The Ho-Chunk or Winnebago (as they are commonly called) are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what are now Wisconsin and Illinois. The term "Winnebago" originally came from a name given to them by rival tribes, which meant something like "people of the stinking water", though the exact translation is disputed. The French called them the Puans, translated into English as "Stinkards", based on the information given by rival groups of natives. The more correct, but less common English name for the tribe is "Ho-Chunk". They call themselves "Hotcâgara".
The Ho-Chunk language is part of the Siouanlanguage family, and is closely related to the languages of the Iowa, Missouri, and Oto. The Ho-Chunk were the first people to welcome French explorer Jean Nicolet when he arrived at what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1634.
The term "Winnebago" originally came from a name given to them by rival tribes, which meant something like "people of the stinking water", though the exact translation is disputed.
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Thurston County, Nebraska, and Woodbury County, Iowa)
The Ho-Chunk language is part of the Siouanlanguage family, and is closely related to the languages of the Iowa, Missouri, and Oto.
As a result, there are two separate Winnebago tribes today: the WisconsinWinnebago with 4,400 acres (333 acres tribally owned) scattered in small holdings across ten counties; and the Nebraska Winnebago who still have 27,500 acres from their 1865 reservation, 3,100 belongs to the tribe.
The Winnebago were obviously powerful enough for the moment to prevent the Ojibwe from moving further south, but the loss of territory and and a growing population must have stressed the resources available to them.
While Winnebago were serving as scouts, the Indian Bureau - in its wisdom - conceived a plan of relocating the Winnebago to North Dakota as a buffer between the Lakota and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara.
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