On May 3, University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Humanities hosted a panel discussion on tribal sovereignty and stewardship in Wisconsin as part of its Humanities NOW Series.  The event featured notable UW faculty members: Richard Monette-UW Law School, Larry Nesper-Department of Anthropology, Rand Valentine-Department of Linguistics, and Patty Loew-Department of Life Science Communications.  The panel was moderated by Gene Purcell, Executive Director of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and former Wisconsin Public Radio broadcaster/host.

The panelists were introduced by Purcell who opened discussion by saying, “When is land just land? He also spoke about his history with covering tribal sovereignty.  He remembers the peak of the spear fishing issue of 1983, where the Lac Court Oreilles Band of Chippewa went to court to have treaty rights upheld against Lester Voight.  The Voight Decision spawned Act 31; which requires Wisconsin school districts to develop curriculum about Wisconsin tribes’ history, culture, and treaty rights.  Purcell said, “Issues of tribal sovereignty died down but didn’t go away.  Where does tribal sovereignty start? It pre-dates Columbus.  The U.S. Supreme Court moved away from that thinking.  How did treaties come about?  Wisconsin had 70 treaties from 1804 to 1854.  These were between the states and tribes, not the federal government.  It’s important how the media covers issues.” 

Richard Monette began the panelist perspectives.  He said, “This issue is not all about the law.”  He questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution when it comes to native people and representation.  “It’s about norms and values. There are inherent rights and given rights.  Early in U.S. history, the question was asked if natives are humans; are they worthy to be respected.  That question was never answered, and the laws mirror that.  Treaties were used to legitimize states (powers) and entered into in good faith,” said Monette.  The question of who would deal with the tribes is also unanswered.  Monette continued with, “The treaties were rights granted from the natives to non-natives, not rights granted to natives.  If anything, treaties took rights away from natives.”

Nesper said, “Tribes are seen as domestic dependent nations.  Tribal sovereignty is not about preservation of rights, but natives retain rights.  Wisconsin ignored these rights, until the Voight Decision came down.  Another example is when the DNR sits with the tribes when changes are made.  The federal government has a role to protect tribes from states.  Wisconsin’s new wolf hunt steps over the rights of the tribes.  Treaties put governments in dialogue with tribes.  States need to recognize tribal sovereignty.”  Nesper used a story of water pollution, where non tribal people were polluting the water, but the water flowed through to tribal lands/reservation.  The state has to understand that protecting the clean water is their duty to tribal sovereignty.  Nesper said, “That’s the force and power of tribal sovereignty.  It’s a political fact.”

Rand Valentine dug into the language and interpretation of treaties.  He said, “How could a treaty be understood by non-English speaking people who signed them.  Treaties were written very formally.  No treaties were translated in native languages.  There’s also a legal process of interpreting treaties.”  Valentine looked at a treaty with the Chippewa Indians in Michigan where a segment about land use included the words “until land is used for settlement.”  Valentine contends that it doesn’t define the word settlement.  Who is doing the settling?  In a somewhat positive light, Valentine said, “treaties were intended to be liberally construed to favor Indians, or as Indian understood the meaning.  Treaties were not to be legally extinguished over time.”

Patty Loew, an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, shared cultural stories of the Ojibwe to illustrate the need to protect tribal sovereignty and land.  An Ojibwe story talked about seven spots the tribe would visit on their journey to their homeland.  Loew said, “My people would know they were home when they found food that grows on the water, wild rice.  That is our covenant with the creator.  The Dakota Wars were fought to protect the rice.  The Crandon Mining issue was about the rice.”  Hunting and fishing conflicts were portrayed as poaching incidents, not treaty right issues.  Loew concluded by saying, “Our casino is not on the lake front.  There is no shoreline development in Bad River.  Our history is our evidence.  State and Federal government should adopt our ways. Mainstream society needs to respect our beliefs.”  Loew works with youth on northern Wisconsin reservation to continue the practice of land stewardship, as well as creating digital storytellers.

After each panelist presented, Purcell opened up a question and answer period by asking if tribal sovereignty was at a turning point or is it still business as usual.  Some of the questions were about pursuing more sovereignty, weighing in on the wolf hunt, education of tribal sovereignty, and political activism.  Wilfrid Cleveland, former Ho-Chunk Nation President, was one of the tribal members present and added to the dialogue.  He said, “Sovereignty is about respect. If what we did was respected, they wouldn’t be in the mess they are in.”  Cleveland talked about knowledge of the earth to avoid natural disasters and drilling for oil affect on the land.

Robert Two Bears, District V Representative, was also on hand to hear the panel discussion.  Two Bears said, “It was nice to get a scholar perspective on the issue of tribal sovereignty.  They had an attorney, an anthropologist, a linguist, and journalist; I would have liked to see a tribal government official on the panel.  They presented recent and past rulings, but didn’t provide solutions.  Treaties were results of war/conflicts; that was not touched on.  I would have liked to see examples of reciprocity between governments and self governance.”

On May 5, aka Cinco de Mayo, comedian Paul Rodriguez performed his stand-up comedy at Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells.  Also performing with Rodriguez was Retha Jones.  Both have twenty plus years of stand-up comedy experience, as well as numerous television, stage, and film credits.

Jones warmed up the sold out crowd for Rodriguez with her well crafted comedy.  Jones recently turned fifty years old and capitalized on the years of experience with bits about growing old, being skinny, and not having kids.  One thing many can relate to, Jones said, “When I was younger I could take a dump on schedule.  Now, if I get the urge, I have a one minute window or I can’t go for the rest of the week.”  A former model, Jones said, “I joined a gym and recently lost about thirty-eight pounds.  I wanted to gain weight so I would get hips.  In school, when they told us to put our hands on our hips, I had to put my hands on my ribs.”  Now, rather than the weight going to her idea spots, her hips or butt, she said it went right to her stomach.  She said, “I wanted Halle Berry, but got Chuck Berry.”   Jones believes global warming is caused by too many people on earth.  She said, “I don’t have kids, I’m doing my part for the environment.  So I should be able to put my groceries in a plastic bag.”

