>>>>>This thread has certainly made some twists and turns... :o)
>>>>>
>>>>>When I was young I asked my great grandmother if she was Chippewa or Ojibwa or Ojibway. Her response was "We are known by that name. You are all those and you are also the...(insert about 20 words) " :o) She then began to tell us the stories (Anishinaabe, Wenabozho, Wendigo, etc) which are all quite interesting. I took a LOT of teasing in school in Wisconsin for having Indian blood. Back then it was a different world. My grandmother on my dad's side was mean to me as a child (she was mean anyway) because I had Indian blood. She and her husband were Norwegian and very prejudiced. You were around then and since you are from Main, I am sure you saw/heard it as well. Other kids who are not teased though tend to tune it out.
>>>>
>>>>I got teased a lot too, mainly for being smart, handsome and athletic. Wait, no that wasn't me....:{
>>>
>>>When I was 12 we moved to Colorado and I never got teased again. Of course, no one knew our ancestry there and no one cared either. It was 1972 and the vegetarian, health food nuts, new age religion, Boulder party scene was going on. Wisconsinites had a lot of old prejudices back then.
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>>Some of them still do. Very nice people in general, but with a preference for white people.
>
>A lot of that is just plain old ignorance and culture. Many had grandparents who came over from another country and brought their prejudices with them. Other than Milwaukee and the surrounding area, there are not a lot of minorities in Wisconsin. Specific nationalities are considered minorities (and just not up to par) among the older folks - back then it was the Indians, then Poles, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, Germans, etc...It had nothing to do with color and everything to do with culture.

Good point. The only part of Wisconsin I have much familiarity with is southern Wisconsin, whereas you come from and know the northern part of the state. That Hmong incident happened way up there, didn't it? A Hmong immigrant had apparently had enough, climbed a tree, and started shooting white people.