In celebration of the University of Wisconsin’s 175th anniversary, banners designed in collaboration by Molli Pauliot, Marianne Fairbanks and Stephen Hilyard merge traditional Ho-Chunk handcrafts with cutting edge animation software to create a design that honors Ho-Chunk heritage and the technical skill of the handmade.
News
Expansion of First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour will increase capacity of popular educational offering
A popular campus tour at the University of Wisconsin–Madison that highlights the land’s historic and contemporary ties to Indigenous peoples has added tour guides and formalized its structure. The steps are expected to make the First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour available to more groups.
Powwow celebrates Native cultures for Indigenous Peoples’ Day
On Monday, Oct. 9, students and community members gathered to honor Indigenous cultures on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus with a powwow marking Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The event, hosted by Wunk Sheek, a student organization, …
Ojibwe birchbark canoe returns to Lake Mendota after 10 years, connecting to 1,000s of years of art and culture
Ten years ago, a birchbark canoe cut through the icy waters of Lake Mendota, paddled by its maker, Wayne Valliere (Mino-giizhig in Ojibwe) of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Once back on land, the canoe was installed in Dejope Residence Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, where it has hung on display from the dining hall rafters ever since.
How the iSchool is Building Partnerships with Indigenous Communities
The Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (TLAM)—a graduate student group seeking to address information, literacy, and cultural preservation challenges in tribal communities by harnessing the resources of the university—is expanding.
UW and tribal leaders honor newly installed Truman Lowe sculpture
University of Wisconsin–Madison and Ho-Chunk tribal leaders gathered on campus on Sept. 15 to honor a newly acquired sculpture by Indigenous artist Truman Lowe, a long-time UW–Madison professor. “Effigy, Bird Form” is meant to evoke the effigy mounds that have since disappeared. The sculpture is located on the eastern edge of Observatory Hill just north of Van Hise Hall.
Where the Land Came From
A new educational initiative shows how Indigenous territory became UW–Madison.
Forging Firsts: The Remarkable Life of Ada Deer
An educator, civil servant, and proud member of the Menominee Nation, Ada Deer ’57 was a political activist and trailblazer who laid the groundwork for the successes of many American women. Ada was the first Menominee Tribe member to graduate from UW–Madison, and she served as a tireless advocate for Native rights and a just society.
Summer field course centers the history, culture and experiences of Native students
LA 360: Indigenous Field-Based Learning for Land Stewardship is a weeklong summer field course that interweaves Native history and culture with science education. First offered in 2022 at College of Menominee Nation, this course is a unique collaboration involving Wisconsin’s three land-grant institutions: LCOOU, CMN and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It is coordinated by Earth Partnership Indigenous Arts and Sciences, an initiative in the UW–Madison Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture focused on culturally relevant environmental education.
Ho-Chunk Clan Circle dedicated
Members of the Ho-Chunk and UW–Madison communities gathered on May 4 to dedicate the Ho-Chunk Clan Circle, a series of sculptures representing the 12 clans of the Ho-Chunk Nation. The space outside the Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center was created in partnership with Ho-Chunk artist Ken Lewis and other advisors representing the Ho-Chunk Nation. UW–Madison occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place the Ho-Chunk Nation call Teejop.