The crowd was electric when Paul Rodriguez took to the stage.  Rodriguez performed like the veteran funny man he is.  He talked about his childhood, his short military career, his family, and the environment around him.  Family was most important, as he lost his mother only a couple days before coming to Wisconsin for the show.  Something hard to do for some, but Rodriguez had orders from his late mother.  He said, “I told my mama I was going to cancel these two shows (a Pennsylvania and Ho-Chunk show), and stay by her.  I said, Mom, I wasn’t here when dad left, so this time I’m going to be here.  But mom said, I’m going to see him (your dad) and I’ll straighten things out with him (about you not being there for his funeral). You go do your shows!”

With the blessing from his mother, Rodriguez let the show go on.  This was Rodriguez’s third visit to Ho-Chunk and joked about Ho-Chunk, saying he was among the chunky people.  One joke vividly comes to mind, he said, “Man, Christopher Columbus was an Italian on a ship with nothing but Spanish people.  White people from Europe thought the world was flat.  The Indians, with all their knowledge, knew the earth was round.  They looked up in the sky; the moon is round, and the stars are round.”  With a smoking gesture, he says, “The earth must be round too. Columbus went to Spain and got ships and his crew from the queen.  So they set sail for the new world. After days at sea, here’s what happen.  A lookout, Juan Rodriguez Bermeo, said, ‘You better get us to land before all of us Spanish guys take our frustrations out on you.’  So Columbus worked hard and navigated the crew to land quickly.”  Rodriguez closed the bit by saying, “The brown guys did all the work, and the white guy gets the holiday.”

After many laughs throughout the night, the show was followed by a meet and greet with Paul Rodriguez and Retha Jones for photo opportunities with casino guests.  It was like being back in kindergarten when the recess bell rings and you wanna be the first one in line; a lot of pushing and shoving to get there. 

Rodriguez was born in Culiacan, Mexico to parents of Tarahumara ancestry and is the youngest of twelve children.  Tarahumara, or raramuri, are indigenous people to northwestern Mexico known for running great distances for hunting, communication, and transportation purposes.  Rodriguez said, “I met with the Mexican President, and he asked me, ‘How could you leave such a beautiful area?’  I said, ‘Because we need to eat, we had no jobs, and no food in the area.’  Today, it is a hub for all the drug cartels.  My ancestors were known for running down deer; they hunted them by running after them until they were tired and couldn’t run anymore.”

Rodriguez was drafted and joined the U.S. Air Force, where he eventually found his niche in comedy. He said, “I was stationed in Duluth, Minnesota.  At an Air Force dinner, my commanding officer said, ‘Rodriguez, get up to the mic and make them laugh. You are always making people laugh.’”  He got up and made fun of the higher-ups. He said, “Everyone was laughing, but they (at the butt of the jokes) didn’t like it.  After that, I was sent to Iceland.”  Rodriguez believes being drafted was an unfortunate event, but ultimately led him to where he was supposed to be.  He even ran into some of his former commanding officers when he was invited to the White House to eat with the President.

Rodriguez spoke about his son, Paul Rodriguez III, aka P-Rod, who is a professional skateboarder and actor.  He said, “I didn’t push him towards anything.  I just told him to do something he was passionate about; something he loved doing.  I wasn’t too thrilled when he wanted to be a pro skater, but I saw he was passionate about it.  Today, he’s won everything there is to win in the skate world and he is the first Mexican to have a signature Nike shoe.”  Like any proud father, he said, “He’s done everything he set his mind to do.”

Rodriguez has a long history of working with Indian Casinos.  He said, “I’m always in the position of being the first Latino to do a lot of things.  Fellow comedian, Charlie Hill, came to me and asked me to go out to Palm Springs.  It was in 1985, the NIGA conference was being held out there.  I remember driving out to Palm Springs and seeing the billboard, Welcome N-I-G-A.  I joked and said how you could pronounce it.  Today, with all the Indian Casinos, I can just go to Arizona and New Mexico and be busy for six months.”

Rodriguez has an upcoming HBO Special, titled Just for the Record, where he documents many of his “firsts” as a Latino comedian that illustrates his experiences that he’s excited about.  When asked about his favorite comedian, Rodriguez said, “I was fortunate enough to work with and know my favorites.  I was Richard Pryor’s driver.  I lived with Jim Carrey in an apartment above the Comedy Store and babysitting Pauly Shore for not enough money.”

Rodriguez grew up in central California working in agriculture fields with his parents.  Today, he chairs the board of the California Latino Water Coalition, where he was instrumental in the passage of legislation to ensure safe, clean, reliable drinking water.  Rodriguez is now considering running for a seat on the State Legislature.  He said, “They’ve asked me to run before. I only want four years; that’s enough time to do some things.  If you go any longer, you become a game player. I don’t want to do that.”

Rodriguez came to Ho-Chunk territory with a heavy heart.  While he was here, he certainly lifted the hearts of those who watched him perform.

Rodriguez’s message to Ho-Chunk youth is to remember the sacrifices that your ancestors made for you.  He said, “Things used to be harder.  Conditions were harder.  There wasn’t all the opportunity and the money.  Now, with the casino, things have improved.  They have to remember where they came from.”  Rodriguez said, “Instill in your kids, confidence.  If they don’t believe they can succeed, they won’t.  Teach them to do things they love.  The money and success are side effects of doing the things you love doing.”

