The walking trails around the park celebrate the tribe’s relationship to the river and to the sturgeon, with iconographic light plinths representing the 34 clans of the Menominee tribe.
Seven Generations proposed a restoration of a historic waterfall and the creation of a surrounding nature park for the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin. The existing site is bare except for a viewing platform over waterfalls at the north end of the site.
Sturgeon are historically important to the region - before the implementation of dams, lake sturgeon would travel 135 miles along the Wolf River from the Keshena Falls area to lake Winnebago, where the largest population of lake sturgeon resides. For 100 years, sturgeon were absent from Keshena Falls, but a recent local movement is repopulating the river, allowing new sturgeon to spawn at Keshena Falls each year. The park is designed to celebrate this renewal, and create a place for local people and visitors to gather.
The design of the park is determined by cultural elements central to the Menominee Tribe. This includes a mile’s worth of walking trails, a pavilion for gathering, bathrooms, playground area, and organized parking. The walking trails around the park celebrate the tribe’s relationship to the river and to the sturgeon, with iconographic light plinths representing the 34 clans of the Menominee tribe spread equally along the path. The trails are circuitous, mimicking the twists and turns of the Wolf River and allowing for a more intimate experience with nature. The central gathering pavilion and other buildings are rounded at the top to represent the backs of the sturgeon as they make their way down the river.
Sturgeon are historically important to the region - before the implementation of dams, lake sturgeon would travel 135 miles along the Wolf River from the Keshena Falls area to lake Winnebago, where the largest population of lake sturgeon resides. For 100 years, sturgeon were absent from Keshena Falls, but a recent local movement is repopulating the river, allowing new sturgeon to spawn at Keshena Falls each year. The park is designed to celebrate this renewal, and create a place for local people and visitors to gather.
The design of the park is determined by cultural elements central to the Menominee Tribe. This includes a mile’s worth of walking trails, a pavilion for gathering, bathrooms, playground area, and organized parking. The walking trails around the park celebrate the tribe’s relationship to the river and to the sturgeon, with iconographic light plinths representing the 34 clans of the Menominee tribe spread equally along the path. The trails are circuitous, mimicking the twists and turns of the Wolf River and allowing for a more intimate experience with nature. The central gathering pavilion and other buildings are rounded at the top to represent the backs of the sturgeon as they make their way down the river.