The Forest County Potawatomi Community has purchased nearly 300 acres of land near Oconomowoc, previously owned by a local Boy Scouts council.
The Waukesha County property is located in the village of Summit between Interstate 94 and Silver Lake. Potawatomi spokesperson George Ermert confirmed that a June 1 filing in the Waukesha County Register of Deeds that the Potawatomi tribe paid $6.5 million for 294.3 acres. The Forest County Potawatomi operate the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley.
Three Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America previously operated the Indian Mound Scout Reservation camp on the site. Three Harbors is one of 248 local Boy Scouts chapters in the U.S. It continues to operate Cap Oh-Da-Ko-Ta near Burlington.
Three Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America executive Andrew Hardin said in an emailed statement that the Boy Scouts recently ended camp operations at the Indian Mound Reservation in 2022. The Trustees of the Milwaukee Boy Scout Fund, which is the legal entity that owns that site, sold the property June 1.
“The decision to sell the camp was a necessary and important step as we support survivors of abuse in Scouting and continue our important mission. Three Harbors Council came to this decision after a comprehensive review of our two camp properties. The camp sale will ensure that we are in the best position to serve youth and families in southeastern Wisconsin for many years to come,” Hardin added in the email statement.
The former camp is part of the Potawatomi’s treaty homelands.
“While our reservation today is in Forest County, the Potawatomi continue to have a strong connection to our treaty homelands in southeast Wisconsin. Places like Waukesha, Oconomowoc and Muskego are all named after Potawatomi words, and all places our Tribe considers home,” Forest County Potawatomi chairman James Crawford said in the release. “We are excited about the opportunity to acquire this property and enhance our presence on our treaty homelands.”
The village of Summit planning development reported that as of Thursday, no application has been filed with the village for reuse or rezoning of the property. The tribe has no official reported plans for the property.
“We look forward connecting with Village of Summit officials and the community to discuss any future plans for the property,” Crawford added in the release.
This is not the first land acquisition from the Potawatomi in recent months. In late March, the Forest County Potawatomi purchased 23 acres of land in Kenosha County west of Interstate 94. The area is close to a site that the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and Hard Rock International are looking to potentially build a casino and entertainment center.