Wisconsin Dells and Housing dominate…

Three high school Ho-Chunk language teams from Black River Falls, Tomah and Wisconsin Dells were invited to the Ho-Chunk Nation Executive Building to play in this year’s annual Ho-chunk language baseball game. It marked the fourth year of the challenge, which originally began as a friendly game between the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the Ho-Chunk Nation.

This year was no different except the Winnebago Tribe couldn’t make it. So the Language Division decided to go forth with the series to see who could hit’e the best Hocak at the high school level. This year also unveiled a new category at the adult level for this year’s competition. The two adult teams were from the Legislature and Department of Housing. Each team also had advisors from either the apprentice program or a certified fluent speaker.

Essentially the rules put two teams against each other for five innings. The rules were as follows:  Each team must answer questions about words or sentences that can be translated English to Ho-Chunk or Ho-Chunk to English. Each batter must roll a die to find what type of question he or she will answer. There were also four different types of questions to answer depending on the degree of difficulty; single, double, triple or home run. If they didn’t answer correctly, they were called out by the fluent speaker judge, and each team were allowed only three outs.

Captain Amber Fernandez and her crew of three from Wisconsin Dells called the “Good Guys” looked like they had no chance to win this year’s event due to sheer numbers alone. Amber kept laughing nervously as the teams came together at the beginning. Black River Falls “Poo Bears” went against Tomah Šųkjąk Pack in the first game and lost. The Poo Bears then went against Wisconsin Dells Good Guys and lost again. Tomah Šųkjąk Pack looked to be the favorite at this point. However in a series of mishaps, Wisconsin Dells got on a roll and were able to defeat Tomah to capture their first HCN High School Language Championship. It proved that knowledge is greater than having numbers. It was a sneak attack in the greatest sense. The two other teams from Black River Falls and Tomah had impressive crews, but in the end, the three musketeers of language pulled off a championship 5-3 win for the ages. Amber can now laugh the “brush your shoulders off” laugh.

The next day the two adult teams came in looking pretty mean. They must have been licking their chops at a chance to be the best. The game ended with the Housing Department hoisting the title with 13 -10 win over Legislature. Legislature mounted a huge comeback in the late innings only to have their hopes dashed away with the last out. Now the Housing Department will carry the imaginary belts over their shoulders and discount double click whenever they see Legislature. In the words of Highlander, “There can only be one!” Susan Weber, Legislator Area 1, threw down the gauntlet and asked for these events to be held every quarter.

Each team had nearly a month and half to prepare for the competition. If more Departments or High Schools are interested, they can contact the Ho-Chunk Language Division for materials on the past games and ask to sign up for the next Ho-Chunk Nation Language Baseball Game.

“It doesn’t seem like tough work at first, but when a person has to stand on their feet for 10-12 hours a day, your body gets used to it,” Chris Littlewolf said while directing traffic on HWY K just off HWY 54 leading to Hatfield. “It took me about 3-4 days to get feet and legs in shape.”

Chris Littlewolf, Henry Moustache, and Darren Link have been working this site, flagging for Haas Sons for nearly eight weeks. They all said they were pretty surprised to get a job near home. They pay is pretty good too. Who would have guessed these guys make an average of $37.00 hr. “However, that’s standard union rate. We get about $22 hr with all the benefits,” added Littlewolf.

Nick Kedrowski, Tero Director, said he was contacted by Haas Sons after the contract was awarded and these guys had the necessary certification to do the job. All three men were clients of the HCN Department of Labor Transit Program. They learned the basics of flagging and now apply the principles to the job. All in all they are very respectful of the job they do. They understand there are eyes watching them. They show up on time and make sure there is no reason to get rid of them.

Of course, they still have fun with some of their comments to each other. It would be a Ho-Chunk day without something to laugh about. It seems to keep the day light and productive. Littlewolf hopes they can continue on with this company. However, they know they will end this project with a great reference. “That’s what’s needed most. Showing these companies we can show up, do the work, and finish the job. I’ll bet we’ll get more work as a result of this job,” Littlewolf smiled.

Moustache hoped to get his time in so his investment in the union will build up his retirement savings. He was the only one out of the three that has been unionized. “We need more people showing we can do this kind of work with ease,” Moustache commented.

After one year of planning, the Wisconsin Indian Education Association’s (WIEA) annual conference took place on April 4-5, 2012 at Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells Hotel and Convention Center. 

The Ho-Chunk Nation was one of the main sponsors for this year’s conference and lead by one of our very own Ho-Chunk tribal members who was elected to be on the WIEA board last April, Barbara Mackenzie, who also took on a lot of work to make this year's WIEA conference a success.  You did a Great job Barb, and also to all those who also helped (behind the scenes), to make this year’s conference successful.  In passing her on the escalators, I asked if she was stressed.  The comment was yes, so I immediately said, “Good…then you know you’re doing a good job.”

“Other years, other tribes take the lead, depending on what region hosts it. Regardless of whose turn it is, Ho-Chunk Nation has a history of generosity with its contributions for this conference,” said Mackenzie.  Adrienne Thunder, HCN Executive Director of Education also noted that the HCN Legislature provided a generous donation, and the HCN Department of Education provided in-kind support and staff.

With several regions around the state, each region takes a turn hosting the conference.  “As a board, we try to spend our money at Native-owned venues as much as possible. This year, the largest Native-owned venue in our region was Ho-Chunk Gaming- Wisconsin Dells,” said Mackenzie.

