Newly arrived interns got a crash course in the tribe’s history and a touch of wisdom from JoAnn Jones on June 13 at the Black River Falls Chamber of Commerce.
Jones, a former president and associate justice of the tribal court, sat down with six Ho-Chunk college students from across the state to discuss expectations and the values of the nation. It’s one of many learning experiences students will have in the coming weeks.
The college students are embarking on a 10-week internship this summer, all working in capacities within the Ho-Chunk Nation’s divisions and enterprises based on their educational backgrounds.
The program is described as a pre-professional training program that prepares Ho-Chunk students for long-term success in their respective fields while providing opportunities for the nation to evaluate potential employees.
Marcus Lewis, division manager of higher education, said the program, in its fifth year, represents an effort to attract outside talent and continually innovate Ho-Chunk government and business practices.
“It’s to encourage some of those people who are receiving those scholarships just to come back and share their knowledge or expertise with the nation and hopefully get them a job here,” he said. “Also, for us institutionally, to get some new information, either new techniques or updated information, with particular regard to business management and operations.”
Lewis said the program is based on concepts of knowledge-sharing and personal enrichment at the individual level, for everyone involved.
“The goal is for everyone to have a positive experience, top to bottom,” Lewis said. “(The intern is) not just a hired hand. It’s a real, pretty professional working experience for them.”
The interns include Kyle WhiteEagle, a business student at UW-Whitewater; Cheyenne Reel, a marketing student from Western Technical College in La Crosse; Moses Alvarez, a criminal justice student at UW-Milwaukee; Ashley Rave, an art education student at UW-Milwaukee; Krista Greengrass, an environmental science student at UW-La Crosse; and Shelley Thundercloud, a recreation management student at Madison Area Technical College.
Cheyenne Reel, who plans to work for the nation in the future, said she hopes she can promote a more accurate vision of the Ho-Chunk people to outsiders with the skills she’s gained as a marketing major at Western Technical College.
 “A big thing is non-natives have a distorted perception of Ho-Chunks, they think (we) get everything for free,” she said. “I think it would be fun to work on that image and explain it, educate people.”
Moses Alvarez, who will be working in the House of Wellness this summer, hopes to rewrite policies so they are more practical and sustainable for the nation.
“We’re always editing or amending amendments at general council every year,” he said. “I think I can help with that.”
For Ashley Rave, the internship represents a fork in the road, a decision point.
“I’m hoping the internship helps me decide if I want to continue on my education and get a higher degree,” she said, “whether or not I want to work now or if I want to change my major. It will provide more experience for being an art teacher or working in the education field.”