Minnie White Wing Visits Madison
When Minnie White Wing was 80 years old, she visited Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin. When Madge Yohn learned of her visit, she took the opportunity to interview her for her column in the Capital Times newspaper.1 Most of what follows is based on that interview.
In 1943, Mrs. Minnie White Wing lived in the village of Dancy, not far from Wausau. At age 80, she was a person of great interest having lived in the "old days" when the Hōcąk nation was free to roam in Wisconsin. Born in 1863, she was the daughter of an important chief, Blue Wing of the Thunderbird Clan. He was in charge of a village situated near what is now Reedsburg, and more specifically, the village of Westfield. On June 20, 1851 he formally bought the site of his village from the State of Wisconsin. This he sold ten years later, and moved to the site of Little Sioux's village on the Baraboo above Reedsburg.2 Blue Wing had several sons and three daughters. His eldest son, who was made a chief in his own right in 1857, had the Anglo name "George."3 One of his sons was named Āhúšipka, "Short Wings," and his three daughters were Mąesįnįpįwįga, "Good Cold Storm," Hīnąkĕ́ga, a birth order name given to the fourth girl, and Hīnąkĕxųnųga, the fifth born girl. Nevertheless, one of his daughters who went by the Anglo name "Mary," lived long enough to have married Big Bear and was the mother of Emma Big Bear (1869-1968), the well known basket weaver, who is commemorated with a bronze statue in Iowa.4 Dr. Hulburt goes on to say of Minnie, the fifth and last girl born to Blue Wing, that she "was also Ah-ho-cho-ka's favorite daughter, and he would often mention her as his 'good daughter'."5
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Emily Mills, CC License |
Lake Monona (Te Ciábokíǧakéxetera) as Seen from the Yahara |
When she was a girl, her father took his family south to lakes Mendota and Monona, most often camping at the old Hōcąk site at Frost's Woods at Monona. The camping ground extended as far north as Belle Isle, and was called Ne ruch chah. This family trek was done with pack horses along Indian trails, as in those early days, modern roads had not yet been laid out. The trail would lead to the ford at the Yahara called He no chah. Dugout canoes made from hollowed out tree trunks were used on the lakes. Their relationship with white people was cordial, and they used to stop by stores in their settlements to buy supplies.
In the course of her life, Minnie knew many of the famous chiefs of the Hōcąk nation. Among them were Big Hawk of the Pike Lake band, High Knocker from Green Lake, Canoe Dacorah from the Wisconsin River band, and Yellow Thunder of Sauk County.
Traveling from her village of Dancy to the capital city of Wisconsin was an adventure, and she "enjoyed every mile of the ride." While in the Madison area she paid a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Big Thunder who lived just south of Lake Monona. She enjoyed a great reputation in Madison for her bead work and other crafts. Her husband, Robert Big Thunder, who was a veteran of the First World War, worked in the Hercules powder plant in Merrimac, doing the dangerous work of manufacturing gunpowder.
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Charles E. Brown |
On her last day in the capital, Minnie and her daughter visited the Wisconsin Historical Museum, where they found, much to their delight, a picture of Blue Wing displayed. Wisconsin's greatest archaeologist and director of the Museum, came out to meet her. During their conversation, Dr. Brown mentioned that the great mound on the Hoyt farm at the foot of Lake Monona was going to be preserved for posterity. Minnie remembered that mound very well from her days camping by the lake, and expressed her appreciation that it might be preserved for the enlightenment of future generations.
Notes to the Text
1 this account is largely based on an interview of Minnie White Wing given to Madge Yohn in 1943. Madge Yohn, "All Around the Town," The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin (Tue, Jun 1, 1943) page 6.
2 Dr. F. D. Hulburt, "Ah-ho-cho-ka (Blue Wing)," Reedsburg Free Press (Feb. 23, 1922) 10-12.
3 "Winnebago Indian Village in Town of Reedsburg," The Reedsburg Free Press, Dec. 15, 1921 (clipping, pp. 1-3).
4 Emma Big Bear Foundation > History of Emma Big Bear (electronic text, viewed: 12.24.2024).
5 Hulburt, "Ah-ho-cho-ka (Blue Wing)," 10.
Commentary
"Dancy" — a village about 20 miles south of Wausau. It lies about 125 miles north of Madison, which would take a little over two hours to reach by bus.
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Jones, Madison, Wisconsin |
Chief Blue Wing, prior to 1874 |
"Blue Wing" — in Hōcąk, ’Āhúcoga. History records,
"Blue Wing" was the head of this branch of the tribe and was its chief spokesman in the councils of the tribe held at the original settlement near Winnebago Lake. He was a quiet, peaceful man, who ruled his tribe with justice, whose good qualities made him many friends among his white neighbors and the business and professional men in Tomah with whom he had dealings; he lived to the age of 103 years, and at his death he was held in such esteem that a public funeral was held in the Methodist church at Tomah, largely attended by the town people and his neighbors ...1
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Google Maps |
The Quarters of Section 29 Enlarge |
"the site of his village" — this was S.E. ¼ of S.W. ¼, Section 29, Township 15N, Range 4E.2 This and neighboring villages were remembered in 1929:
Of all the Indians in the Upper Baraboo Valley when the pioneers came the Winnebago Chieftain, Ah-ha Choker [’Āhúcoga], doubtless is the most widely known. He was a chief of the Winnebagoes who dwelt in this region, and he dwelt among them in many places. There were found here by the settlers no less than six Indian villages within a short distance of one another. Of these, the village situated on what is now the Orloff Twist farm in the town of Westfield is perhaps the most widely celebrated. This was the headquarters of Ah-ha Choker at the time Lyman Twist settled that tract of land in 1848. The village at the head of the valley leading west from the County Farm was probably the next most widely known. It was here that Ah-Ha Choker went when forced to abandon his Westfield village. Here he lived for many years, and it was here that he dwelt until obliged to join his tribe on a reservation. The site of this village lies within the township of Reedsburg.3
"George" — Richards mentions a son:
In this band were two Indians who were in the army during the rebellion, an old fellow familiarly known in later years as "Sherman," because he served in the Third Wisconsin and was under General Sherman, and also a son of Chief "Blue wing," known as "Thunder Chief."4
However, the name "Thunder Chief," Wakąjá-hųk, also functions as the title of the Chief of the Thunderbird Clan. Since George was made a chief in his own right, it is likely that "Thunder Chief" refers to him.
"Ne ruch chah" — this might be for Ni-racga-ja, "Where they drink water."
Notes to the Commentary
1 Randolph A. Richards, History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, past and present: including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county (Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co, 1912) 31.
2 Hulburt, "Ah-ho-cho-ka (Blue Wing),"10.
3 Merton Edwin Krug, History of Reedsburg and the Upper Baraboo Valley (Madison: Author, Feb. 1929) 270.
4 Richards, History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, 31.