The Omaha Reservation ( Omaha–Ponca : Umoⁿhoⁿ tóⁿde ukʰéthiⁿ ) of the federally recognized Omaha tribe is located mostly in Thurston County, Nebraska , with sections in neighboring Cuming and Burt counties, in addition to Monona County in Iowa . As of the 2020 federal census, the reservation population was 4,526. The tribal seat of government is in Macy . The villages of Rosalie , Pender and Walthill are located within reservation boundaries, as is the northernmost part of Bancroft . Due to land sales in the area since the reservation was established, Pender has disputed tribal jurisdiction over it, to which the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 2016 that "the disputed land is within the reservation’s boundaries."
85-553: The Ho-Chunk , also known as Hocąk , Hoocągra , or Winnebago are a Siouan -speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin , Minnesota , Iowa , and Illinois . Today, Ho-Chunk people are enrolled in two federally recognized tribes , the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska . Historically, the surrounding Algonquin tribes referred to them by
170-475: A different analysis of the phonemic system of Proto-Siouan, which appears below: In Siouanist literature (e.g., Rankin et al. 2015), Americanist phonetic transcriptions are the norm, so IPA * ʃ is Americanist *š, IPA *j is Americanist *y, and so on. The major change to the previously-proposed system was accomplished by systematically accounting for the distribution of multiple stop series in modern Siouan languages by tracing them back to multiple stop series in
255-559: A model for the Dawes Act of 1887, which authorized the similar allotment of land on reservations nationwide. An additional act on March 3, 1893, allotted most of the remaining Omaha tribal land to individual women and children who had been left out of the 1882 legislation. The sale of land on the reservation has led to numerous jurisdictional disputes between the Omaha Nation and the white-led government of Thurston County , which
340-689: A permanent reservation . The Omaha Nation chose an area around the Blackbird Hills and obtained the President's approval on May 11, 1855. In a treaty on March 6, 1865, the Omaha Nation agreed to sell the northern part of the reservation to the United States for the use of Ho-Chunk refugees from Crow Creek, South Dakota who became the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska , establishing the Winnebago Reservation just north of
425-553: A postal address of Sloan , Iowa, as rural addresses are normally covered by the nearest post office. The 2000 census reported a population of 2,588 people living on these lands. The largest community is the village of Winnebago , with others in Emerson and Thurston , Nebraska. In 2006 their enrolled population was estimated at 4,000. The federally recognized Omaha also have a reservation in Thurston County. Together,
510-599: A reflex of [w], [b], [mb], or [p]. The actual phonetic value of these obstruents is an issue of some debate, with some arguing that they arise through geminated *w+*w or *r+*r sequences or a laryngeal plus *w or *r. Previous work on Proto-Siouan only posited single vowel length. However, phonemic vowel length exists in several Siouan languages such as Hidatsa , Ho-Chunk , and Tutelo . Rankin et al. (2015) analyze numerous instances of long vowels as present due to common inheritance rather than common innovation. The five oral vowels and three nasal vowels posited by earlier scholars
595-700: A reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa. The Winnebago Indian Reservation lies primarily in the northern part of Thurston and a small part of Dixon counties in Nebraska, with an additional portion in Woodbury County , Iowa. A small plot of off-reservation land of 116.75 acres (0.4725 km) is in southern Craig Township in Burt County , Nebraska. The total land area is 457.857 km (176.78 sq mi). They refer to themselves as Hoocąk nįšoc haci meaning "sacred voice people living on
680-472: A rite of passage at puberty: they fasted for a period during which they were expected to acquire a guardian spirit; without it, their lives would be miserable. Besides having a guardian spirit, men would also try to acquire protection and powers from specific spirits, which was done by making offerings along with tobacco. For example, a man would not go on the warpath without first performing the "war-bundle feast", which contained two parts. The first part honored
765-523: A storm on Lake Winnebago during a failed campaign against the Meskwaki , while yet another says it was in a battle against the Sauk . Even with such a serious loss of warriors, the historian R. David Edmunds notes that it was not enough to cause the near elimination of an entire people. He suggests two additional causes. The Winnebago apparently suffered from a widespread disease, perhaps an epidemic of one of