One extraordinarily helpful organization to WIEA has been CREATE: “Culturally Responsive Education for All: Training and Enhancement.”  CREATE is a statewide system-change initiative designed to eradicate the achievement gap amongst diverse student populations and eliminate race as a predicting factor of participation in special education.  “Their partnership has assisted WIEA greatly in being able to host a quality conference the past few years by registering many people involved in tribal language and cultural preservation as well as special education,” said Mackenzie.  She also noted, “They’ve assisted with transportation, lodging, conference registration and paid for some of the presenters when they can. They also helped recruit some amazing presenters, like Don Thornton—who developed the Hocak language apps for Nintendo DS and iTunes Store in conjunction with our own Hocak Language Division.”

The conference break-out sessions were on a wide variety of interesting topics, affecting students from K-12, Higher Education, Special Education, Early Childhood and other spheres of Education.  With over 250 people attending the conference, “I had hoped for more, simply because this conference needs more people to learn about these topics in education,” said Mackenzie.  She also said, “Amazingly, even though we expanded the speakers’ time to 90 minutes, many of the comments said that the 90 minutes was still not long enough.”

Many of the WIEA board members were presenters this year. “It was a personal goal, and the planning committee was able to cover the volunteer duties well enough, to be able to afford the board some freedom to enjoy the conference.  WIEA members—especially board members, as a general characteristic, are hard-working and high achieving Native professional educators. I wanted everyone to have a great conference experience,” said Mackenzie.

Keynote speakers were Dr. Amy Lonetree and Dr. Michelle Pidgeon, who both offered some fantastic insights into their fields of study.  Dr. Lonetree talked about how we need to be active as Native citizens in making sure our perspective is told through educational sources and places like museums. Dr. Pidgeon shared that Indigeneity is reinforced and transmitted by ensuring certain supports, such as family and community structures, are available for Native students.

Special guest, William Mendoza, Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, spoke on the educational policy for Native American students and how we need to help Washington D.C. understand the needs of Native students to succeed.  “Mr. Mendoza made it clear that he is seeking to help tribes (the “non-powerhouse tribes” – like Navajo Nation) get the support and assistance they need and to do it in as fair and equitable way possible.  Given the diversity of tribes served by the Departments of Education and Interior, and their different sets of circumstances, his task is monumental,” said Thunder.

Mendoza asked, “Who has the loudest voice and biggest numbers? How can we create a better place for all of us and be able to address things strategically?”  He said, “There are huge issues in Indian Country but we also have huge opportunities.  Tribal leaders have the ultimate role to ensure what's prioritized. Tribal leaders have the voice; they have the seat at the head table while others can only go so far.  We know our communities best.  We need to be communicating those issues, whether it’s locally or through conferences, or writing to the local congressman.  Initiatives come and go.  Utilize everyone’s talent!”

In closing, Medoza said, “Ask those you trust, what things mean, do your research.  Congress won't act unless you push it, and same goes for the President; if he don't hear it from us (midwest/great lakes areas), he'll only hear it from other states.  Share our knowledge with them because it’s critical.  Without our voice, they can't connect the dots and move forward.”

Barbara Mackenzie would like to thank the many people and organizations that helped make this year’s conference a success. She said, “We appreciate the generous contributions of everyone at Ho-Chunk Gaming—WI Dells Hotel and Convention Center. Everyone did a wonderful job! Special thanks to Brian Decorah, Cindy Lonetree, Joey, Tim, Chef Joseph, Tom Clark, Janice, AV Jon,  casino IT and a host of other employees and volunteers who helped make a wonderful conference!”

Next year the conference will be hosted by the central region which includes Price, Taylor, Lincoln, Clark, Marathon, Wood, Portage, Shawano, and Waupaca counties. This means Stockbridge-Munsee, Ho-Chunk—Nekoosa, Neillsville, Wittenberg, Stevens Point and Wausau communities will be hosting. UW-Stevens Point has already committed to assisting next year’s event. More will come on board as their planning committee gets rolling.

Anthony “Scott” Kingswan, currently working with the maintenance department at Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison, where he also resides, loves the sport of racing.  On his free time he races with the American Speed Association (ASA) in Madison, WI.

Born and raised pretty much in Madison, but living for a brief period in Black River Falls, Scott’s father is Tony Kingswan (who also drag raced at Union Grove back in the day), and his mother is Elaine Kingswan.  His earliest childhood memories and fondest times were going to the local races with his father, which he said, “that seemed like “our” thing to do.” But, at age 14, when his parents divorced, he lost that part in his life.   As any normal teenager, other things were happening in his life and he turned to using alcohol and battled that all the way up to three and half years ago. 

Kingswan said, “Now that I’m sober and all of these opportunities have come up, all of my old friends and relationships have come back into my life, stronger because of my sobriety, and because of new opportunities  working with the racetrack.”

Kingswan first became acquainted with the ASA over three years ago when he was asked to be the individual that would talk to them about promoting the casino at the racetrack. He became the spokesman on behalf of HCG Madison.   But for the last year, he has been involved with the race team personally on his own time.

Originally, Kingswan was trying to get a sponsorship deal for a friend but everywhere he went they said if he was the owner or the driver, or a bigger percentage of the team, they would possibly be interested but they didn’t allocate funds for non-participants.  He was eventually told and given the suggestion that, “Why don’t you try it, you know so much about the sport, you’ve worked around it for so long.”  With some limited background with driving a few legends cars and some go carts, Kingswan began a new journey in life and set a goal, possibly to become rookie of the year.

He did approach the Ho-Chunk Nation and they seemed very receptive about it and have been walking him through the process and the steps needed to do it on his own.  They said, “We’d like you to do this on your own and see what happens.”  Kingswan said it has progressed quite fast.

