Indian tribes lived in this area of Wisconsin for centuries, and in 1634 Jean Nicolet, a French government representative, became the first white man to have contact with them. At that time, the tribes living in central Wisconsin were the Chippewa, Sioux, Sac, Memoninee, and the main tribe of the Dells, the Winnebago. These tribes made artistic pottery, hunted buffalo, raised corn and squash on nearby plains, and fished the river. The Winnebago called the river Meskousing, meaning where the waters water, and the French spelling, Ouisconsin, gave the Wisconsin River and the state their names. The Winnebagos were forced from their lands to Nebraska, but most returned under their last leader, Chief Yellow Thunder, who secured a land grant and settled a homestead a few miles south of the Dells; most Indians residing in the area today are descendants of this tribe. Tribal council meetings and celebrations once took place at the natural amphitheater near Stand Rock, and today Indians of the Dells area perform tribal dances at the Stand Rock Indian Ceremonial. The Dells area also has varied vegetation shaped by many environments: along high cliffs grow white pine, Norway pine, hemlock, black oak, burr oak, poplar, mountain ash, and white birch, with some trees clinging to porous sandstone that lets roots penetrate deeply for water and nutrients. Cool, shaded canyon walls and the moist, porous sandstone of Cold Water Canyon create a protected micro-climate where ferns and mosses thrive, including many plants considered southern outposts of the north woods because they are uncommon elsewhere in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin River is brown because it passes through northern tamarack swamps, where tamarack sap containing tanic acid reacts with the water; the acid is not harmful and is used in suntan lotion, teas, and other household products. The river supports abundant fish including bass, walleyed pike, panfish, and catfish, especially below the dam and north of the Dells, and the region’s summers range from 50 to 90 degrees for four months while winter temperatures fall well below zero and the river freezes with at least 1 foot of ice.