AJR62,,112023 ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 62 July 17, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives Oldenburg, Baldeh, Joers, O’Connor, Ohnstad, Shankland, Stubbs, Subeck and Tranel, cosponsored by Senators Pfaff, Carpenter, Cowles and Roys. Referred to Committee on Rules.
AJR62,,22Relating to: proclaiming June 17, 2023, Prairie du Chien Day. AJR62,,33Whereas, 350 years ago, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet set out from Michigan to explore the waterways from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River; and AJR62,,44Whereas, Father Marquette was a French-born Jesuit missionary and Joliet was a fur trader and mapmaker; and AJR62,,55Whereas, in 1673, Father Marquette and Joliet led an expedition to map the land and waterways in this region of America for the French; and AJR62,,66Whereas, Native Americans had lived in the area and traveled these waterways for thousands of years prior to Father Marquette and Joliet, and helped them navigate on their expedition; and AJR62,,77Whereas, Father Marquette and Joliet arrived in Prairie du Chien on June 17, 1673, where they entered the Mississippi River and traveled south for hundreds of miles; and AJR62,,88Whereas, Father Marquette and Joliet’s expedition confirmed for the French that it was possible to travel by water from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico; and AJR62,,99Whereas, this confirmation and the information gathered from the expedition led to the establishment of French trading posts across the region, and the settlement of Prairie du Chien and other cities; and AJR62,,1010Whereas, Prairie du Chien will hold a community festival June 16 through June 18 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of this expedition; now, therefore, be it AJR62,,1111Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin Legislature hereby proclaims June 17, 2023, Prairie du Chien Day, in honor of the 350th expedition anniversary.