850-533: 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". Their name comes from oral traditions that state they are the originators of the many branches of
935-443: 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. The maple sap was used to make syrup and candy. Women also processed and cooked game, making dried meats combined with berries to sustain their families when traveling. Tanned hides were used to make clothing and storage bags. They used most parts of
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#17327768624111020-633: A written constitution and is governed by an elected council. As of 2023, the current president is Jon Greendeer. Since the late 20th century, the tribe operates six casinos in Wisconsin, in order to raise funds: In February 2013, the Beloit Common Council sold land to the Ho-Chunk Nation for a proposed casino. The council has used revenues to enhance infrastructure, healthcare, and educational support for its people. In 1988,
1105-485: Is entirely within the Omaha and Winnebago reservations. Special legislation in 1916 empowered the county to assess property tax on Omaha allotments, forcing a large number of tribal members to sell or mortgage their allotment land to outsiders in order to pay back taxes. The county continued to tax tribal trust land until the 1970s, when federal courts ruled that the tribe could not be taxed without its consent. According to
1190-518: Is expanded to include a distinction between short and long vowels. The proposed Proto-Siouan vowel system appears below: The Yuchi isolate may be the closest relative of Sioux–Catawban, based on both sound changes and morphological comparison. In the 19th century, Robert Latham suggested that the Siouan languages are related to the Caddoan and Iroquoian languages . In 1931, Louis Allen presented
1275-533: Is shown below: With respect to vowels, five oral vowels are reconstructed: /*i, *e, *a, *o, *u/ and three nasal vowels /*ĩ, *ã, *ũ/ . Wolff also reconstructed some consonantal clusters /*tk, *kʃ, *ʃk, *sp/ . Collaborative work involving a number of Siouanists started at the 1984 Comparative Siouan Workshop at the University of Colorado with the goal of creating a comparative Siouan dictionary that would include Proto-Siouan reconstructions. This work yielded
1360-547: Is strictly only a large bay in lake Huron. It is called by others, the lake of the stinkards, not because it is salt like the water of the Sea—which the Savages call Ouinipeg, or stinking water—but because it is surrounded by sulphurous soil, whence issue several springs which convey into this lake the impurities absorbed by their waters in the places of their origin. Nicolas Perrot was a 17th-century French trader who believed that
1445-600: Is within the reservation's boundaries. In December 2006, the Omaha Tribe issued notices to the seven liquor stores in Pender (which has a population of 1,000), as well as those in Rosalie and Walthill, Nebraska , informing them that as of January 1, 2007, the merchants would have to pay the Omaha Tribe liquor licensing fees and a 10 percent sales tax to continue to operate within the reservation. The executive director of
1530-521: Is working on language restoration and has developed a Hoocąk-language iOS app and online dictionary. The Ho-Chunk speak a Siouan language , which they believe was given to them by their creator, Mą’ųna (Earthmaker). Their native name is Ho-Chunk (or Hoocạk), which has been variously translated as "sacred voice" or "People of the Big Voice", meaning mother tongue , as in they originated the Siouan language family. Neighboring Siouan tribes refer to
1615-597: The Algonquian peoples returned to their homelands to the east. The Ho-Chunk were then relieved of that pressure on their territory and after 1741, most returned inland. From a low of perhaps less than 500, the population gradually recovered, aided by intermarriage with neighboring tribes and some of the French traders and trappers. A count from 1736 gives a population of 700; in 1806, they numbered more than 2,900. A census in 1846 reported 4,400 people but by 1848, there were reportedly 2,500. Like other Native American tribes,
1700-569: The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin . The Ho-Chunk in Nebraska have gained independent federal recognition as a tribe and have a reservation in Thurston County . The Ho-Chunk Nation now has a constitution that reinforces its sovereign abilities to negotiate with the US government. Waukon and Decorah , county seats of Allamakee and Winneshiek County, Iowa , respectively, were named after the 19th-century Ho-Chunk Chief Waukon Decorah . Before
1785-526: The Iowa , Missouria , and Otoe tribes, moved south and west because the reduced range made it difficult for such a large population to be sustained. Nicolet reported a gathering of approximately 5,000 warriors as the Ho-Chunk entertained him. Historians estimate that the population in 1634 may have ranged from 8,000 to more than 20,000. Between that time and the first return of French trappers and traders in
