, a tornado swept through

8470-405: The liquid balsam pressed from the trunk for colds and pulmonary troubles. The inner bark is used as a poultice for unspecified illnesses. Gum from plant blisters is also applied to sores. The tribe originally occupied a large territory of 10 million acres (40,000 km ) extending from Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Historic references include one by Father Frederic Baraga ,

8580-423: The majority of the peninsula switched to Eastern Standard Time; only the four western border counties of Gogebic , Iron , Dickinson , and Menominee continue to observe Central Standard Time. Daylight saving time is observed peninsula-wide. The Upper Peninsula remains a predominantly rural region. As of the 2020 census the region had a population of 301,608, just more than 3% of Michigan's total population and

8690-434: The management operations of MEI. At the request of the Menominee, the state organized the former reservation as a new county, so they could maintain some coherence. The tribe was expected to provide county government functions but it became a colony of the state. The change resulted in diminished standards of living for the members of the tribe; officials had to close the hospital and some schools in order to cover costs of

8800-471: The most important. Wild rice has a special importance to the tribe as their staple grain, while the sturgeon has a mythological importance and is often referred to as the "father" of the Menominee. Feasts are still held annually at which each of these is served. Menominee customs are quite similar to those of the Chippewa (Ojibwa), another Algonquian people. Their language has a closer affinity to those of

8910-788: The north. The coldest temperature officially recorded in the Upper Peninsula was −48 °F (−44 °C) in Humboldt in January 1915. Like the entire Lower Peninsula, most of the Upper Peninsula is within the Eastern Time Zone . However, the four counties bordering Wisconsin are in the Central Time Zone . In 1967, when the Uniform Time Act came into effect, the Upper Peninsula went under year-round Central Standard Time, with no daylight saving time . In 1973,

9020-559: The opening of the Soo Locks in 1855 and docks in Marquette in 1859. The Upper Peninsula supplied 90% of America's copper by the 1860s. It was the nation's largest supplier of iron ore by the 1890s, and production continued to a peak in the 1920s but sharply declined shortly afterward. The last copper mine closed in 1995, although the majority of mines had closed decades before. Some iron mining continues near Marquette. The Eagle Mine ,

9130-513: The peninsula extends as a geographic feature into the state of Wisconsin , the state boundary follows the Montreal and Menominee rivers and a line connecting them. First inhabited by Algonquian-speaking native American tribes, the area was explored by French colonists, then occupied by British forces, before being ceded to the newly established United States in the late 18th century. After being assigned to various territorial jurisdictions, it

9240-422: The peninsula's population. The Finnish sauna and the concept of sisu have been adopted widely by residents of the Upper Peninsula. The television program Finland Calling was for a long period the only Finnish-language television broadcast in the United States; it aired on Marquette station WLUC-TV from March 25, 1962, until March 29, 2015. Finlandia University , America's only college with Finnish roots,

9350-594: The population plurality in the northwestern portion of the peninsula. In the early 20th century, 75% of the population was foreign-born. From 1861 to 1865, 90,000 Michigan men fought in the American Civil War , including 1,209 from the Upper Peninsula. Houghton County contributed 460 soldiers, while Marquette County sent 265. Including extensive parts of the Great Lakes, the Upper Peninsula contains about 36,139 square miles (93,600 km ) of total area. Of that, about 16,378 square miles (42,420 km )

9460-698: The presence of cougars at the time. These results were disputed in a second journal article in 2007 by other researchers from Eastern Michigan University and the U.S. Forest Service . A citizen's group, the Michigan Citizens for Cougar Recognition (MCCR), independently tracked sightings and in 2009 listed Delta County as the location with the greatest number of reports in the state. The DNRE verified five sets of tracks and two trail camera photos in Delta, Chippewa, Marquette, and Menominee counties since 2008. DNRE officials acknowledge that there are cougars in

9570-474: The principal fort of the British in the Michilimackinac region, as well as others and killed hundreds of British. In 1764, they began negotiations with the British, resulting in temporary peace and changes in objectionable British policies. Although the Upper Peninsula nominally became United States territory with the 1783 Treaty of Paris , the British did not give up control until 1797 under terms of

