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Winnebago tepee

   Of course, they never surrendered their distinctive Siouan language, but it was not uncommon for a Winnebago to speak several languages besides his own (Algonquin, French, and English). Originally a farming people, the Winnebago lived in large semi-permanent villages. Unlike the Algonquin, they followed the Siouan pattern and did not usually separate to small, scattered hunting camps during winter - a possible link to the earlier Mississippian Culture. The Algonquin influence, however, revealed itself in the eight types of lodge (round or oval) the Winnebago are known to have used during the historic period. This included the tepee for temporary shelter on buffalo hunts. Burials varied according to clan with the dead either buried or placed on a platform.

Hochunk eagl dancer

   After the French and Great Lakes Algonquin victory over the Iroquois in 1701, many of the refugee tribes left Wisconsin allowing the Winnebago to reclaim some of their homeland - especially after the near-annihilation of the Fox during the Fox Wars (1712-16 and 1728-37). The Winnebago spread south afterwards along the Wisconsin and Rock Rivers into southern Wisconsin eventually claiming a portion of northwestern Illinois. American settlement of Wisconsin began after 1825, and the Winnebago rapidly lost territory. By 1840 the Winnebago had ceded their Wisconsin land and agreed to move to northeast Iowa. Despite this many Winnebago remained in Wisconsin defying efforts to remove them. During the next 50 years, the the Winnebago were shifted around like a piece of unwanted baggage. In 1848 the Winnebago were sent north to the Crow Wing River in Minnesota. Eight years later, they were moved south to Blue Earth county, Minnesota where they remained until after the Sioux uprising in 1862. Although the Winnebago had no part in this, the government deported them to South Dakota and placed with the Nakota (Yankton Sioux).

Winnebago woman

   At this point, the Winnebago began to rebel. Many left the reservation and returned to Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin. The others fled down the Missouri to the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska. In 1865 the government accepted this and created a separate Winnebago Reservation (40,000 acres) in northeast Nebraska. During their many moves, many Winnebago never left Wisconsin. In addition, some had managed to stay in northeast Iowa and southern Minnesota when the main group was moved. Raided by the Lakota and pressured to allot their reservation, many Winnebago left Nebraska during the 1870s and 80s and went home to Wisconsin. The government would send them back, but the Winnebago just kept going, and the government finally gave up and purchased land in Wisconsin for the Winnebago. As a result, there are two separate Winnebago tribes today: the Wisconsin Winnebago with 4,400 acres (333 acres tribally owned) scattered in small holdings across ten counties; and the Nebraska Winnebago who still have 27,500 acres from their 1865 reservation, 3,100 belongs to the tribe.

Hochunk today

   Estimates of the Winnebago's pre-contact population are usually about 8,000, but it probably was much higher. On Nicollet's second visit to the Winnebago in 1639, he estimated they had 5,000 warriors suggesting a population of 20,000. This higher figure would explain the pre-contact dominance of the region by the Winnebago. It is also more in line with Winnebago's own tradition which says that, due to over-population, several large groups of their people (Otoe, Missouri, and Iowa) left shortly before Nicollet's visit. Whatever their original number, the sudden drop in their population during the next 30 years was one of the most worst experienced by any tribe. When the French returned to Wisconsin in 1665, wars and epidemic had reduced the Winnebago to fewer than 500.

   From the point of near-extinction, the Winnebago began a slow recovery. In 1736 the French said there were about 700, but afterwards they grew rapidly through intermarriage with neighboring Algonquin. While other native populations declined, the Winnebago actually increased. Zebulon Pike made the first American estimate in 1806 - about 2,000, but he probably was too low. In 1825 American Indian agents in Wisconsin gave 5,800, and even after a smallpox epidemic in 1835 killed 25%, this only dropped to 4,500. The first accurate count in 1842 was 2,200 Winnebago living in Iowa near Fort Atkinson. The trouble was no one knew how many Winnebago were still in Wisconsin. Four years later, the government said there were 22 Winnebago bands totaling 4,400 people. By 1848 the figure was back to 2,500. There were 1,756 "official" Winnebago in Minnesota in 1856 - 1,200 of whom were finally settled in Nebraska in 1865.

Winnebago hochunk seal

   The Wisconsin Winnebago (Ho-Chunk Nation) at first actually avoided seeking federal recognition and delayed this until 1963. Tribal headquarters are at Black River Falls with an enrollment close to 5,000. Taken together, there are currently more than 12,000 Winnebago which makes them one of the larger tribes in the United States.

   The seal, which was adopted in 1984, includes two of the most important animals in Native American beliefs, the thunderbird and the bear. The Thunderbird, which is represented by the likeness of an eagle, represents the six upper clans from which all Ho-Chunk chiefs must come. It carries a pipe representing peace which is also what the upper clans represent. The bear stands for the six lower clans. The Bear is the "Chief of the Earth" in Ho-Chunk belief. In the Ho-Chunk society the members of the Bear clan provide the soldiers and the police. They are the maintainers of order. Separating the Thunderbird from the bear is the representation of a warclub. This design was common amongst the many tribes found in the western reaches of the Great Lakes. The war club and peace pipe combination stand for war and peace, as might be expected.

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