Prior to Kingswan working with the C&J Fabrication team, they have won every championship in the truck series since that division was first created.  Kingswan feels very fortunate to be surrounded with and involved with some very accomplished racers, “Probably the best in the Midwest,” he said.  Chad Wood, owner of C&J Fabrication and Joe Wood who owns Pathfinder Chassies, are the team owners.  Scott also noted they have a lot of the track champions or big winners in the area that have their cars in and out of their shops, or have been built there and maintained by them.

The Vice President, Steve Einhaus, of the American Speed Association has also been quite instrumental and has been helping Scott with presenting his proposal to the HCN.  He also held a banquet with the Baraboo facility in hopes to show already a return on investment for the tribe if they do get involved.   

Kingswan wanted to stress that part of the package is a “race for diversity program” which was created in his case.  He made mention that part of that sponsorship money will go to the ASA and in turn they are going to market the HCN casinos and try to promote us the best way possible (especially through handouts to those entering the speedway).   They would also like to promote the HCN Daxu coffee, to be the coffee of ASA, to help push our water and get that out into the public.  They would like to get an interest from the HCN to involve our tribal members as much as they can.

With the racing season upon us, it’s time for Scott to get into normal rotation while still working fulltime at the casino.  Currently, he will be racing on the weekends.  So far this year, he has done a couple go cart races.  He made his way to the Sugar River Raceway about a month ago and there were 54 entrants.  Although he didn’t place in the top 10, he finished 32^nd.  He said, “These are kids that have won go-cart championships, track championships, and have plenty more experience than me.  I think I did pretty well every time I went out there and I improved.” 

The first time getting into a race, Kingswan said he didn’t feel nervous getting out there but felt excited about it. He said, “I learned that it was a different go cart every single time I raced and each time I improved.  It took a lot to get used to because the track was pretty rough and bounced you around all over.  After doing the half mile road course my body felt pretty sore the next day too.”

When he’s not driving the truck his teammate drives it and he weighs in at 170 pounds.  Currently, Scott is weighing in at 213 pounds.  He would like to lose weight to get down to a weight that matches his teammate.  To do so, he works out physically and sits on the race simulator at home and runs about 500 laps a night; with the heat on, in his driving suit, and with his helmet and gloves on so he gets used to that.  He does that for approximately 2-3 hours per night.  He said, “Every pound is critical.” The more he loses the more they can put weight in desired places of the truck, which would be low and to the left to help the truck handle better.

The race team itself is going to field six trucks out of the C&J Fabrication garage, three of his teammates who have all been previous champions which he said “puts a little pressure on him, but is also an advantage” because he has such experienced and knowledgeable people who can help him only improve.

In the meantime, he is focusing on test driving when he has time and if weather permits.  He has also been helping with the building of the trucks.  Within the past year, he’s already spent an easy $11,000 out of his own pocket for computer programming for a race simulator at home, helmet, suit, racing shoes, gloves, radio, stuff to make him comfy in the truck (seat, steering column).

Inspiration shared with Scott was, “It’s a great inspiration for our tribal members, to show you can battle back from alcoholism and make something of your life.”  I think that too.  Keep up the great work Scott and congratulations to your sobriety. 

One quote that Scott follows is “I can conquer the world with one hand if only you would hold the other.”  He has a lot of people he would like to thank and especially all those that have been by his side making his dream become a reality.  Just to name a few, his dad and brother Tony and Joe Kingswan, Carol Laustrup who has given him a lot of advice and guidance, John Holst and Dave Abangan, the C&J Fabrication team, and Steven Einhaus for believing in him when nobody else would.  “Pinagigi!”

Take a look back to when we use to have open meadows, prairies, wetlands and woodlands. Remember the old John Wayne movies, Little House on the Prairie, or Tonto?  Those shows give good illustration to the different landscapes that use to exist but due to growing populations, today, these areas are often overrun with shrubs and trees reducing the amount of natural vegetation to grow.

Taking a look back before the arrival of Europeans we used fire to manage and take care of the lands we occupied.  Nelson Smith, HCN DNR Lands Supervisor made mention that Indians would often use fire as a management strategy.  He said, “Burning a prairie would prevent trees growing into the prairie and turning it into a forest (providing habitat for food, animals and certain food plants).  Burning a forest understory might clear out the brush to make hunting and travelling easier and perhaps promote the growth of certain desired plant species.”

Generally speaking, before the arrival of Europeans to the continent, wildfires here were higher frequency and lower intensity.  Smith said, “Fuels would accumulate on the ground and often lightning strikes would ignite this fuel and would burn at relatively low heat along the forest floor.” 

“The Europeans brought with them different ideologies regarding fire and land management. They sought to suppress wildfires in order to protect personal property. Also, catastrophic fires such as the Pestigo Fire (1871) among others, solidified the policy that wildfire was a danger and needed to be suppressed,” said Smith.

Smith also noted that, “As fires were suppressed during this era, the fuels that would previously have been burned began to accumulate instead (such as undergrowth, dead trees, and branches left behind by loggers). These fuels would often accumulate for decades. So now, many places have accumulated high amounts of fuel. When these fuels inevitably ignite, by lightning or by human hand, the fire burns much hotter than in the past. These fires can burn so hot that the forest canopy can ignite into what is often called a “crown fire” or “canopy fire.” These types of fires were likely very rare before the arrival of Europeans.”

With that being said, on April 11, the Ho-Chunk Nation Lands Department conducted a controlled burn at the Nation’s Parmenter Property, located on County Road D just west of Melrose, Wisconsin.  The controlled burn was part of a Natural Resources Conservation Services grant to restore native prairie grasses (otherwise known as warm season grasses).

