A new art installation preserves some of the wood from an elm tree fondly known as Elmer, which stood in the Biochemical Sciences Complex Plaza until it succumbed to Dutch elm disease in 2018. The hanging piece was installed in the Biochemistry Sciences Building atrium in October 2023.
The Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise program is not based on financial need; financial support will be awarded regardless of family income. When it begins next fall, the program will cover those already on campus, not just those new to campus. Any currently enrolled students at that time who qualify — undergraduates, J.D. students and M.D. students — will receive the program’s financial support.
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.
At a special ceremony held Tuesday, Nov. 7, the campus community and invited guests celebrated the installation of Ho-Chunk banners on Bascom Hall, commissioned as part of the University of Wisconsin’s 175th anniversary.
The tour examines the 12,000-plus years of human existence documented along the shores of Lake Mendota, particularly the history of the Ho-Chunk Nation, on whose ancestral land the university now sits.
Ten years after it first cut through Lake Mendota, a traditional birchbark canoe returned to the water, paddled by its maker, Wayne Valliere, who shared the experience with members of a first-year experience group focused on Indigenous arts and science.
This year, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University hosted LA 360: Indigenous Field-Based Learning for Land Stewardship, a weeklong summer field course that interweaves Native history and culture with science education. UW–Madison will host the course in 2024.
UW–Madison will collaborate on a project to give Native students a comprehensive resource of college-level financial aid programs and policies.
Garvin is a supremely fluent speaker of Ho-Chunk — one of only a few remaining. He has instructed learners of all ages and abilities in community settings as well as through dedicated language camps and classes offered through the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Participants at the Ojibwe Winter Games on Lake Mendota on Feb. 3 learned how to fling a snow snake (gooniikaa-ginebig) and other traditional Ojibwe hunting skills.
Ho-Chunk Nation members instructed students and other UW–Madison community members as they together constructed a Ho-Chunk dwelling called a ciiporoke on campus.
Lowe was celebrated for his sculpture and large art installations, which were often constructed from natural materials and explored Ho-Chunk culture and history through a contemporary lens.
“These efforts here are very thoughtful and very inclusive to not only the Ho-Chunk people, but it’s a real opportunity to learn about the people who lived here,” said Ho-Chunk Nation President Marlon WhiteEagle.
Chancellor Mnookin met with Wausau and Marathon County leaders as well as the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. She also toured a prominent alum’s ginseng farm and production facility.
The UW–Madison campus inhabits land that is the ancestral home of the Ho-Chunk people — land they call Teejop (Dejope, or Four Lakes) in Hoocąk, the Ho-Chunk language.
Grace Bulltail’s research centers on natural resource management, tribal resource sovereignty and environmental justice in Indigenous communities.
Their studies are in widely different areas but their goals are similar: Making their spaces — whether it’s museums, schools, or hospitals — more inclusive of and receptive to Ho-Chunk and other Native people.
A new website created by a Wisconsin Sea Grant intern in partnership with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission details what Indigenous communities in the Upper Midwest are doing to conserve and protect water.
“Seeing this flag raising gave me a sense of pride in my nationality,” said Silas Cleveland, a UW–Madison student and Ho-Chunk Nation member. “I really hope this is the start of new beginnings and that it brings with it a stronger relationship with the Ho-Chunk Nation.”
Chancellor Rebecca Blank will welcome several members of the Ho-Chunk Nation to campus.