What Do the Ancient Canoes Found in Lake Mendota Tell Us About Indigenous Cultures?
A recreational dive in Lake Mendota led to the discovery of ancient dugout canoes, revealing thousands of years of Indigenous history beneath the water. Maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen and a team of researchers uncovered canoes dating back as far as 5,200 years, working in consultation with Wisconsin’s tribes to ensure responsible stewardship, preservation, and respect for ancestral knowledge tied to inland waterways.
✍️ Reported by @akosuaayisi0906 | @pbswisconsin
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@Shannanigans1234
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Woah
@DavidGreen-n1s
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
I'm 56, it's 2026,….every human on Earth needs only TWO FINGERS to offend every other, and still has no idea what tge other eight are for
@martin8159
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
A very amazing and very fascinating discovery
@MW-xm1rc
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Proof that the University of Wisconsin is built on STOLEN LAND!!!
@rosegeaber7533
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Amazing!❤
@hikerJohn
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Notice that when something like this is found there's immediately someone saying it was THEIR ancestors and not their enemies artifact
@LelandLittleDog-ou4hf
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Saving them for immigrants to paddle home in when they overstay and act crazy?
@Paul11B2P
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Interesting 🤔
@GeorgeForest-e6d
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Wow, what a discovery!
@Resilientstrings67
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
No one is indigenous we are all colonialists the myth of the noble savage is a hoax
@VidarLund-k5q
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Similar boats are found in Eastern Norway. They are about 2300 years old.
@steveatlas3492
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Nobody is actually Native 😊
@JosephAdams-y8q
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
If you’re not going to collect the other 14 canoes they should have at least get small samples for carbon dating.
@duckman5274
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Proves Madison is on stolen land.
@josephuicker3872
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Did wild rice grow on the shores of Lake Mendota when these canoes were made?
@marmadukegrimwig
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Awesome!
@darkhorsejim
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Loved her gut instinct to double check a potential find – she found her ideal job!
@OliverCleveland-uq5el
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Those are Ho-Chunk……. do your research please. bad rivers only connection is that thy also used canoes but they are 5 hours north of the hochunk Madison territory in the video
@sladeb6036
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Are they sure it was there people?
@harrytpk
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
I don’t know why you assume the canoe was made by the Chippewa, Indian tribes moved often, 3000 years ago is a long time how many different Indian tribes inhabited central Wisconsin over the last 3000 years?
@PerryRennich
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
When I worked in Terrace BC there were large trees cut down at the top of small mountains by the indigenous hundreds of years ago. They would cut them in winter and slide them down the snow to the bottom. The ones we saw were the ones they couldnt get out. They made canoes from these large trees, I could only imagine the work to hollow them out with fire and stone axe.
@gebuh1
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Dating wood is pretty difficult, how did you handle that?
@j.b.4340
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Dugout canoe=a log.
@justlookingaround
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
2:21 they left out conducting raids. They always leave that out.
@desertdan
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Why does modern society assume that people living in the area are of the same tribe as the people who made the artifact ?
@johnnyfreedom3437
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
It looks like human beings came here about 30,000 years ago, and that's how long it took for us to destroy the land Water and Air! We are working on cleaning it up now but the billionaires wanted as bad as it was in the 1960s! To preserve our heritage, we got to preserve our life
@tommycrete
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Why would you ask a Bad River Chippewa about dugout conoes that predate their culture being in Wisconsin by a at least 600 years? Add to that, the Chippewa have not and still don't consider Madison area to be part of their territory. Quit treating tribal people as all being the same.
@ronaldrey8474
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Indians would never have allowed white people to be involved so this is pretty amazing.
@JonathanWeir-g6q
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
She seems cool, lucky to be doing what she loves.crazy those canoes are in such good shape.
@swampfizz
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
what they tell us is they traveled, fished, hunted ,gambled on a boat race and collected food from the water…wow. its called "LIVING".
but thanks for the video upload
@Mulus_Mariae_7
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Impressive.
@intheshell35ify
June 10, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Lake Mendoooota is beautiful now, can you imagine what it was like 5200 years ago?!?