Summary Note: The history of the Ho-Chunk Nation (formerly known as the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe) is a story of faith, perseverance, and vision. Time and again the tribe was challenged by loss of ancestral land, disease, forced removals, and poverty. Under the 1837 Treaty the Winnebago ceded all their land east of the Mississippi. As a result of that treaty, the Winnebago became a wandering people. They were relocated numerous times from southern Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and finally to Nebraska. A group of Winnebago families went back to Wisconsin and homesteaded land along with their non-Indian neighbors. They formed the nucleus of what became the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. The Winnebago remaining in Nebraska became the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. In 1949, the Nebraska and Wisconsin Winnebago joined forces to file a common claim before the U.S. Indian Claims Commission seeking payment on ceded lands. In Wisconsin, the group handling this issue assembled as the acting Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee. By 1961, the acting Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee began working to organize the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe under Section 16 of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, and prepared a number of drafts resulting in the first Wisconsin Winnebago Tribal Constitution. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) undertook a census of tribal members to determine those eligible to vote in the first election under the reorganization. In this election, which took place on January 19, 1963, tribal members ratified the Constitution and Bylaws of the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe with a vote of 514 for and 5 against. The documents were later approved by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. In a 1994 amended version of the Constitution, the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe officially reverted to its original Siouan name, becoming the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.

_{¹ All historical and biographical notes written and revised by Helen Miner Miller and Lois Yellowthunder}

Detailed Note:

This collection relating to the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe is to give honor and glory to the Sovereign GOD for HIS mercy and grace to their prayers for their continued existence. THE MOST HIGH GOD gave to the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe: The Constitution and Bylaws of the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe, January 19, 1963; and the Winnebago Scriptures, 1907. This collection documents the story of the tribe.

The history of the Ho-Chunk Nation is a story of faith, perseverance, and vision. Time and again the tribe was challenged by loss of ancestral land, disease, forced removals, and poverty. At times it seemed like the tribe could not survive: physically, culturally, or spiritually. Yet the spirit of the people prevailed. Historically the Ho-Chunk Nation was a small, cohesive, traditionally oriented tribe with numbers ranging from an estimated 20,000 in past centuries to 500 (due to disease and other impacts of European contact). As of 2010 there were approximately 6500 members (Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin). The tribe placed a strong value on preserving their language and culture. A majority of the Ho-Chunk spoke their language up until the last two generations.

The account of federal acceptance of the Winnebago Constitution under the Indian Reorganization Act and the adoption of the Winnebago Constitution by the tribe documented in this collection is part of this story. The official generated tribal documents are copies released to Helen Miner Miller by the governing body. The original documents remain with the tribe. It is also a story of the combined efforts of a number of remarkable people at the right place and the right time that made this happen.

The first written account of the Winnebago Tribe is found in the reports of Jean Nicolet who established contact with the Winnebago in 1634. At that time the Winnebago were living around Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Siouan-speaking Winnebago were famous as warriors and surrounded by Algonquian-speaking tribes. During the late 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries the Ho-Chunk spread from central and northern Wisconsin into southern Wisconsin, hunting and farming. The tribe had a very sophisticated social and governmental structure comprised of clans each with distinctive functions. As pressure mounted from settlers, a number of treaties were signed (stories are told of the pressure that was exerted on tribal leaders to sign these treaties). Article 1 of the 1837 treaty ceded all the Winnebago land east of the Mississippi (Wilkinson). With that treaty, the Winnebago became a wandering people. They were relocated numerous times from southern Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and finally to Nebraska. The physical and emotional toll on the people was enormous. In spite of these hardships the Winnebago never forgot their native land in Wisconsin, the place of the pines. A group of Winnebago families went back to Wisconsin and homesteaded land along with their non-Indian neighbors. They formed the nucleus of what became the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. The Winnebago remaining in Nebraska became the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. In 1949, the Nebraska and Wisconsin Winnebago joined forces to file a common claim before the U.S. Indian Claims Commission seeking payment on ceded lands. In Wisconsin, the group handling this issue assembled as the acting Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee.

For the first half of the 20th century the Winnebago people in Wisconsin lived in great poverty with only minimal federal assistance, since they were not organized as a tribe under any federal statute. In 1934 the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. William Zimmerman, Jr., Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs summarized the shift in federal policy: “The sale of Indian land was halted, a loan fund created, a movement away from reservation schools to public schools started, and so forth” (31).

Dr. Helen Miner Miller describes the condition of the Winnebago Tribe in Wisconsin during this time: “The tribe had no tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs funds allocated for their use except for rare emergency purposes. We had only recently begun to receive any regular, but still skimpy, aid from state and local welfare agencies. For our livelihood, we did itinerant harvesting and craft work. Our children were often kept from regular school attendance so consequently, the educational level and employability of the tribe was low. A few Winnebago availed themselves of opportunities for skilled trades and advanced education in various professions. The majority of Winnebagos who were fortunate to receive education and training continued to keep the welfare of the less fortunate tribal members in their hearts. They obtained welfare aid from the state and other agencies, worked with mission groups, and contributed from their own incomes to help their relatives. This is inherent in the nature of being a Winnebago.”

