A Brief History of the First Nations of Wisconsin with Aaron Bird Bear

Aaron Bird Bear will join us to explore the rich history of the First Nations of Wisconsin. He will provide an overview of the Native Nations of Wisconsin and examine the profound and lasting impact of Boarding Schools on Indigenous peoples and communities - along with other US Assimilation and Termination policies that criminalized and attempted to eradicate Indigenous languages and cultures in the USA from 1870-1978.

Aaron Bird Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa & Diné - citizen of Three Affiliated Tribes) served as the inaugural Director of Tribal Relations at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2019 until his retirement from the university in 2023. Bird Bear began at UW–Madison in 2000 as the American Indian Student Academic Services coordinator and later served as an assistant dean in the UW-Madison School of Education. From 2018-2023, Bird Bear served as co-Principal Investigator for an educational research project, Indigenous Learning Lab, addressing educational success of Ojibwe youth in Wisconsin. While at UW-Madison, Bird Bear co-created the UW-Madison First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour and WisconsinFirstNations.org to help PK-12 educators teach the 12 Native Nations of Wisconsin. Bird Bear earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington-Seattle and a master’s degree from UW–Madison.