Tribal Relations

A view of the front facade of Bascom Hall taken from a drone. On a sunny day, a few people walk across the brick and concrete path in front of the building. The four panels of the Seed by Seed banner hangs between tall, white columns above the building's main entrance. The banner has been printed with a texture resembling beadwork and contains symbols and colors representing traditions of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Four green rings represent the four lakes of Teejop, the name the Ho-Chunk give the land now occupied by UW–Madison. Inside each ring, square patches in light blue, dark blue yellow and red represent the reflections of light on the water at different times of day. Two large pink triangles on either side of the banner represent flowers, with green stems and triangular leaves leading to the center panel. On the center panel, a large diamond made of small blue triangles frames a blue thunderbird, which is flanked by two red, abstract W's, representing UW–Madison. Below the thunderbird are two green water spirits, which resemble four-legged animals with very long tails. Below the water spirits are six light blue triangles representing water. Above and below the large diamond frame are bursts of yellow beading, representing the sun. Along the bottom border of the banners are stylized animal symbols of the twelve clans of the Ho-Chunk Nation, and beneath each animal is a traditional Ho-Chunk flower motif in blue and green.

Seed by Seed

Artists bring Ho-Chunk beadwork to Bascom Hall on a grand scale
Bird Effigy Form, a metal sculpture made in 1997 by the late indigenous artist and UW–Madison Art Professor Truman Lowe, is pictured during a dedication ceremony at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Sept. 15, 2023. The sculpture, inspired by Lowe’s Ho-Chunk Nations cultural heritage, is located on the eastern edge of Observatory Hill just north of Van Hise Hall on the UW–Madison campus.

UW and tribal leaders honor newly installed Truman Lowe sculpture

Read more on the dedication and other news from campus and beyond.
A patch of sweet coneflower plants, also known as Sweet Black-eyed Susan at Curtis Prairie at the UW–Madison Arboretum.

A new educational initiative shows how Indigenous territory became UW–Madison.

Read more from On Wisconsin Magazine.
UW-Madison students sing a welcome song during a Native November feast event held in the at the Multicultural Student Center in the Red Gym at University of Wisconsin-Madison on Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo by Bryce Richter /UW-Madison)

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Welcome to Teejop, an extraordinary cultural and agricultural center with thousands of years of human story.

Teejop (or Four Lakes in Hoocąk language) is where the University of Wisconsin-Madison main campus is located, but with UW-Madison research and agricultural stations, UW Health clinics, and Division of Extension offices located in each county, UW-Madison is located throughout Wisconsin with many connections to the 12 American Indian Nations of Wisconsin.

Within the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Office of University Relations, and in partnership with the Division of Extension, the Office of Tribal Relations works to foster strong ties between the 12 First Nations of Wisconsin and the University. Find out more about Tribal Relations.

Office of Tribal Relations Priorities

Members from numerous Native American tribes participate in a grand entry drumming and dance ceremony during a Spring Powwow at the Stock Pavilion at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on April 6, 2014.

Respect

For 13,500 years, humans have thrived in what is now known as Wisconsin. The Menominee and Ho-Chunk Nations each have creation stories rooted here. Tribal Relations recognizes the distinct cultures, lifeways, and sovereignty of the 12 American Indian Nations in Wisconsin today and engages each with the respect accorded to state and federal governments.

Kasey Keeler, professor in the School of Human Ecology, discusses the Native American heritage of the UW during the Chancellor's Convocation for New Students, a Wisconsin Welcome event held at the Kohl Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Sept. 3, 2019.

Revitalization

The US, as a settler colonial society, focused on the dissolution of Indigenous languages, cultures and nations for almost 100 years until the passage of the 1975 Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act. Tribal Relations recognizes the cultural and linguistic revitalization movements of the 12 Native Nations of Wisconsin and works to address tribal priorities shared with our university.

Wisconsin tribal leaders and officials from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are pictured in a group photo during a Native Nations Summit held at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wis., on May 10, 2019.

Reconciliation

The University of Wisconsin–Madison, as a public land grant university, benefited from the dispossession of Ho-Chunk, Menominee and Ojibwe ancestral lands through violence-backed land cessions. Tribal Relations works to educate the university community of the Indigenous histories and cultures of the western Great Lakes and works to establish long term relationships for mutual benefit with the 12 First Nations of Wisconsin.

American Indian Nations of Wisconsin