The Winnebago Tribe
Beginning in the 1640s, Algonquin refugees from the Beaver Wars went into Wisconsin from the east and formed what is known as the Winnebago Tribe. Most people around the United States have never heard of a Native American group called the Winnebago Tribe. This tribe is not very well known throughout the world and they weren’t very big.
The Tribe was first found in Kentucky around 500 BC. Then by 500 AD, the tribe had entered what is now Wisconsin. The Winnebago tribe fought a war with the Potawatomi Tribe. After this war, the population of the tribe went from around 25,000 people to about 150. This dramatic decrease in population was because small pox and measles epidemics took out most of the people.
The Winnebago Tribe …show more content…
They were much taller than the other normal Native Americans. They were a very brave group of people. Their clothing was fringed buckskin, which the Winnebago decorated with gorgeous designs created from porcupine quills, feathers, and beads. They were mostly known for their crafty skills and their beautiful works. Men originally wore their hair in two, very long braids, but after a while, this changed to the scalp lock and roach headdress. Body tattooing was not uncommon amongst both males and females. The Winnebago people grew three different types of corn together with beans, squash, and tobacco. They also went fishing and hunting. The hunted the buffalo from the plains of southern Wisconsin. Using dugout canoes, they also took wild rice from the close by lakes during the fall season. The Winnebago used pottery for cooking. They also used pottery for food storage. Copper was fairly common since it was available from the south shore of Lake …show more content…
Winnebago clans served both ceremonial and social functions. They were grouped into two major parts of the group. The first was an Upper group which represented the sky and consisted of four clans. They also had a Lower group representing the Earth which consisted of eight clans. Of these clans, the Thunderbird and Bear clans were the most important. The head chief of the Winnebago almost always was chosen from the Thunderbird clan. Clan membership was more important among the Winnebago than other things, and a Winnebago chief ruled with the help of a council made up of the most important members of each clan. The Winnebago made few changes to their traditional social and their political structures throughout all of