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 this 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 times, are full of violence.
Today the Winnebago number around ten thousand, living on
reservations and in cities. By including both old and new stories
in the manner of the oral tradition, Smith hopes to show readers
how the Winnebago people express themselves. Whether invoking the
terrors of the age of Ice Giants or describing Trickster barreling
down the highway in an automobile, "As long as there is one
Winnebago left in the world, storytelling will continue".
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