HOBART, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – On Tuesday, the tribe held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the new Oneida Nation Museum. Officials say the project has been a long time coming.
“It’s very important to be able to house our artifacts and our documents and to be able to display those properly, and have a large enough space to do that. Our current facility is very undersized; I think it was built back in the 1970s,” said Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill. “It’s really reached the end of its life and usefulness as a museum.”
Until the new museum is compete — which is expected to be sometime in 2026 — the current facility in De Pere will remain open.
Hill believes the new location, at the former site of the Woodland Worship Center in Hobart, is a perfect fit.
“I think it’s very important in having it on a very busy section of [Highway] 172, for just being able to locate it and find it, I think is important. Just being down the street from both our government offices and also the Oneida Hotel and Casino, just kind of right in the middle between the two,” he said.
Community gathering space will be an emphasis in the new museum. Hill says it will feature space to hold cultural demonstrations, like for black ash basket making.
At this point, the tribe isn’t sure what will be done with their current museum building after they move into their new facility.