A.J. Mann, of the Lands Department said, “We want to help the prairie season grasses to surpass the cool season grasses. We have an eight man team but could have gotten by with four; the bare minimum for a burn of this size at Parmenter Property.” 

The team has two Polaris Rangers that haul one hundred gallon tanks of water each, and a Type 7 fire truck.  Out of seven different fire truck types (one being the largest and seven being the smallest), the HCN has one of the smaller versions, which holds two hundred and fifty gallon tanks of water to help control the fire.  Mann said, “The truck is our main vehicle which we purchased from the Necedah Wildlife Refuge for a good price.  We do a lot of inter-agency work which is helpful.”    Not too long ago, the HCN DNR department auctioned off an antique, type 2 fire truck which used to be located at the White Otter property but no one used it.

As the year changes from summer, to fall, to winter, and then to spring, different plants sprout and grow at different times of the year, so the burn helps burn off the cool season grasses which will shade out the warm (later season) grasses to help promote the warm season grasses to grow.  The burns also help reduce the trees from approaching onto the prairie preventing it from becoming a forest. 

The burn is done by burning into (or toward) the wind, which is called a back burn.  Mann said, “We want a slow and low burn.  If we started on the other side and let the wind blow the fire, it would burn fast.  It may not burn thoroughly and would be more likely to burn out of control.  A back burn gives us more control.”

The fire is started with a drip torch that contains a three to one diesel mix.  Mann said, “Those (drip torches) are good.  We used to have to use LP tanks.  The first year of the grant we seeded the area.  The second year, we cut around the perimeter.  And this year, we are doing the burn.”  The leeward corner is where the fire is started.  Followed by the leeward perimeter, so there is no cross smoke/heat on the workers on that side.  Next, the opposite perimeter is lit.  The fire is lit in a row on the edges of the perimeter and sporadically throughout the area.  Once the edges and rows are lit and the fire has burnt through, workers with drip torches walk back through to hit spots that didn’t ignite.

Other burns that have taken place this year have been at the White Otter location located in Juneau County, right outside of Lyndon Station.  It is also a wetland mitigation area that was replaced due to the building of the WI Dells White Tail Crossing many years ago.  The gas station was built on a wetland area and the acres used needed to be replaced elsewhere which was placed at the White Otter location.  

Another recent burn was at the Rockland property, bordering between LaCrosse County and Monroe County.  The Shaw property, located in Monroe County was also a property burned using the controlled burn technique. 

Each place was chosen because of the habitat management and those places could use the fire.  They try to burn each property every 2-3 years.  One of the bonuses to controlled burning is that the fire returns nutrients back to the soil and reduces the amount of pesticides that are sometimes needed to control invasive plants.

Third grade student at Birnamwood elementary, Maurice Bigjohn, had one of his dreams come true at only age 9.  On March 23-25, he competed at the State Wrestling Tournament in Madison, WI at the Alliant Energy Center.  Maurice’s future dreams are to be in the Marines and become an FBI Agent.

Maurice is the son to Amber Renee Bigjohn.  His grandparents are Melanie and Corwin Roth of Wittenberg, and his great-grandparents are the late Maurice Bigjohn (whom he’s named after) and Dolli Bigjohn of Wittenberg as well.

Three years ago, when Maurice was in Kindergarten, a sign-up sheet came home for all those interested in learning the sport of wrestling.  Of course this energetic 5 year old, Maurice, was super excited and immediately wanted to be involved.  But, due to having Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.), his gaga told him to concentrate on school and said if he stayed focused and did well then he could join in second grade.  Of course he moved onto first grade and once again that slip came home and he was anxious to begin wrestling.  In 2010 Maurice was in second grade and he was able to join the wrestling team, just as his gaga had promised.  Having only a full year of training under his belt, he has only progressed since then.

As a beginner and a second grader, Maurice did an awesome job.  He hadn’t lost a match and his record was close to 19-0.  There was finally a time when he met his match and lost.  Like any other young boy, he took it very hard, was disappointed in himself and said, “I’m never gonna wrestle again!”…and stomped away.   

At first, it was like the end of the world for Maurice if he lost but now as a third grader he realizes he still did good and tried his hardest.  As a 9 year old, he is very sympathetic to those he beats and tries to cheer them up afterward and make them feel better.  Maurice has a very loving family and they are all so proud of his accomplishments.  His mom said, “I’m really proud of him, how hard he works; he gives it his all and pushes himself. He’s setting a nice example for other native kids and it keeps him out of trouble.” 

After a long practice he’ll rush home to tell his choka about another move he learned and always tries to impress his coach at each practice.  He insists that his gaga and choka ask the coach how he did and as soon as the coach says he worked really hard, Maurice will start smiling from ear to ear just hearing the excitement from his coach.  After three or four tournaments and several wins, coach Dwayne Potrykus, said, “I think I’m going to have to put Maurice on the A-Team.” 

One of Maurice’s favorite moves is the Cow Catcher.  When he went to the Merrill regionals the coach stressed not to use that move all of the time and he should try other moves. Last year was his first time to Regionals and he came in third.  In order to go to state, the wrestler must come in first or second place.  Although he was bummed out, it only made him pursue his dream and work harder this year.  He said to his mom, “I wanna go to State this year,” and he did.

So at Merrill Regionals, it was down to his last match and it was either he loses or wins and goes to State.  As his opponent was getting ready, his choka said to him, “Get down and give me 10.”  So down he went, he pushed out 10 quick push-ups, and he was pumped and ready to go.  The other kid was looking at him all crazy but Maurice won that match and off to State he went, coming in second at Merrill.

As Maurice weighed-in Friday night (in the 64-66 pound weight class) at the state tournament, they watched a few matches, and his choka said to him, “Look grandson, that’s where all the gladiators are gonna wrestle.”  Maurice was really impressed and excited, his dream was coming true.

