Last verified: May 2026
The 11 Federally Recognized Tribes
- Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Bayfield/Ashland)
- Forest County Potawatomi (Crandon; Milwaukee gaming)
- Ho-Chunk Nation (Black River Falls; Wisconsin Dells gaming)
- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Sawyer)
- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Vilas)
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Keshena; ~223,500 acres)
- Oneida Nation (Brown/Outagamie; Green Bay)
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Bayfield)
- St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
- Sokaogon Chippewa Community / Mole Lake Band (Forest County)
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians (Shawano)
The Brothertown Indian Nation also resides in Wisconsin but lacks federal/state recognition.
The Menominee 2015 Precedent
The Menominee Tribe’s 2014-2015 cannabis attempt and the October 2015 federal raid (~30,000 plants destroyed) is the central event in WI tribal cannabis history. Then-Chairman Gary Besaw: "armed federal agents... destroyed our crop." Tribal lawsuit dismissed 2016. The precedent has chilled subsequent tribal experimentation. See Menominee 2015 page.
Oneida Nation — Cautious Interest
The Oneida Nation has signaled future hemp/cannabis interest pending federal clarity. Representative Cathy Bachhuber Guzman-King told FOX 11 the tribe is "very leery of having the federal government come in with armed forces and confiscate anything." The cautious posture reflects the Menominee precedent.
Ho-Chunk, Forest County Potawatomi, Lac Courte Oreilles
Ho-Chunk Nation, Forest County Potawatomi, and Lac Courte Oreilles have informally discussed cannabis but pursued no commercial action. Each tribe operates substantial gaming enterprises (Ho-Chunk has facilities at Wisconsin Dells; Forest County Potawatomi operates Milwaukee gaming) and would face complex compact-renegotiation issues if they pursued commercial cannabis.
Other Tribes
Bad River, Lac du Flambeau, Red Cliff, St. Croix, Sokaogon, and Stockbridge-Munsee have not publicly pursued cannabis programs as of May 2026. Tribal priorities have focused on healthcare, education, language revitalization, and economic development through gaming and hospitality.
Hemp Production by Tribal Members
Some tribal members participate in the 2018 Farm Bill federal hemp framework as USDA-licensed producers. Hemp production on tribal lands operates under USDA Domestic Hemp Production Program oversight. The federal hemp framework creates a more permissive context than the 2015-era cannabis-prohibition context that produced the Menominee raid.
Cultural Foundations of Tribal Posture
Wisconsin tribes have generally been protective of land, water, and natural-resource sovereignty. The Bad River Band’s opposition to the proposed Line 5 oil pipeline through tribal lands is a recent example. Cannabis-policy decisions reflect similar sovereignty-protective posture: tribes are unwilling to risk federal enforcement consequences for cannabis programs in the absence of clear federal authorization.
The Future of WI Tribal Cannabis
Future tribal cannabis programs in Wisconsin likely require:
- Federal Schedule III rescheduling implementation reducing federal enforcement risk.
- Wisconsin state-level legalization creating a regulatory framework for compacts.
- Wisconsin tribal-state cannabis compact authority (Evers proposed in 2025-2027 budget; struck by JFC).
- Federal Farm Bill or successor cannabis framework explicitly authorizing tribal programs.
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org
Related on this site: WI Tribal-State Cannabis Compacts, Send a Message, Contact CannabisWisconsin.org.