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#17327768624111870-595: The Omaha Reservation in Nebraska; The Winnebago Reservation was founded for the Ho-Chunk in Nebraska in 1865. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin is considered a "non-reservation" tribe, as members historically had to acquire individual homesteads in order to regain title to ancestral territory; they hold land in more than 13 counties in Wisconsin and have land in Illinois. The federal government has granted legal reservation status to some of these parcels, but
1955-519: The Pacific Ocean . They hoped it indicated a passage to China via the great rivers of the Midwest. Before Europeans ventured into Ho-Chunk territory, the Ho-Chunk were known to hunt, farm, and gather food from local sources, including nuts, berries, roots, and edible leaves. They knew what the forest and river's edge had to give and both genders had a role in making best use of resources. With
2040-651: The Siouan language . The Ho-Chunk claim descendancy from both the effigy mound-building Late Woodland Period cultures and the successor Oneota culture; they say their ancestors built the thousands of effigy mounds through Wisconsin and surrounding states. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Ho-Chunk were the dominant tribe in its territory in the 16th century, with a population estimated at several thousand. They lived in permanent villages of wigwams and adopted cultivated corn, squash, and beans; they gathered wild rice, hunted woodland animals and used canoes to fish. Before
2125-622: The United States Census Bureau , the reservation has a total area of 309.99 square miles (802.9 km ), of which 307.03 square miles (196,500 acres; 795.2 km ) is land and 2.96 square miles (7.7 km ) is water. Due to allotments in the late nineteenth century, much of the reservation is no longer tribally-owned. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs , the Omaha Nation's trust land amounts to 27,828 acres (43.481 sq mi; 112.62 km ), or about 14.2% of
2210-604: The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska . This tribe is headquartered in Black River Falls, Wisconsin . Formerly known as the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe , it changed its name to "Ho-Chunk Nation" to take back the traditional Siouan name. Ho-Chunk usually call themselves Hoocąk waaziija haci meaning "sacred voice people of the Pines". They also call themselves wąąkšik – "people". They are the larger of
2295-669: The Wisconsin River and to the Rock River in Illinois . The oral history also indicates that in the mid-16th century, the influx of Ojibwe peoples in the northern portion of their lands caused the Ho-Chunk to move to the south of their territory. They had some friction with the tribes of the Illinois Confederacy as well as fellow Chiwere -speaking peoples splitting from the Ho-Chunk. These groups, who became
2380-431: The 17th century before their major losses. At that time, the matriarchs of a clan would name its chief and they could reclaim the position if they disapproved of his actions. The Ho-Chunk may have shifted to the patrilineal system due to marriage into other tribes or under the influence of the male-oriented fur trade. Today there are two federally recognized tribes of Ho-Chunk people, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and
2465-410: The 17th century to a low of perhaps 500 individuals. This has been attributed to casualties of a lake storm, epidemics of infectious disease, and competition for resources from migrating Algonquian tribes. By the early 1800s, their population had increased to 2,900, but they suffered further losses in the smallpox epidemic of 1836. In 1990 they numbered 7,000; current estimates of total population of
2550-728: The 7,192 tribal members as of May 2011, 5,042 lived in Wisconsin. The tribes own 4,602 acres (18.625 km) scattered across parts of 12 counties in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota. The largest concentrations are in Jackson , Clark , and Monroe counties in Wisconsin. Smaller areas lie in Adams , Crawford , Dane , Juneau , La Crosse , Marathon , Rock , Sauk , Shawano , and Wood counties in Wisconsin. The Ho-Chunk Nation also owns land in Lynwood, Illinois . The Ho-Chunk Nation established
2635-478: The Algonquian terms referred to saltwater seas, as these have a distinctive aroma compared with freshwater lakes. An early Jesuit record says that the name refers to the origin of Le Puans near the saltwater seas to the north. When the explorers Jean Nicolet and Samuel de Champlain learned of the "sea" connection to the tribe's name, they were optimistic that it meant Les Puans were from or had lived near