Maurice was off to a great start and won his first two matches.  The next two he lost but he got upset after the first loss because he thought he was done.  The first match he lost was to a boy that had only lost once all season and the final score was 7-6.  After a few inspiring words from his supporters, they told him not to feel down on himself and that he did a good job and fought hard all the way.  Maurice won his last match putting him in fifth place at the state tournament. 

Maurice is very competitive, likes the challenge, and loves sports and is an athlete year round from wrestling, to baseball, to football, to starting it all over the next season.  His grandparents are very supportive and have fun travelling and attending all of his events.  Maurice said he didn’t want to play football this year because he didn’t want to hurt himself prior to the wrestling season (but since then he’s changed his mind to play).

Great job Maurice; Keep working hard and good luck on your future dreams!

On March 15, Ho-Chunk tribal member and Senior from Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School, Danika Decorah, was just 2 games away from heading to the State tournament in Madison.  Unfortunately, they lost by one point right at the end of the game. Up by two points with 14 seconds to go, the other team hit a three pointer.

Danika began playing ball when she was 8 years old beginning with the Chargers “Backers Program” created by Coach Bailliet. She said, “I started out attending camps and began playing in weekend tourneys when I was 9 years old. We were the only 4th grade team so we had to play against teams that were older than us. We lost nearly every game, but the next few seasons we did really good and won many tourneys.”

One of her biggest accomplishments was the successful team she was a part of in high school. She said, “During my four years we were conference champs twice, regional champs three times, sectional runner-up once, and sectionals participant my final year.”

The season went awesome. The Chargers finished 21-4 and although they lost in the Sectionals by one point, they still claimed the title and bragging rights as conference and regional champs.  “We also set a school record by being the first Wittenberg-Birnamwood team to win the regional championship at home,” said Danika.  She was also honored as the Channel 9 Player of the Week March 14.

Whoever said basketball was easy is crazy!  Like any sport, it takes a lot of motivation, dedication, hard work, and a positive attitude to criticism. For Danika, her team practiced every day, sometimes twice a day beginning with a morning workout at 5:45am, and then practice after a long day of school. “We also were required to practice on Sundays most weeks,” said Danika.

During the summer, they also had to do workouts and practice along with participation on a summer league in which they played in tournaments.  “This past summer we won the Wisconsin Dells Invitational Tourney. This has been my life since my freshman year,” said Danika.  “I couldn't have asked for a better senior season. I will miss the game and most of all I will miss the friends I have made over the years.”

Danika’s coach nominated her as Honorable Mention and she won.  She said she was very happy and honored.   Along with being Honorable Mention, Danika was also one of the leading scorers this year for the Chargers. 

Other than basketball, Danika also ran Cross Country all four years.  She said, “We were conference champs all four years and I made it to State last year. My freshman year I ran track and we were conference champs. Sophomore thru my senior year I played Softball as a center fielder.  So far we are undefeated.”

Like any other teen, she loves to hang out with friends, go to pow-wows, and of course play basketball whenever she can.

With only a few more months until graduation, she has been applying to several universities.  Currently, she has applications sent to UW-Green Bay, UW-Baraboo and UW-Oshkosh. If accepted, she said, “I plan to major in Art or Sports Broadcasting. I would like to become the first ever Native American anchorwoman for ESPN.”

Danika is the daughter to Stacey Schreiber and Brian Decorah. Her grandparents are Terry and Bonnie (Decorah) Tech and Ellen and Duane Schreiber of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans.

“My mom inspires me to do well. She is always encouraging me to do well in everything I do whether it’s in sports or school. Whenever I get discouraged she is my biggest supporter,” said Danika.

Great job Danika!  Keep up the great work, and remember that motivation, dedication, and hard work will get you far in life. 

Friends, relatives, and two invited drum groups came together at the Ho-Chunk Nation’s Area I community building in Black River Falls, WI; to help make Ho-Chunk elder, Annabelle Lowe’s, ninetieth birthday celebration an occasion to remember.

In a gymnasium that was packed to capacity, Parmenton Decorah officiated as Master of Ceremonies. Troy Swallow offered a prayer of thanksgiving over the birthday meal. Marty Little Wolf took the podium as the after-dinner speaker. Birthday celebrity, Annabelle, followed that impromptu speech with a few words of her own. Shortly thereafter a photo opportunity ensued. Once the cameras stopped flashing fifty times a second, a social dance then took place for the rest of the afternoon. The drum groups, Little Thunder and Hiwasipi, provided the music for such dances as a round dance, a two-step, a potato dance, and a swan dance. Throngs of descendants danced with Annabelle as gaga showed off the strut in her step.

Just prior to the dancing, both Marty and Annabelle spoke. Read on to find out what they had to say.

Marty Little Wolf

This is a glorious occasion. She’s like the [referring to his mother, Annabelle] last of the people her age, her generation. She’s by herself; but we are her children, so we try to be by her. She gets tired, so we try to be by her. She gets tired, so we try to say a prayer because a family that prays together stays together.

So with that thought in mind, the Creator God answers our prayers and my mom, she’s okay, here. She can feel like going on, continuing on in this daily life. She was saying that someday when she retires she’s going to look forward to old age. When she got there [to old age] she asked, “Who said it was good when you get old? Gee, I just kind of ache and pain and it is hard for me to get up.”

But being ninety years old, believe it or not, she’s still got a driver’s license, in case you need a designated driver. She’s got some good stories for when the waragos [police] stop her. Boy, she knows how to get out of them. So she’s still got all her points.

