Folklore of the Winnebago Tribe

by David Lee Smith, Robert J. Conley (Foreword)

The oral tradition of the Winnebago, or Ho-Chunk, people ranges from creation myths to Trickster stories and histories of the tribe. It is particularly strong in animal tales, as storyteller and tribal historian David Lee Smith vividly demonstrates in Folklore of the Winnebago Tribe , a collection drawn from the Smithsonian Institution and other sources, including the work of contemporaries. Smith himself contributes fourteen tales. In the book we meet relatively recent characters such as Ho-poe-kaw (Glory-of-the-Morning), the famed and formidable woman chief who battled many other tribes as well as whites, threw historic alliances into disarray, and - although she often discomfited the French - married a Frenchman. We also encounter traditional figures, Trickster, talking dogs, Eagle, Owl, and Rabbit, moving through the chronicles of these Woodland people who stemmed from the Great Lakes region. The tales incorporate both the visionary and the down-to-earth. Some are deeply moving. Some, reflecting earlier items, are full of violence.

Genres: Native American

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[William Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting dive into the folklore of the Winnebago. It seems that at the heart of it all we are really all the same as human beings. Our cultures are not very different. I enjoyed the read, and it is heartening to see that young people are stepping up to keep the culture and language of the Winnebago alive.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

As transplanted New Englander, after living in NE for over 10 years, and a resident of IA for 3+ years,
I decided that was time to read about native tribes of these two states, and I was richly rewarded by the tales. Starting with no knowledge, I was happily surprised by the tales, which had some similarities but many differences from my limited knowledge of tribes in New York.