9680-524: The recovery goal of 200 for five consecutive years in 2004. In 2012, FWS issued a rule that classified and delisted a sub-species called the Western Great Lakes wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. Michigan had a legal wolf hunt in 2013. Wolves were returned to the list of federally threatened species in December 2014 as a result of a court ruling. The Department of Natural Resources found that an equilibrium has been achieved between

9790-823: The region's politics shifted from 1924, when the Upper Peninsula was the strongest region in Michigan for the insurgent candidacy of Progressive Robert M. La Follette . Menominee Federal recognition of the tribe was terminated in the 1960s under policy of the time which stressed assimilation. During that period, they brought what has become a landmark case in Indian law to the United States Supreme Court , in Menominee Tribe v. United States (1968), to protect their treaty hunting and fishing rights. The Wisconsin Supreme Court and

9900-515: The remnants of ancient peaks, worn down over millions of years by erosion and glaciers. The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost part of the peninsula (not counting Isle Royale, which is politically part of the UP). It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, part of a larger region of the peninsula called the Copper Country . Copper Island

10010-642: The reservation, downing a massive amount of timber. Because the Menominee-owned sawmills could not harvest all the downed timber before it decomposed, the United States Forest Service became involved in managing their forest. Despite the desire of the tribe and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. for sustainable yield policy, the Forest Service conducted clear-cutting on reservation lands until 1926, cutting 70 percent of

10120-515: The salable timber. The Department of the Interior regained control of the territory, as it holds the reservation in trust for the Menominee. During the next dozen years, it reduced the cutting of salable timber to 30 percent, which allowed the forest to regenerate. In 1934, the Menominee filed suit in the United States Court of Claims against the Forest Service, saying that its policy had heavily damaged their resource. The court agreed and settled

10230-650: The same clan are considered relatives, so must choose marriage partners from outside their clan. Ethnologist James Mooney wrote an article on the Menominee which appeared in Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), incorrectly reporting that their descent and inheritance proceeds through the female line. Such a matrilineal kinship system is common among many other Native American peoples, including other Algonquian tribes. Traditional Menominee spiritual culture includes rites of passage for youth at puberty . Ceremonies involve fasting for multiple days and living in

10340-498: The same time, President Richard Nixon encouraged a federal policy to increase self-government among Indian tribes, in addition to increasing education opportunities and religious protection. He signed the bill for federal recognition of the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin on December 22, 1973. The sovereign tribe started the work of reorganizing the reservation, which they re-established in 1975. Tribal members wrote and ratified

10450-517: The skiing, camping, boating, fishing, snowmobiling, hunting, and hiking opportunities, many Lower Peninsula and Wisconsin families spend their vacations in the UP, and tourists visit from Detroit, Chicago, Grand Rapids , Milwaukee , and other metropolitan areas. The opening of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957 (see below) has made the Upper Peninsula easily accessible to tourists from the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Michigan, and has helped make

10560-503: The southwestern corner of this area to create a separate reservation for the Stockbridge and Lenape (Munsee) tribes, who had reached the area as refugees from New York state. The latter two tribes have the federally recognized joint Stockbridge-Munsee Community . After the tribe had regained federal recognition in 1973, it essentially restored the reservation to its historic boundaries in 1975. Many small pockets of territory within

10670-720: The state and federal courts brought the issue to the United States Supreme Court. In 1968 the Supreme Court held that the tribe retained its hunting and fishing rights under the treaties involved, and the rights were not lost after federal recognition was ended by the Menominee Termination Act, as Congress had not clearly removed those rights in its legislation. This has been a landmark case in Indian law, helping preserve Native American hunting and fishing rights. The tribe operates according to

10780-678: The state appealed the decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the Menominee tribe no longer had hunting and fishing rights due to the termination act of Congress in 1954. Due to the state court's ruling, the tribe sued the United States for compensation for the value of the hunting and fishing rights in the U.S. Court of Claims , in Menominee Tribe v. United States (1968). The Court ruled that tribal members still had hunting and fishing rights, and that Congress had not abrogated those rights. The opposite rulings by

10890-557: The state of Ohio over the location of their mutual border. Meanwhile, the people of Michigan approved a constitution in May 1835 and elected state officials in late autumn 1835. Although the state government was not yet recognized by the United States Congress , the territorial government effectively ceased to exist. President Andrew Jackson 's government offered the remainder of the Upper Peninsula to Michigan if it would cede