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2720-464: The BIA to accept surplus lands in trust on behalf of tribes. Finally, through a special act of congress, the Ho-Chunk Nation took control of the 1500 acre parcel in 2015. This is regarded as the first time that the United States' military has ever returned land to an indigenous people. Today, the Ho-Chunk Nation is restoring the prairie that was present at the site before European settlement. The tribe has
2805-463: The European infectious diseases . They had no immunity to the new diseases and suffered high rates of fatalities. Ho-Chunk accounts said the victims turned yellow, which is not a trait of smallpox . Historians have rated disease as the major reason for the losses in all Native American populations. Edmunds notes as a third cause of the population decline the following historic account: decimation by
2890-600: The Ho-Chunk "had one of their main villages on the west bank of the Mississippi River ", and at the mouth of the Watab River in what is now Sartell, Minnesota . The Long Prairie Reservation was dissolved in 1855, and its residents were moved to Blue Earth County, Minnesota . While relating a May 1860 series of raids and revenge killings between the Chippewa and Dakota peoples in which one Ho-Chunk warrior
2975-666: The Ho-Chunk Nation filed a timely claim for transfer of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP), which was to be declared surplus under federal regulations. As part of their former traditional territory, the property holds historical, archeological, sacred, and cultural resources important to their people. It is a 1500-acre parcel in Sauk County, Wisconsin . Between 1998 and 2011, the Army spent millions of dollars in environmental assessments and cleanup to prepare
3060-638: The Ho-Chunk by translations of their name into the their language, such as Hotúŋe in the Iowa-Otoe language ) or Hotháŋka in the Dakota language . The term "Winnebago" is a term used by the Potawatomi , pronounced as "Winnipego". The Jesuit Relations of 1659–1660 said: He started, in the month of June of the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-eight, from the lake of the Ouinipegouek, which
3145-421: The Ho-Chunk have been systematically removed from their homelands, many now occupied by other tribes. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, which at one time consisted primarily of tribal members spread over 13 counties of Wisconsin, have a historical territorial claim in an area encompassed by a line from Green Bay to Long Prairie to St. Louis to Chicago . Some in the federal and state governments have undermined
3230-471: The Ho-Chunk land claims; however, repatriation activities document where many villages once stood. Siouan languages Siouan ( / ˈ s uː ən / SOO -ən ) or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains , Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Authors who call
3315-406: The Ho-Chunk nation does not have a contiguous reservation in the traditional sense. While related, the two tribes are distinct federally recognized sovereign nations and peoples, each with its own constitutionally formed government and completely separate governing and business interests. Since the late 20th century, both tribal councils have authorized the development of casinos . The Ho-Chunk Nation
3400-584: The Ho-Chunk suffered great losses during the smallpox epidemics of 1757–58 and 1836. In the 19th-century epidemic, they lost nearly a quarter of their population. Today the Ho-Chunk population is about 12,000. The Black Hawk War of 1832 was fought largely on Ho-Chunk land. In early 1832, White Cloud invited the Sauk band to live in the Rock River band's Illinois villages. About 1,200 Ho-Chunk, Fox, Kickapoo, and others came, from locations such as Saukenuk on
3485-508: The Illinois Confederacy. The Ho-Chunk had been helped at one time by many of their enemies, in particular the Illinois Confederacy, during their time of suffering and famine , aggravated by the loss of their hunters. The Winnebago then attacked the Illinois Confederacy. Enraged, additional Illinois warriors retaliated and killed nearly all the Ho-Chunk. After peace was established between the French and Iroquois in 1701, many of
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3570-574: The Iowa reservation, where there was little food. The arrivals included Black Sparrow Hawk , who had been a leading warrior of the British Band during the War of 1812 . Through a series of moves imposed by the U.S. government in the 19th century, the tribe was relocated to reservations increasingly further west: in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota , and finally Nebraska . Oral history suggests some of
3655-622: The Missouri River". The Iowa portion was originally west of the Missouri River and within Nebraska boundaries. After the United States Army Corps of Engineers changed the course of the river, some of the reservation land was redefined as falling within the boundaries of Iowa. The tribe successfully argued that the land belonged to them under the terms of the deed prior to diversion of the river. This land has
