The Ho-Chunk Nation (

Ho-Chunk language The Ho-Chunk language (), also known as Winnebago, is the language of the Ho-Chunk people of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. The language is part of the Siouan language family and is closely related to other C ...

: ) is a federally recognized tribe of the

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

with traditional territory across five states in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. The other federally recognized tribe of Ho-Chunk people is the

Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska () is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ho-Chunk, along with the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Tribe members often identify as ''Hoocągra'', meaning "People of the Parent Speech" in their own language. It ...

. The tribe separated when its members were forcibly relocated first to an eastern part of Iowa known as the Neutral Ground, then to Minnesota,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and later to the current reservation in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

.https://www.wpm.edu/index.php/plan-visit/educators/wirp/nations/ho-chunk . Historically, the surrounding

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

tribes referred to them by a term that evolved to Winnebago, which was later used as well as by the French and English. The Ho-Chunk Nation have always called themselves Ho-Chunk. The name ''Ho-Chunk'' comes from the word ''Hocaagra'' (''Ho'' meaning "voice", ''cąk'' meaning "sacred", ''ra'' being a definitive article) meaning "People of the Sacred Voice"..

Government

The Ho-Chunk Nation is headquartered in

Black River Falls, Wisconsin Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,523 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located along the Black River (Wisconsin), Black River and home to the h ...

. With the adoption of its most recent constitution in 1994, which restored the tribe's name for itself, the Ho-Chunk Nation, the modern tribal government structured itself after the federal and state governments, with executive, legislative and judicial branches. Executive and legislative members are elected. All of the tribe's members make up the fourth branch of government, the general council. The nation's current president is Jon Greendeer, alongside vice president Kristin WhiteEagle. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Todd R. Matha, alongside two Associate Justices:

Tricia Zunker A special election was held to fill the remainder of the term in the United States House of Representatives for in the 116th United States Congress. Sean Duffy, the incumbent representative, announced his resignation effective September 23, 20 ...

and David J.W. Klauser. The legislature currently consists of: *Jessika Greendeer (Dist. 1) *Phyllis Smoke (Dist. 1) *Rodney Rave (Dist. 1) *Paul Fox (Dist. 1) *Robert Pilot (Dist. 1) *Stephanie Begay (Dist. 2) *Damian Thundercloud (Dist. 2) *Kristin WhiteEagle (Dist. 2) *Lambert Cleveland, Jr. (Dist. 3) *Sarah Lemieux-WhiteEagle (Dist. 3) *Shelby Visintin (Dist. 3) *Brianna Tahdooahnippah (Dist. 4)

Land base

The Ho-Chunk Nation is considered a "non-reservation" tribe, as members historically had to acquire individual homesteads in order to regain title to ancestral territory. Many tribal members privately own their own land. The tribe oversees and maintains parcels of land placed in Trust as Indian Trust Land as designated by the federal government, Secretary of the Interior and

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

(BIA), spread over

Adams Adams may refer to: * For persons, see Adams (surname) Places United States *Adams, California *Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California * Adams, Decatur County, Indiana *Adams, Kentucky *Adams, Massachusetts, a New England to ...

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

, Crawford,

Dane Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (tribe), an ancient North Germanic tribe Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a lis ...

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, Sauk, Shawano, Vernon, and

Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

counties, Wisconsin. The federal government has granted legal

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

status to some of these parcels, but the Ho-Chunk nation does not have a contiguous reservation in the traditional sense. The nation is actively seeking to reacquire more traditional land and place it into trust status. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Ho-Chunk Nation reservation parcels totaled in 2020, with an additional of

off-reservation trust land In the United States, off-reservation trust land refers to real estate outside an Indian reservation that is held by the Interior Department for the benefit of a Native American tribe or a member of a tribe. Typical uses of off-reservation trus ...

. The combined reservation and off-reservation trust land have a total area of 16.03 square miles (41.51 km²), of which 15.93 square miles (41.27 km²) is land and 0.09 square miles (0.24 km²) is water.

Trust land demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

reports demographics for Ho-Chunk Nation trust lands, but the bureau implemented new privacy protections in 2020 including random variations that may make the reported census figures inaccurate for tribal trust land areas. According to the census of 2020, the total population living on Ho-Chunk Nation Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land was 1,577. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 551 housing units at an average density of . The racial composition was 81.2%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 6.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 10.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 6.0%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. According to the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household located on Ho-Chunk reservation or off-reservation trust land was $42,917, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Male full-time workers had a median income of $41,625 versus $36,458 for female workers. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $18,897. About 19.3% of families and 26.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 84.6% were high school graduates or higher and 9.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher.