I love my mom, you know…I have three sisters; hinu, wiha, and siga; that’s Julia, Annette, and Martina, and myself. We’re all over sixty. So that’s really nice for our mother. She has four of her children. And I got another one, too. Brother Norman [Snake]; we’re all over sixty. That’s really nice for our mom to have that many elder children with her and we’re all here. I’m really glad that my brothers and sisters are here to help celebrate our mom’s birthday.

And then my children; my sons, kunu Mike and all my other sons and daughters are all here to help celebrate Annabelle’s ninetieth birthday, even though it’s going to be on Monday. So here it’s an early birthday. So, mom I want to say happy birthday.

I’m a great grandfather. I have grandchildren that are parents. To me, that’s a privilege. And then there are five generations that are here with my mom. I’m just glad for my mom that she could witness this many generations here helping her celebrate her ninetieth birthday.  Thinking about my mother…you know, when you have children, you are concerned about them and you want to know that they are all right, especially when you don’t hear from them for some time. My mom is still that way.

Myself, I feel thankful to God that I am an able bodied person. Still, my mom…she will call or stop over to see how I’m doing [instead of the other way around]. She would say “hello, son? How are you feeling, son?” And that’s really nice that parents are like that way towards their children and my mom, she is still that way with us. It’s really nice; I feel good about that.

I’m just trying to find some encouraging words for this after-dinner speech. I’m really glad that my sisters are here and some of my brothers are here, all you relatives here. I’m really thankful for each one of you for taking time out from your everyday lives to come over here and help my mom celebrate her ninetieth birthday. And then you also brought some gifts along with your good thoughts, good feelings, and good hearts. Thank you for your sacrifice.

Way back in my younger days when my kids were small, we used to celebrate my mom’s birthday every year.  All those years we used to buy her gifts; a rain coat, an umbrella, dishes, dresses, jackets, gloves, all those kinds of things. Because of her clanship she can’t keep those things we gave her. I didn’t know that.

One day I had a ceremony at her house and in the morning we went to raise my brother Eddie’s flag. We looked for that flag in a room where my mom keeps all the gifts she has received; she keeps the door locked.  We looked all over. We couldn’t find his flag, so we couldn’t honor him. When we looked for his flag I saw all those things that we bought for my mom; she had them all in that room, still brand new and in their packages.

So when the ceremony was done we just put all those things back and then on Monday morning we told our mom we went to the place where the flag was at and couldn’t find it but on Monday morning it was right there where it was supposed to be. This goes to show that God works in mysterious ways.

Once again, I want to say thanks [Ho-Chunks believe that a person can never say thank you enough] that all my children are here, except for my hayna but I know where he’s at. He had one of those OWI’s; one too many. So I hope that doesn’t happen to you guys; especially our elders, like my mom. I wish that wouldn’t happen to my mom. Otherwise, we’ll have to pass the hat around, do a blanket dance to her out. I’m just saying that because my mom likes humor, she like laughter. I appreciate her very much.

I’m going to conclude here…but before I do that I want to thank the drums for being here. All the food is picked up and everything is moved out of the way. We are getting ready to dance. I also want to thank all the women for wearing squaw dresses; this was one of my mom’s wishes, so thank you very much for doing that.  So with that, I’ll say a word of thanks for your attention. Thank you.

Annabelle’s speech

I’m getting old. You take advantage of it when you’re young but when you get to be old like me, you lift your knee up high for every little thing. Now I can REALLY talk. I just got to hang on to something.  I’m getting to that point where my joints hurt when I walk or when I sit too long or when I stay in bed too long; I have to get up every so often.

I’m thankful for all the prayers that are said for the elders. I’m not the only elder, there’s a lot of elders and I understand that there’s another elderly lady in Bluewing. I often wish that I could go visit her and talk to her and just be with her.

I don’t even know her name and I don’t even know where she lives, but that is somebody I was asking about because there was another elderly person…that’s what I was told [An elderly woman sitting at the honor table says “I’m right behind you.” Everybody bursts out in laughter; the drums roll]  Are you the one [Annabelle chuckles, doing a double take in disbelief]?

My dad and her dad used to sit down and talk and make jokes and laugh. I used to like listening to them. And when I see her she makes me laugh. Just looking at her makes me laugh. Yeah, we went to school together. And we fought together [more applause, drums roll]. I’m kidding.

It’s really nice to see everybody and I would like to say again I really appreciate everything that was done and my family. They went out of their way to earn this money to be able to do what they are doing here today.  And I’d like to say thank you to them and they didn’t tell me nothing about what they were doing. I knew they were up to something, but I did not know what. Now I know what they were doing because here I am. Thank you to them for all that they have done.

Once in a great while I make it to a prayer service [Native American Church]. I really like to do that; offer prayers for everybody.  I feel like I’m getting closer to that time when I’ll be leaving this world. And that’s what I say everyday when I talk. I say “I’m getting ready for that next world to come.” If I say that, they too, you folks, will feel the same way; be that way. You can take care of yourselves and your thoughts and you’re doing whatever you’re doing.

I always want to put a smile on somebody’s face. That’s my motto, that I do that. No matter where I’m at, I try to put a smile on somebody’s face and I make them feel happy. I think we all ought to do that; that way we can all get along real good no matter what we’re going through. Hard times, good times. Like today, it makes a person feel good.

This morning I was kind of tired and I thought “Oh, I don’t know if I should go, I’m kind of tired this morning” but then I said my prayer and after that I was ready for the day. I asked for strength so I could finish out the day.  And I would like to say thank you again, you people make me feel that way. And I would like to say again thank you to the little ones running around here; they’re going to be one day like the way I am. That’s the way I’m looking at it. I really appreciate each and every one of them.