3740-660: The Native American tribes occupy the entire land area of Thurston County. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska has a written constitution and is governed by an elected nine-person council. Since 1992 the Winnebago tribe has owned and operated the WinnaVegas Casino on its lands in Iowa. The tribe legalized alcohol sales to keep liquor tax revenue, earmarked for supporting individuals and families affected by alcoholism. More than 60% of federally recognized tribes in
3825-607: The Nebraska Liquor Commission. While offering an opinion, he said the tribal boundary was a federal jurisdictional issue. In April 2007, liquor merchants in Pender (later joined by the village) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the tribe's authority to demand the liquor taxes, based on their contention that Pender was outside the reservation boundaries. In October 2007 the US District Court ordered
3910-506: The Nebraska State Liquor Commission said that he would be consulting with the state attorney general on the issue. Ben Thompson, an Omaha attorney who represents the tribe, notes that it has the legal right to establish such laws within the reservation. The Nebraska Attorney General offered the opinion that the Omaha Tribe had the authority to regulate liquor sales on its reservation and it did not interfere with
3995-474: The Nebraska state attorney general noted its opinion, based on Congressional laws and a field ruling during the Ronald Reagan administration, that Pender was outside the reservation boundaries. It also noted that ultimately this was a matter of federal jurisdiction. There have been continuing issues related to tribal jurisdiction in Pender and other areas along its western boundary. For instance, in 2003
4080-959: The Neutral Ground Reservation in eastern Iowa, where they faced hostile conditions between the warring Dakota people and Sauk peoples. They were removed from Iowa in 1848 into Minnesota, where they were moved twice from Todd County, Minnesota to Blue Earth County, Minnesota . After the Dakota War of 1862 and tensions created by the hate group Knights of the Forest , about 2,000 Ho-Chunk were interned at Camp Porter in Mankato before being expelled from Minnesota into Crow Creek, South Dakota in 1863. The Ho-Chunk often nonviolently resisted removal by staying home, or simply returning home, rather than engaging in uprisings. Poor conditions at Crow Creek led many Ho-Chunk to leave for
4165-696: The Ohio River Valley, but across the Appalachian Plateau and into the Piedmont regions of present-day Virginia and the Carolinas. Some of these groups migrated or were displaced great distances following European contact, ending up as far afield as present-day Ontario and southern Mississippi. Collectively, Siouan languages of Appalachia and the Piedmont are sometimes grouped under the term Tutelo , Tutelo-Saponi, or Yesah (Yesa:sahį) as
4250-540: The Omaha Reservation. The Omahas later conveyed an additional 12,348 acres of timber land to the Winnebago Reservation through an act of Congress on June 22, 1874, and a deed dated July 31, 1874. This reduced the Omaha Reservation to its present size. Federal legislation in the late nineteenth century caused the reservation to be allotted, ultimately enabling white settlers to buy most of
4335-467: The Omaha treaty with the US government in 1865. It holds that although Congress authorized land sales in this area, it did not diminish the jurisdiction of the tribe within the reservation boundaries. "Under Supreme Court precedent, only Congress can diminish a reservation." Asked for its opinion on a related matter related to the Omaha Tribe's law that liquor merchants on the reservation had to pay tribal license fees and sales taxes (see section below),
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#17327768624114420-566: The US government removed the Ho-Chunk from their native land in Wisconsin, the tribe consisted of 12 clans (see table). In pre-contact Ho-Chunk society, clans were typically associated with specific social roles; for instance, the Thunderbird Clan was the clan from which chiefs were appointed, while the Bear Clan enforced discipline within the community and oversaw prisoners. The clans were associated with animal spirits representing
4505-532: The US government removed the Ho-Chunk from their native land in Wisconsin, the tribe consisted of 12 clans with specific roles often assigned to clans. Wars with the Illinois Confederacy and later wars with the Ojibwe , Potawatomi , Meskwaki , and Sauk peoples pushed them out of their territories in eastern Wisconsin and Illinois, along with conflicts with the United States such as Winnebago War and Black Hawk War . The Ho-Chunk suffered severe population loss in