Culture

The Ho-Chunk cultivated a variety of agricultural products for subsistence, including corn, squash, beans, and other products. They stored these in fiber bags and pits dug in the ground for winter use. They traveled up the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to hunt both small and large game, crossed the Mississippi to reach the prairies to hunt buffalo, and also fished in nearby rivers and lakes. Dugout canoes found near many small lakes and rivers in the

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

area are prompting new anthropological research projects. The Ho-Chunk held many ceremonies. The major summer ceremonial was the Medicine Dance, which included a secret ceremony for members of the Medicine Dance Society, a religious society open to both men and women, as well as public rituals. The winter feast was a clan ceremony intended to increase war and hunting powers; the spring Buffalo Dance was a magical ceremonial for calling the bison herds. Ho-Chunk women were responsible for growing, gathering and processing food for their families, including agricultural products and a wide variety of roots, nuts and berries, as well as sap from maple trees. In addition, women learned to recognize and use a wide range of roots and leaves for medicinal and herbal purposes. Women also cooked game and prepared food and meals for the hunters to sustain them while traveling. They also tanned the hides to make clothing and storage bags. Ho-Chunk men were hunters as well as warriors in times of conflict. As hunters, they would catch fish by spearing them and clubbing the fish to death. The men would also hunt game such as muskrat, mink, otter, beaver, and deer. Leaders among the men acted in political relations with other tribes. Some men created jewelry out of silver and copper that both men and women would wear. To become men, boys would go through a rite of passage at puberty, fasting for a period, in hopes of acquiring a guardian spirit.

Language

The Ho-Chunk Nation speaks the

(), which is a Chiwere-Winnebago language, part of the

Siouan-Catawban language Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who ...

family. With Hocąk speakers increasingly limited to a declining number of elders, the tribe has created a Language Division within the Heritage Preservation Department aimed at documenting and teaching the language. The division has developed a community outreach program for language revitalization, a Language Apprenticeship Program, and "EeCoonį". This program is operated at Christmas Mountain in Wisconsin Dells; it immerses young children in the language with the help of language instructors, eminent speakers, and language apprentices, among other efforts.

History

Oral history suggests some of the tribe may have been forcibly relocated up to 13 times by the US federal government to steal land through forced treaty cession, losses estimated at 30 million acres in Wisconsin alone. In the 1870s, a majority of the tribe returned to their homelands in Wisconsin. Under the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

, some tribal members gained title to parcels of land. The nation's flag was adopted in 1992. Its five colors (red, white, green, blue, and black) all represent animals of particular clans and have corresponding meanings in the tribe's oral history. The flag features the nation's seal and is surrounded by ornate designs in a field of white, all surrounded by a blue border. Today, the Ho-Chunk Nation owns and operates several casinos, Ho-Chunk Gaming, in Black River Falls,

Baraboo Baraboo ( ) is the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Baraboo River. The population was 12,556 at the 2020 census. The most populous city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo micropol ...

, Nekoosa, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells, and

Wittenberg, Wisconsin Wittenberg is a village in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,015 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Wittenberg. History In 1886, the Wittenberg Indian School was established by the Norwe ...

. They also own numerous restaurants and hotels connected to the casinos, as well as numerous gas stations. The Ho-Chunk Nation is the largest employer in

and Sauk counties, employing roughly 3,100 people. In 2015 the Ho-Chunk Nation passed a resolution amending their constitution to include the

rights of nature Rights of nature or Earth rights is a legal and jurisprudential theory that describes inherent rights as associated with ecosystems and species, similar to the concept of fundamental human rights. The rights of nature concept challenges twentie ...

. By 2020 a working group was determining how to integrate the resolution into their constitution, laws, regulations, and processes.

Notable tribal members

* Glory of the Morning (died c. 1832), tribal leader *

Truman Lowe Truman Tennis Lowe (January 19, 1944 – March 30, 2019) (Ho-Chunk) was an American sculptor and installation artist. A professor of fine art at the University of Wisconsin, Lowe also served as a curator of contemporary art at the National Museu ...

(b. 1944), artist, curator, professor *

Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. (2 July 1925 – 5 November 1950) was a United States Army corporal who was killed in action while serving in the Korean War. Corporal Red Cloud posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions "above and be ...

(1924–1950), U.S. Marine, decorated veteran of the Korean War * Bronson Koenig (b. 1994), point guard, played for the University of Wisconsin Badgers basketball team from 2013-2017. *

Sharice Davids Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American politician, attorney, and former mixed martial artist serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes ...

(b. 1980), member of

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from Kansas' 3rd Congressional District * Sky Hopinka (b. 1984), visual artist and film-maker * John Raymond Rice (1914–1950), U.S. Army sergeant killed in Korean War

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin Native American tribes in Wisconsin Federally recognized tribes in the United States Adams County, Wisconsin Clark County, Wisconsin