Host: David Zeh
Blog post: Marisa Camacho and Chris Cantwell

Indigenous tribes built mounds honoring animals and spirits that served as ceremonial, spiritual and practical purposes, marking territories and gathering places. Though few remain today, the mounds remain important both to the native tribes who built them, and to the state’s history as a whole. In fact, Wisconsin is home to more effigy mounds than any other state in the United States.

Below is a scan of one of the earliest maps of the Milwaukee area’s mounds. Drawn by Increase Lapham, who host David Zeh discusses in his episode, the map shows just how prominent these earthen works were in the area. Lapham’s labeling of these features as “ancient,” meanwhile, reveals the effort by white settlers to drive native peoples from the land by claiming they had no claim to the present. You can read more about Lapham’s work here.