Ho-Chunk

The Ho-Chunk, sometimes called Winnebago, are a Siouan-speaking tribe of Native Americans, native to the present-day states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and parts of Iowa and Illinois. Today the two separate federally recognized related Native tribes are the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin has territory primarily on land spread over Dane, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Sauk, Shawano, and Wood Counties, Wisconsin. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska live on a Federal Reservation in Nebraska. While related, the two tribes are distinct federally recognized as sovereign Nations and peoples, each having their own constitutionally formed governments, and completely separate governing and business interests.

Since the late 20th century, the two tribal councils have authorized the development of gambling casinos to generate revenues to support economic development, infrastructure, health care and education. The Ho-Chunk Nation is working on language restoration and has developed a Hocąk-language "app" for the iPhone. Since 1988, it has pursued a claim to the Badger Army Ammunition Plant as traditional territory; it has since been declared surplus, but the Ho-Chunk have struggled with changes in policy at the Department of the Interior. It supported their claim in 1998 but in 2011 refused to accept the property on their behalf.