Beginning in January 1961, responsible Winnebago individuals wanted to raise their level of living. The Winnebago felt that plans must be made for their own future and to determine how this could be best served. They assembled in council to deliberate strengthening the tribe by unifying under a Winnebago organization. As one participant noted: “We needed to secure a form of tribal government in which all voices will be heard and our common interests protected and advanced. We had great need for knowledge and counsel in order to avail ourselves of the advantages of existing law and practice” (Helen Miner Miller, 2012, 7).

In 1961 the Winnebago Claims Committee was provisionally reconstituted as the acting Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee. The acting Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee began investigating the possibility of organizing under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Meetings were held to explain the process leading to organization under the Indian Reorganization Act and to elicit the wisdom of tribal elders and other tribal members. A subcommittee was formed to begin writing a constitution for approval by the Department of the Interior. After a number of drafts the constitution was submitted to a tribal referendum on January 19, 1963. This is a description of what happened (Historical Background of the Winnebago People, 7):

January 19th dawned cold with drifted snow, Black River Falls experiencing the coldest temperature recorded in the nation during this period. Members of the Business Committee gathered anxiously at the Dells to keep track of returns while other members worked at the various polling places. When all the results came in, 522 votes had been cast! 514 were for organization, 5 against, with 3 ballots invalid for technical reasons. Of the 522 ballots, 171 were absentee votes by mail. This alone was remarkable insofar as people had to request the ballots from the Business Committee and have them notarized before returning them. Requests came from states neighboring Wisconsin and as far away as California. Although the Business Committee had made every effort to notify all the tribe of the referendum by means of official postings of notices and formal meetings, it was obvious that a spontaneous effort to notify everyone had taken place throughout the tribe…(Historical Background of the Winnebago People, 7).

Summary Note: Helen Miner Miller (1925-2022) was an active member of the Wisconsin Winnebago Business Committee, serving as its Secretary, Chairman of its Constitution Subcommittee, and Chairman. She played a major role in the tribe’s drive to organize under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and later participated in tribal governance. She was also instrumental in obtaining and administering a grant to assist in improving the economic situation of tribal members and tribal government: “Contribution of Community Development to the Prevention of Dependency” (U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1962-1966).

Continuing her efforts on behalf of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Dr. Miller compiled the Revised Winnebago Scriptures (2009), in which she sought to “accurately discern the meaning of the Bible and express the formal (exact) equivalence of that meaning in the Winnebago language.” Presenting text in three columns representing the King James Version, the Scriptures in Winnebago (1907), and the merged 1907 Winnebago words and phrases followed by the bracketed English King James Version translation. She aimed to encourage and assist individuals in reading the Scripture in their own language. The Revised Winnebago Scriptures, together with an audio-recording of the Gospel of Mark, have been cataloged separately. For further information about the Revised Winnebago Scriptures, see “The Revised Winnebago Scriptures: Wisconsin Winnebago Documents,” (2011).

Link to Winnebago Documents

Helen Miner Miller held a Doctorate of Education from Northern Illinois University. Her dissertation involved a study of the difference in economic choices of Ho-Chunk and Non-Indian youth.

Personal Note:

In the 20th century, the Winnebagos supported themselves by seasonal work and by hunting. Though life was hard and full of poverty, values, religion, language, and culture were highly valued and intentionally transmitted from one generation to another. As an elder observed:

The experiences, stories, legends, religious teachings, cultural attitudes, and social customs of the Winnebagos were handed down to our children by constant repetition. The stories all had meaning, and moral values were perhaps the foremost teachings within the tribe. This emphasizes the degree to which the Winnebago people, in spite of the encroachments of other influences, have endeavored to preserve their identity.

We forget that distant Ho-Chunk/Wisconsin Winnebago (tribal and English names are used interchangeably) generations had a transcendent God who operates beyond matter, energy, space, and time. In faith the Ho-Chunk prayed for their survival and for the future. If our whole historical perspective lacks an expanded point of view and is limited to the present then distortion will always disorient both life and faith. We live in two worlds: this temporary visible world; and the reality of God in the spiritual world.

The divine reality of the presence of God is here. It must become our foremost point of reference. The doors between the two worlds are always open. This is stated to emphasize the Tribe lived and continues to live in the benevolence of GOD’s love, mercy, and grace. Our eternal destiny all depends on:

Hisgexji [so] Maura [GOD] managre [the world] wogi-xtera [for loved] deshe-sgena [that] Eshana [only] Hinigra [begotten Son] herera [His] wogarna [He gave], higu peshe [that whoever] harna-xgungi [believes in Him] inke d’arnikjanena [should not perish] eshi [but] wankshig-ho-i [life] hisgeja [everlasting] unkjanena [have] (John 3:16 [KJV]).