Ho-Chunk Environmental Culture

Saturday morning, while listening to NPR’s Weekend Edition, I heard a story about the Ho-Chunk nation, one of the indigenous tribes which inhabited our land in past centuries. One of the tribe’s members, Tina Brown, graduated from UW-Madison’s intensive Master Naturalist program and worked to offer the program with a Ho-Chunk cultural slant. The 20 class members included tribal members, as well as others interested in environmental training from an indigenous perspective.

Besides learning the English names of plants, students learned their Ho-Chunk names. They also learned native rules of environmental protection.

To hear the 3-minute story or to read its transcript, go to:

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/10/1230605011/members-of-wisconsins-ho-chunk-nation-are-training-naturalists-and-nature-lovers

I couldn’t help but recall Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass.

Submitted by Teresa Wilmot