Ho-Chunk - Traditional Culture

Traditional Culture

Before Europeans ventured into Ho-Chunk territory, the Ho-Chunk were known to hunt, farm and gather food from local sources, including nuts, berries, roots and edible leaves. They knew what the forest and river's edge had to give, and both genders had a role in making best use of resources. With the changing seasons, Ho-Chunk families would move from area to area to find food. For example, many families would return to Black River Falls, Wisconsin to pick berries in the summer.

The Ho-Chunk woman was responsible for growing, gathering and processing food for her family: she cultivated varieties of corn and squash, in order to have different types through the growing season; and gathered a wide variety of roots, nuts and berries, as well as sap from maple trees. In addition, women learned to recognize and use a wide range of roots and leaves for medicinal and herbal purposes. The maple sap was used to make syrup and candy. Women also processed and cooked game, making dried meats combined with berries, which could sustain the people and hunters when traveling. They tanned the hides to make clothing and storage bags. They used most parts of the game for tools, binding, clothing, and coverings for dwellings. They were responsible for the survival of the families, caring for the children as well as elders.

The main role of the Ho-Chunk man was as a hunter, in addition to warrior when needed. Leaders among the men acted in political relations with other tribes or peoples. AS hunters, they would catch fish by spearing them and clubbing the fish to death. The men would also hunt game such as muskrat, mink, otter, beaver, and deer. Some men learned to create jewelry and other body decorations out of silver and copper, for both men and women. In order to become men, boys would go through a rite of passage at puberty: they fasted for a period, during which they were expected to acquire a guardian spirit for, without it, their lives would be miserable.

Besides having a guardian spirit, men would also try to acquire protection and powers from specific spirits, which was done by making offerings along with tobacco. For example, a man could not go on the warpath without first performing the "war-bundle feast," which contained two parts. The first part honored the night-spirits and the second part honored the Thunderbird spirit. The blessings that these spirits gave the men were embodied in objects that together made the war-bundle. These objects could include feathers, bones, skins, flutes, and paints.

After the boys became men, they were allowed to court young women. (The women had their own rite of passage in puberty associated with their first menstruation, and learning the skills to support a family.) Young men would first visit young women in their menstruation lodges. Women were separated from their families during this time because of the Ho-Chunk belief that a woman’s menstruation was strong medicine. Other occasions associated with blood, such as childbirth, or preparation for war, also called on strong medicine. Men visited women in their lodges at night, as there was some shame in associating with a woman during menstruation. After courting, the man and woman (whom his family had chosen from another clan) would elope. Elopement was an accepted and practiced form of marriage in the Ho-Chunk culture.