Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Ho-Chunk: Nįįšoc Hoocąk)[4] is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ho-Chunk Native Americans. The other is the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Tribe members often refer to themselves as Hochungra – "People of the Parent Speech". Their language is part of the Siouan family.
Total population | |
---|---|
4,192[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States ( Nebraska)( Iowa) | |
Languages | |
English, Ho-Chunk[2] | |
Religion | |
traditional tribal religion, Native American Church[3] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
other Ho-Chunk people, Otoe, Iowa, and Missouria people[3] |
Reservation
The Winnebago Reservation was established by a treaty on March 8, 1865.[5] It is located in Thurston and Dixon counties, Nebraska, and Woodbury County, Iowa.[6] The reservation is 176.55 square miles (112,990 acres; 457.3 km2),[7] of which 27,637 acres (43.183 sq mi; 111.84 km2) is tribal trust land.[1] In 1990, 1,151 tribal members lived on the reservation.[6]
Government
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is headquartered in Winnebago, Nebraska.[8] The tribe is governed by a democratically elected general council.
The current administration is as follows:
- Chairwoman: Victoria Kitcheyan
- Vice-Chairman: Brian Chamberlain
- Treasurer: Rona Stealer
- Secretary: Lorelei DeCora
- Council Member: Louis Larose
- Council Member: Isaac Smith
- Council Member: Kenny Mallory
- Council Member: Coly Brown
- Council Member: Aric Armell
Language
The Winnebago Tribe speaks English and Ho-Chunk (Hocąk), which is a Chiwere-Winnebago language, part of the Siouan-Catawban language family.[2]
Economic development
Ho-Chunk, Inc. is the tribe's corporation; it provides construction services, professional services, and business and consumer products.[10] The Winnebago Tribe also owns and operates the WinnaVegas Casino Resort, hotel, and Flowers Island Restaurant and Buffet, all located in Sloan, Iowa.[11] Ho-Chunk, Inc. has been recognized several times for exercising good governance and creatively solving issues faced in the tribe. Administered by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at the Harvard Kennedy School, it's been awarded an Honoring Nations award in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2015.[12]
Notable tribal members
- Joba Chamberlain (b. 1985), Major League Baseball pitcher from 2007-2016
- Angel De Cora (1871–1919), artist, educator, and Indian rights activist
- Terri Crawford Hansen (b. 1953), journalist
- Henry Roe Cloud (1884–1950), educator, college administrator, US federal government official, Presbyterian minister; first full-blood Native American to attend Yale College
- Lillian St. Cyr, known as Red Wing (1884–1974), an actress of the silent film era
- Frank LaMere (b. about 1950 – June 16, 2019), activist, advocate, politician
- Renya K. Ramirez (b. 1959), anthropologist, author, and Native feminist[13]
- John Raymond Rice (April 25, 1914 – September 6, 1950), U.S. Army in service of UN Forces in Korean War
- Lexie Wakan LaMere (May 16, 1992 – January 3, 2014), first native to graduate from Senate Page school; youngest delegate in the Nebraska Democratic Party
Notes
- "Winnebago Agency." US Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. Retrieved 11 Sept 2013.
- "Ho-Chunk." Ethnologue. Retrieved 11 Sept 2013.
- Priztker 475
- "Ho-Chunk Dictionary". dictionary.hochunk.org.
- "Treaty with the Winnebago, 1865". Tribal Treaties Database. Oklahoma State University. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- Pritker 477
- "2020 Gazetteer Files". census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- "Tribal Directory." National Congress of American Indians. Retrieved 11 Sept 2013.
- "Winnebago Tribal Council." Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Retrieved 3 Oct 2023.
- "Ho-Chunk, Inc." Retrieved 11 Sept 2013.
- "Winna Vegas Casino." 500 Nations. Retrieved 11 Sept 2013.
- "Winnebago Community Celebrates Ho-Chunk, Inc.'s 25th Anniversary". All Native Group. August 2019.
- Grad, Rachel (21 March 2018). "Professor Digs Into Family History To Tell Story Of Native American Activism". UC Santa Cruz Anthropology Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
References
- Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1
External links
- Official Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska website
- Ho-Chunk, Inc., economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
- Constitution of the Winnebago Tribe, Winnebago Reservation, in the State of Nebraska