11000-563: The state. As late as January 2007, the DNRE's official position was that no cougars lived in Michigan. Several residents in the state disagree with both current and previous positions on the part of the DNRE. Researchers at Central Michigan University and the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy in 2006 published the findings of a study using DNA analysis of fecal samples taken in the Upper and Lower peninsulas that showed

11110-707: The town of the same name, and the Porcupine Mountains Ski Area located in Ontonagon. Houghton is where professional ice hockey was first started in 1904. As of 2018, the western Upper Peninsula is home to about 173,887 people, while the eastern Upper Peninsula is home to about 133,499 people, a total of 307,386—only about 3% of the state's population—living in almost one-third of the state's land area. Residents are known as Yoopers (from "UP-ers"), and many consider themselves Yoopers before they consider themselves Michiganders . (People living in

11220-579: The war ended. The last copper mine in the Copper Country was the White Pine mine , which closed in 1995. Marquette County sits along the Marquette Iron Range , which sent out a significant portion of the iron ore mined in the United States for many years. As of 2020 , Marquette County is home to one remaining iron ore mine and one nickel and copper mine. From approximately 1870 to 1915, about 32 quarries mined Jacobsville Sandstone in

11330-709: The west, Ontario to the west, north and east, and the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin extends into Lake Michigan east of the western Upper Peninsula. Five Michigan Upper Peninsula counties include nearby major islands: Mackinac Island , Round Island and Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron are in Mackinac County ; Sugar Island and Neebish Island in the St. Marys River , and Drummond Island in Lake Huron are in Chippewa County ; Grand Island

11440-484: The western UP a prominent part of the midwestern snowbelt . Records of 390 inches (9.9 m) of snow or more have been set in many communities in this area. The Keweenaw Peninsula averages more snowfall than any other location east of the Mississippi River . Because of the howling storms across Lake Superior, which cause dramatic amounts of precipitation, it has been said that the lake-effect snow makes

11550-422: The white-dominated MEI proposed in 1967 to raise money by selling off former tribal lands to non-Native Americans, which resulted in a fierce backlash among the Menominee. It was a period of Indian activism, and community members began an organizing campaign to regain political sovereignty as the Menominee Tribe. Activists included Ada Deer , an organizer who would later become an advocate for Native Americans at

11660-509: Was assimilation. The tribe regained its federally recognized status and reservation in 1975. The reservation was created in a treaty with the United States signed on May 12, 1854, in which the Menominee relinquished all claims to the lands held by them under previous treaties, and were assigned 432 square miles (1,120 km ) on the Wolf River in present-day Wisconsin. An additional treaty, which they signed on February 11, 1856, carved out

11770-475: Was first reported in the UP at Brimley State Park and is considered to be a serious ecological threat to the habitat and economy. The Upper Peninsula has a humid continental climate ( Dfb in the Köppen climate classification system). The Great Lakes have a great effect on the larger part of the peninsula. Winters tend to be long, cold, and snowy for most of the peninsula, and because of its northern latitude,

11880-403: Was granted to the newly formed state of Michigan as part of the settlement of a dispute with Ohio over the city of Toledo . The region's exploitable timber resources and the discovery of iron and copper deposits in the 19th century brought immigrants, especially Finnish , French Canadian , Swedish , Cornish , and Italian (the peninsula includes the only counties in the United States where

11990-522: Was located in Hancock, but has shut down as of spring 2023. Street signs in Hancock appear in English and Finnish to celebrate this heritage. Other sizable ethnic communities in the Upper Peninsula include French-Canadian , German, Cornish , Italian, and Ojibwe ancestry. People from the Upper Peninsula speak a dialect influenced by Scandinavian and French-Canadian speech. A popular bumper sticker,

12100-437: Was the first non-Native American to reach Lake Michigan in 1634 or 1638. In 1634, the Menominee and Ho-Chunk people (along with a band of Potawatomi who had recently moved into Wisconsin) witnessed the French explorer Jean Nicolet 's approach and landing. Red Banks, near the present-day city of Green Bay, Wisconsin , later developed in this area. Nicolet, looking for a Northwest Passage to China, hoped to find and impress

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