Ho-Chunk Tribes
Before the United States government removed the Ho-Chunk from their native land of Wisconsin, the tribe made up of 12 different clans. These clans are listed below.
| Name | Translation |
|---|---|
| wakan’dja | Thunderbird |
| wo'nayi'rê uañ'kcîk | People of War |
| tca'xcêp | Eagle |
| ru'tcgê | Pigeon |
| hūn'tc | Bear |
| cûñ'kcûñk | Wolf |
| waktcexi' | Water-spirit |
| tca' | Deer |
| hûnwau' | Elk |
| tce' | Buffalo |
| ho' | Fish |
| wak'an' | Snake |
The clans were associated with animal spirits that represented 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 the seventeenth 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:
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Famous quotes containing the word tribes:
“That those tribes [the Sac and Fox Indians] cannot exist surrounded by our settlements and in continual contact with our citizens is certain. They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their condition.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)