Chloris A. Lowe, Jr., Former President, Ho-Chunk Nation
(originally published in the December issue of the "Ho-Chunk Nation")
I recently had the opportunity to visit a very special place in the southwest part of Wisconsin. This is a place where our ancestors lived, a place where they met for very special purposes and a place where they left clear evidence that they had been there...
In the early 1970s some students were hiking near the Wisconsin River, not far from Muscoda, Wisconsin. They came upon a large rock shelter or rock overhang. In this shelter they saw drawings on the walls and ceiling. Thinking they might be old, they told their families. Their families contacted several archaeologists until Robert Salzer, a professor at Beloit College, agreed to research the site. He began working there in 1984. After 12 years, he believes he will still need another 16 years to complete his archaeological study of this place which is now known as the Gottschall Site.
I was interested in visiting this site because I had heard that one of the Ho-Chunk stores about Red Horn was represented in the drawings. I spent several hours there viewing the 40 plus drawings and talking with Dr. Salzer. To date, his study has shown that the drawings were made well over one thousand years ago. The drawings leave no doubt that Ho-Chunk people were, indeed, living in this part of what is now called Wisconsin, long before the coming of the European people.
Dr. Salzer talked of a 10 inch high head carved out of sandstone which was found buried in the shelter. He also talked about several tons of artificial dirt which was made and place there over a 700 year period, from approximately 300 to 1000 A.D. He assumes this dirt, which he calls "anthrosed", is somehow connected to the drawings, because they both appear at about the same time in history.
Needless to say, I was impressed by several things: first, the incredible detailed drawings; second, by the fact our ancestors had left this type of specific information behind and third, but the sense of the sacredness of the site.
As Ho-Chunk people, this place and several others which reveal evidence left by our ancestors, are places we can point to and be proud of. For in these places is our heritage, certainly our past, and perhaps even our future.
It is important to understand less than ten miles from this site is a farm owned by the Nation. On that farm is a series of mounds including an incredibly huge eagle or thunderbird mound.
Further north about 30 miles lies the Kickapoo Valley where the Nation recently worked with the federal government to pass legislation in which up to 1200 acres of this valley will be returned to our people, with additional acreage to be returned in the future. This acreage is being recovered by the Nation at no cost to the land itself. The elders on our traditional tribal court, who recently toured the valley, and the Historic Preservation Program, will assist in placing the valley environs into trust for the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Just this week (Monday, December 2nd) I traveled to a little town on the Mississippi river called Lynxville. It is about 40 miles from the Muscoda farm that we own. I met with the owners who recently purchased property on top of a bluff overlooking the river. I talked with them about the Nation, our history, the removal period of the 1800s, and our current focus on health, housing, education, and a better quality of life for all tribal members. I also talked with them about what the burial mounds mean to us, and how we consider them as sacred. They have agreed to involve the Nation's assistance in the identification and care of the mounds on this land.
Our oral history tells us that we have lived in this part of the world for thousands of years. These three areas which I have just described attest to that fact! We can all certainly take great pride in these places as evidence our ancestors were here.
If there are ways we, as a tribe, can help to preserve these kinds of sacred and historic places, I will do my best to make that happen. As a tribal member, and as your elected President, I believe we can all have a hand preserving and strengthening our people, our culture and our history. Some of us may wish to get involved directly at the Gottschall site, or in the Kickapoo Valley. At the same time, we can all be supportive of these efforts, and we can all certainly take pride in these places as evidence our ancestors were here. Our ancestors left these things so all who followed would know the place of our people here in this land.
I am hopeful that more and more people will begin to recognize our peoples' presence here in this land we now call Wisconsin. Our ancestors have lived here for untold millennia. In the scope of our history this is like a tick of the clock during the passage of one day at a time. It is because of our adaptability as a Native American Nation and People that we still live here, and will continue to live here into the ages.
Although we have individual struggles and struggles as a nation, there are many things we can look to and feel proud about including those things our ancestors have done as well as those things our ancestors have done as well as those things we have accomplished.
article ©1996 Chloris A. Lowe, Jr.