4590-401: The basis of linguistic evidence, that Catawban was divergent enough from the other Siouan languages, including neighboring Siouan languages of the Piedmont and Appalachia, to be considered a distinct branch. Voegelin proposes that Biloxi, Ofo and Tutelo consistute one group which he terms Ohio Valley Siouan . This group includes various historical languages spoken by Siouan peoples not only in
4675-411: The changing seasons, Ho-Chunk families moved from area to area to find food. For example, many families returned to Black River Falls, Wisconsin , to pick berries in the summer. Ho-Chunk women were responsible for growing, gathering, and processing food for their families, including the cultivation of varieties of corn and squash, in order to have different types through the growing season; and gathering
4760-482: The eastern portion of the reservation into individual allotments for Omaha tribal members, while authorizing the sale of land west of the Sioux City and Nebraska Railroad to settlers and speculators. Fletcher personally oversaw the allotments, allocating 76,810 acres (310.8 km ) to 954 tribal members and leaving about 55,000 acres (220 km ) in tribal ownership. The 1882 act on the Omaha Reservation served as
4845-539: The end of the Late Woodland period as well as hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants. They cultivated wild rice ( Zizania spp.) and gathered sugar from sugar maple trees. European contact came in 1634 with the arrival of French explorer Jean Nicolet . He wrote that the Winnebago/Ho-Chunk occupied the area around Green Bay of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, reaching beyond Lake Winnebago to
4930-789: The entire family Siouan distinguish the two branches as Western Siouan and Eastern Siouan or as "Siouan-proper" and "Catawban". Others restrict the name "Siouan" to the western branch and use the name Siouan–Catawban for the entire family. Generally, however, the name "Siouan" is used without distinction. Siouan languages can be grouped into Western Siouan languages and Catawban . The Western Siouan languages are typically subdivided into Missouri River languages (such as Crow and Hidatsa ), Mandan , Mississippi River languages (such as Dakota , Chiwere - Winnebago , and Dhegihan languages ), and Ohio Valley Siouan languages ( Ofo , Biloxi , and Tutelo ). The Catawban branch consists of Catawban and Woccon . Charles F. Voegelin established, on
5015-400: The first list of systematic correspondences between a set of 25 lexical items in Siouan and Iroquoian. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wallace Chafe further explored the link between Siouan and Caddoan languages. In the 1990s, Marianne Mithun compared the morphology and syntax of all the three families. At present, this Macro-Siouan hypothesis is not considered proven, and the similarities between
5100-576: The game for tools, binding, clothing, and coverings for dwellings. They were responsible for the survival of the families, caring for the children as well as elders. The main role of the Ho-Chunk man was as a hunter—and a warrior when needed. Leaders among the men interfaced with other tribes. As hunters, they speared fish and clubbed them to death. The men also hunted game such as muskrat, mink, otter, beaver, and deer. Some men learned to create jewelry and other body decorations out of silver and copper, for both men and women. To become men, boys would go through
5185-435: The judge ordered a temporary stay on the merchants' paying the liquor sales tax. In January 2012, the plaintiffs in Pender v. Omaha Tribe filed a request with the Omaha Tribal Courts for a summary judgment due to the length of time the case had taken. The defendants had requested that no hearing be held before June 2012. The plaintiffs had submitted a report to them by an expert witness on transactions related to Pender and
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#17327768624115270-400: The land on the reservation. An act on June 10, 1872, authorized the survey and sale of land on the western end of the reservation, but the property initially failed to attract buyers, resulting in the sale of only 300.72 acres (1.2170 km ) the first year. Through the lobbying efforts of anthropologist Alice Cunningham Fletcher , Congress passed another act on August 7, 1882, that divided
5355-450: The language historically spoken by the Monacan , Manahoac , Haliwa-Saponi , and Occaneechi peoples. Proto-Siouan is the reconstructed ancestor of all modern Siouan languages. There is a certain amount of comparative work in Siouan–Catawban languages. Wolff (1950–51) is among the first and more complete works on the subject. Wolff reconstructed the system of proto-Siouan, and this was modified by Matthews (1958). The latter's system
5440-433: The late 1650s, the population was reduced drastically. Later reports were that the Ho-Chunk numbered only about 500. When numerous Algonquian tribes migrated west to escape the aggressive Iroquois tribes in the Beaver Wars , they competed for game and resources with the Ho-Chunk, who had to yield to their greater numbers. The reasons historians give for the reduction in population vary, but they agree on three major causes:
5525-402: The loss of several hundred warriors in a storm on a lake, infectious disease epidemics after contact with Europeans, and attacks by the Illinois Confederacy. The warriors were said to be lost on Lake Michigan after they had repulsed the first attack by invading the Potawatomi from what is now Door County, Wisconsin . Another says the number was 600. Another claim is that the 500 were lost in
5610-446: The lower 48 states have legalized alcohol sales. In 1994 the tribe established Ho-Chunk, Inc., an economic development corporation that now employs 1400 people. Its success has earned the tribe small business organization awards. It has initiated a strong housing construction program in collaboration with federal programs. Its leaders were featured on Native American Entrepreneurs in 2009 on PBS . According to Gordon Thunder (Wakąja),
5695-502: The night-spirits and the second part honored the Thunderbird spirit. The blessings these spirits gave the men were embodied in objects that together made the war-bundle. These objects could include feathers, bones, skins, flutes, and paints. Ho-Chunk oral history says they have always lived in their current homelands of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Their Siouan language indicates common origin with other peoples of this language group. They say their ancestors built
5780-399: The parties first to take their challenge to the Omaha Tribal Courts, as part of the tribal exhaustion doctrine, and denied the plaintiffs' request for dismissal. Judge Richard Kopf said he may not be bound by the tribal court, but wanted to hear their opinion. He required the parties to report back to him regularly until a ruling was made by the Omaha Tribal Courts. While the case was pending,
5865-412: The population was 4.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race. Boundary claims and areas of jurisdiction have continued to be issues for the Omaha Indian Reservation. In the late nineteenth century, Congress authorized sales of land to non-Omaha in the western portion of the reservation, where European-American farmers had settled. Due to the sales and federal legislation subsequent to the treaty establishing
5950-406: The property for transfer. In 1998 the Secretary of the Interior had issued a letter to claim the land on behalf of the Ho-Chunk but in 2011, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) refused to accept the property. It was unwilling to conduct an environmental assessment due to cost. In 2012 the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) passed a resolution in support of the Ho-Chunk and to encourage
6035-436: The proto-language. Previous analysis posited only a single stop series. Many of the consonant clusters proposed by Wolff (1950–1951) can be accounted for due to syncopation of short vowels before stressed syllables. For example, Matthews (1958: 129) gives *wróke as the proto-form for 'male.' With added data from a larger set of Siouan languages since the middle of the twentieth century, Rankin et al. (2015) give *waroː(-ka) as
6120-517: The reconstructed form for 'male.' Unlike Wolff and Matthew's proposals, there are no posited nasal consonants in Proto-Siouan. Nasal consonants only arise in daughter languages when followed by a nasal vowel. In addition, there is a set of sounds that represent obstruentized versions of their corresponding sonorants. These sounds have different reflexes in daughter languages, with *w appearing as [w] or [m] in most daughter languages, while *W has
6205-407: The reservation, a Nebraska state court in 2000 ruled that the western boundary of the reservation ended at railroad tracks east of Pender, Nebraska. The Omaha Tribe contends that Pender is within tribal jurisdiction, as Congress did not change the boundaries of reservation, which includes most of Thurston County. The tribe says that the state does not have the power to redefine the boundary set by
6290-572: The thousands of effigy mounds through Wisconsin and surrounding states during the Late Woodland period . In the Terminal Late Woodland Period , the practice of building effigy mounds abruptly ceased with the appearance of the Oneota Culture. The Ho-Chunk claim descendancy from both the effigy mound-building Late Woodland cultures and the successor Oneota Culture. The tribe historically adopted corn agriculture at
6375-429: The three families may instead be due to their protolanguages having been part of a sprachbund . Omaha Reservation The reservation was established by a treaty at Washington, D.C., dated March 16, 1854. By this treaty, the Omaha Nation sold the majority of its land west of the Missouri River to the United States, but was authorized to select an area of 300,000 acres (470 sq mi; 1,200 km ) to keep as
