Winnebago

History

The Winnebago tribe is also referred to as the Ho-Chunk Tribe. They trace their origins up into the Great Lakes region. Here they have proof that the tribe lived on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Winnebago had a large economy in which they fished, and hunted. However, their main focus was agriculture. The Winnebago had improved the old techniques to make farming more efficient. With an estimated 8,000 to 20,000 people, the Winnebago started out as the most powerful tribe in their region. During this time period tragedy struck and approximately 500 Winnebago warriors were drown at sea during a storm. Next, a strange disease, thought to be small pox, raged through the village. Because this strange disease had killed so many of them the remaining people were angry and started to eat the French and English Settlers. This caused the Winnebago to almost be wiped out in revenge from the white people. This was a devastating time for the Winnebago, as they were fun out of their land they were forced to move inland. After a time the settlers let the Ho-Chunk come back to their traditional lands, however, some wanted to stay in Nebraska. The result was that the two tribes split and the Nebraskan tribe officially changed their tribe name from Ho-Chunk to Winnebago.

Famous Leaders and Events

Red Bird was a very influential leader in the time of the split between the Ho-Chunk and the Winnebago. He was born in 1788 and was a main leader until the break apart between tribes in 1827. They called him red bird because he had a stuffed bird on his shoulder and a red English man's coat. Red Bird made friends with the settlers on the Plains but one day he chose to attack a friends house after being invited in and stabbed an infant. He had don’t this because two of the young men of the tribe had been taken by the local fort's soldiers. Instead of arresting them or trying them in court the soldiers gave them to the local rival tribe the Chippews. The Chippews then clubbed the boys to death as they ran the gauntlet. After the attack on his friends, Red Bird met up with 37 more of his warriors and fled up the river. There they attacked a boat before finally turning themselves in. The warriors then went on trial and all were convicted. Red Wing and his followers sat in prison awaiting their death sentence when Red Wing died in 1928, and a few months later those who had been convicted with him were pardoned.

Religious Customs

The Winnebago believe in a higher power and a higher god than any of us can understand. They do dances and celebrations as shows of respect for mother earth. They do a medicine dance in summer and a winter festival. You have to pay to do the medicine dance. It is much more than a dance. They consider it a secret society that you have to somehow buy yourself into. For the winter feast they will make special foods to honor the gods. The main way they celebrate these occasions is by doing dances like the buffalo dance or the mystery dance./p>

Fun Fact of the Day

Unlike most Tribes of the time, the Winnebago were permanent settlers and built real houses in their villages, along with the tribal council building and the sweat lodge.