Menominee County, Wisconsin  Menominee County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,232 making it the least populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat is Keshena. Menominee is Wisconsin's newest county, having been created in 1959 after the Menominee tribe was terminated by federal law. In 1974, the tribe regained federal recognition and restoration of most of its reservation. Today Menominee County is essentially coterminous with the boundaries of the federally recognized Menominee Indian Reservation. Menominee County is included in the Shawano, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Green Bay-Shawano, WI Combined Statistical Area. The county was created from the northeastern portion of Shawano County on July 3, 1959, in anticipation of the termination of the Menominee Indian Reservation in 1961. The reservation status was restored in 1973, and is now co-extensive with the county. Most of the land within the county boundary is under Federal trust for the exclusive use by enrolled members of the Menominee nation. Scattered parcels that were purchased during termination, as well as many lots around the Legend Lake area in the southeastern part of the county, are the only parts of the county that are privately owned by non-Native Americans. Most of Menominee County's population consists of members of the Menominee nation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Wisconsin by total area. At the 2000 census there were 4,562 people, 1,345 households, and 1,065 families in the county. This total makes it the least-populated county in the state. The population density was 13 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 2,098 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 11.57% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 87.26% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 2.67%. were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 5.0% were of German ancestry. 89.8% spoke English, 7.0% Menominee and 1.6% Hmong as their first language.