6460-501: The total reservation land area. As of the census of 2020 , the population of the Omaha Reservation was 4,526. The population density was 14.7 inhabitants per square mile (5.7/km ). There were 1,563 housing units at an average density of 5.1 per square mile (2.0/km ). The racial makeup of the reservation was 47.6% Native American , 47.5% White , 0.3% Asian , 0.2% Black or African American , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 1.6% from other races , and 2.7% from two or more races. Ethnically,
6545-429: The traditional responsibilities within the nation; each clan had a role in the survival of the people. Like other Native Americans, the Ho-Chunk had rules generally requiring people to marry outside their clans. The kinship system was based in the family and gave structure to descent and inheritance rules. Although the tribe is patrilineal today, anthropologists believe they may have had a matrilineal kinship system in
6630-499: The tribal police tried to stop non-Omaha people from entering the reservation from Pender. The tribe negotiated with the state in 2003–2004 related to its policing functions in this area, but the parties signed no agreement. Prior to this period, the state generally had policing functions on the roads and in Pender. On March 22, 2016, the United States Supreme Court held, in a unanimous decision , that Pender
6715-488: The tribe may have been forcibly relocated up to 13 times by the federal government to steal land through forced treaty cession, losses estimated at 30 million acres in Wisconsin alone. The Ho-Chunk often nonviolently resisted removal by staying home, or simply returning home, rather than engaging in uprisings. The Winnebago ceded lands in Wisconsin in 1829, 1832 and 1837; further removal attempts occurred in Wisconsin in 1840, 1846, 1850, and 1873–4. The 1848 removal from Iowa
6800-526: The two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes. The Ho-Chunk have established the Hoocąk Waaziija Haci Language and Culture Division, which has developed materials to teach and restore use of the Hocąk language and other elements of their culture. Among its recent innovations is the development of a Hocąk-language app for the iPhone . The Ho-Chunk have about 200 native speakers among its elders. Of
6885-712: The two tribes are 12,000. Through a series of moves imposed by the U.S. government in the 19th century, the tribe was relocated to reservations increasingly further west: in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota , and finally Nebraska . Oral history suggests some of the tribe may have been forcibly relocated up to 13 times by the federal government through forced treaty cession, losses estimated at 30 million acres in Wisconsin alone (they ceded lands in Wisconsin in 1829, 1832 and 1837; further removal attempts occurred in Wisconsin in 1840, 1846, 1850, and 1873–4). During these removals, bands of Ho-Chunk hid out in Wisconsin rather than be moved. In 1832, other bands of Ho-Chunk were moved to
6970-712: The uprising and its figurehead leader, Chief Little Crow . This had disastrous results for all the Ho-Chunk living in Minnesota. In 1863, the Ho-Chunk were forced to leave Blue Earth County by a secret society organized by local pioneer settlers in Mankato , "The Knights of the Forest", which sent armed men to surround the Ho-Chunks' prime farmland. About 2,000 Ho-Chunk were interned at Camp Porter in Mankato, and thence removed to Crow Creek , Dakota Territory . Poor conditions at Crow Creek led many Ho-Chunk to leave for an Omaha reservation in Nebraska. The Winnebago Reservation
7055-610: Was also killed in Maine Prairie Township , Stearns County, Minnesota , George W. Sweet, a pioneer settler of Sauk Rapids , recalled, "The Winnebagoes were supposed to be a neutral party between the Sioux and Chippewa, but occasionally a Winnebago would join a party of Sioux on a raid against the Chippewas." During the 1862 Dakota War , a very small faction of the Ho-Chunk led by Chief Little Priest joined forces with
7140-657: Was documented by a soldier in Morgan's Mounted Volunteers. About 2,500 people were forced to travel by wagon, on foot, and on horseback from Fort Atkinson, Iowa to Winona, Minnesota , and thence by steamboat to a new Reservation in Todd County, Minnesota , with its agency at Long Prairie, Minnesota Reservation. The Long Prairie Reservation, which was heavily wooded, was more suitable for logging than for farming. Writing in 1915, St. Cloud, Minnesota journalist and local historian William Bell Mitchell recalled that as of 1850,
7225-422: Was founded for the Ho-Chunk in Nebraska in 1865. Following the forced relocations, many tribe members returned to previous homes, especially in Wisconsin, despite the U.S. Army's repeated roundups and forced removals. But the federal government finally allowed the Winnebago to resettle and acquire land in their ancestral homeland in Wisconsin, which eventually received recognition as an official Reservation known as
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