Total population | |
---|---|
4,192[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States ( Nebraska)( Iowa) | |
Languages | |
English, Ho-Chunk[2] | |
Religion | |
traditional tribal religion, Native American Church[3] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
other Ho-Chunk people, Otoe, Iowa, and Missouria people[3] |
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Ho-Chunk: Nįįšoc Hoocąk)[4] is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ho-Chunk Native Americans. The other is the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Tribe members often refer to themselves as Hochungra – "People of the Parent Speech". Their language is part of the Siouan family.
The Winnebago Reservation was established by a treaty on March 8, 1865.[5] It is located in Thurston and Dixon counties, Nebraska, and Woodbury County, Iowa.[6] The reservation is 176.55 square miles (112,990 acres; 457.3 km2),[7] of which 27,637 acres (43.183 sq mi; 111.84 km2) is tribal trust land.[1] In 1990, 1,151 tribal members lived on the reservation.[6] Before the move to the reservation in Nebraska and Iowa, the tribe owned (by the treaty of 1846), a vast wilderness area in central Minnesota Territory, the Long Prairie Reservation.[8]
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is headquartered in Winnebago, Nebraska.[9] The tribe is governed by a democratically elected general council.
The current administration is as follows:
The Winnebago Tribe runs multiple programs aimed at providing services to the tribe and local community including multiple educational programs aimed at assisting low-income tribe members, a tribal housing program, and the Winnebago Veteran's Association.[11] Additionally, the Winnebago Tribe runs the Winnebago Fire Crew which serves the Winnebago and other local tribes[12]
The Winnebago Tribe speaks English and Ho-Chunk (Hocąk), which is a Chiwere-Winnebago language, part of the Siouan-Catawban language family.[2]
Ho-Chunk, Inc. is the tribe's corporation; it provides construction services, professional services, and business and consumer products.[13] The Winnebago Tribe also owns and operates the WinnaVegas Casino Resort, hotel, and Flowers Island Restaurant and Buffet, all located in Sloan, Iowa.[14] Ho-Chunk, Inc. has been recognized several times for exercising good governance and creatively solving issues faced in the tribe. Administered by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at the Harvard Kennedy School, it's been awarded an Honoring Nations award in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2015.[15]
In response to issues related to juvenile safety and crime prevention, the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska worked with the Nebraska Crime Commission to establish a comprehensive juvenile services plan. In 2012, the Winnebago Juvenile Justice Planning Team (WJJPT) was formed to assist with youth outreach and public safety. In the most recent revision of the "Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Comprehensive Juvenile Services Plan three primary areas of concern are listed:
Priority Area #1: Our community needs to distribute responsibility and awareness for youth across the whole community.
Priority Area #2: Our community needs a higher level of community organization.
Priority Area #3: Our community faces a current, pressing need to develop a better coordinated and more comprehensive juvenile justice system.[16] (taken directly from https://ncc.nebraska.gov/sites/ncc.nebraska.gov/files/doc/Winnebago-Tribe-Comm-Plan.pdf)
Since its founding, the WJJPT has planned and carried out a variety of public safety initiatives such as school outreach programs and planning a Crisis Intervention Center