In 2022, Madison Public Library and Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison welcomed a variety of Native artists, storytellers, and community leaders for a series of programs celebrating Indigenous people in and beyond Teejop (pronounced day-JOPE, meaning Four Lakes, or Madison). In order to honor the specific role that storytellers play in Ho-Chunk and many Indigenous cultures and expand this program to include other kinds of knowledge, we updated the original name of this series from Storyteller-in-Residence (2021) to Teejop and Beyond: Celebrating Native Nations of the Great Lakes (2022 onward). Native folks from different nations led programs highlighting both traditional and contemporary practices, stories, and community relationships. Programs kicked off in October following Indigenous Peoples' Day, and included art workshops, cooking and crop demonstrations, storytelling, presentations on traditional skills and customs, and more!
Upcoming Events
There are no scheduled events at this time.
Past Programs
Contemporary Native Art, Issues and (Mis-)Understandings
National Heritage Fellow Karen Ann Hoffman of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin shared a presentation of her art, songs, and stories, comparing the ways Western and Native cultures understand the role of Art. This included an in-depth discussion of her multi year efforts to raise awareness about the Mass Native burial site on the grounds of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and the ongoing tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Family History Writing Workshops with Sherman Funmaker
Ho-Chunk elder Sherman Funmaker led three family history writing workshops in different neighborhoods around town. He shared stories of his upbringing as a Bear Clan Member, a descendant of Mountain Wolf Woman, and a writer. He also read some of his original writings and guided participants in writing about their own family history.
Milkweed Soup Cooking Demo and Sampling Celebration
In early summer, Ho-Chunk people celebrate the foraging season for common milkweed flower buds, known as “Mahic” (MAW-heench) in the Ho-Chunk language. The mahic is cooked up into a delicious brothy soup with other vegetables and tiny dumplings. Olbrich Botanical Gardens' Indigenous Garden facilitator Rita Peters (Ho-Chunk) and Herb Garden horticulturist Erin Presley shared some insight into Ho-Chunk gardening and culinary traditions, and demonstrated how to make this soup using the last of their 2022 milkweed harvest - participants lined up for seconds and thirds!
Multigenerational Beading Workshop with Leah Winneshiek
Ho-Chunk artist Leah Winneshiek taught families and community members of all ages how to make a pair of earrings using wire beading techniques.
ONLINE - Remembering Wazhask: Indigenous Birth and Traditional Parenting
Raeanne Madison of Postpartum Healing Lodge led a virtual presentation on reclaiming and revitalizing Anishinaabe stories of birthing, postpartum, and lactation.
Monona's Street Art Scene with Kristie Goforth
Kristie Goforth is a member of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa (Ojibway) Indians and is an arts supporter that lives in Monona. At this event, she hosted participants at one of the graffiti walls painted by local street artists on Monona Drive, and presented on how art can boost tourism, increase diversity in communities, and bring people together.
Storytime (Youth) - The Medicine Dress
Ho-Chunk Storyteller Andi Cloud shared the Ojibwe story of The Medicine Dress, also known as the Jingle Dress, in this storytime for youth and families. Andi also discussed pow-wows, pow-wow etiquette, styles of dance, and how to find pow-wows in Wisconsin and the Midwest.
Multigenerational Basket Making Workshop
Kimberly Crowley is a member of the Hall family, known for their skills as master Ho-Chunk Black Ash and miniature basket weavers. Basket weaving is one of the longest practiced Ho-Chunk artistic forms that continues to this day. In this workshop, Kimberly invited attendees to make a communal Black Ash basket that was displayed at Hawthorne Library. Participants also learned how to make a personal paper basket with the help of Brooklynn, Kimberly’s apprentice and granddaughter.
Beadwork 101
Beadwork is a traditional Indigenous craft that varies in style across tribes. Ho-Chunk Storyteller and artist Andi Cloud shared some of the methods she's learned and taught participants how to make a mini medallion.
Meet the Presenters
Andi Cloud (Thunder Clan, Ho-Chunk Nation)
Andi Cloud is an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and a member of the Thunder Clan. Andi grew up in Black River Falls, Wisconsin and earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees from UW-La Crosse. She has worked in the field of education, and is also an artist specializing in the crafts of sewing and beadwork. Andi enjoys traveling, pow-wows, fly-fishing, campfires, and a good story.
Kim Crowley (Ho-Chunk Nation)
Kimberly is a member of the Hall family, known for their skills as master Ho-Chunk black ash basket and miniature basket weavers. Basket weaving is one of the longest practiced Ho-Chunk artistic forms, and both women and men continue to make baskets professionally today. Basket maker Kimberly Crowley will invite workshop attendees to make a communal black ash basket that will be displayed at Hawthorne Library. Additionally, attendees can make a personal paper basket with the help of Brooklynn, Kimberly’s apprentice and granddaughter.
Sherman Funmaker (Bear Clan Elder, Ho-Chunk Nation)
Sherman Funmaker is a poet, writer, and a UW Baraboo graduate. He is a Ho-Chunk elder and member of the Bear Clan. Sherman will lead three sessions throughout the fall about writing your family history. October is National Family History Month and Sherman will share stories of his upbringing as a Bear Clan Member, a descendant of Mountain Wolf Woman, and a writer. He'll read some of his original writings and guide participants in writing about their own family history.
Kristie GoForth (Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians)
Kristie Goforth is a member of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa (Ojibway) Indians and is an arts supporter that lives in Monona. She currently serves as a Dane County Parks Commissioner and is the Executive Director of Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison. She has served as an elected official on Monona City Council and was formerly on the Dane Arts Cultural Affairs Grant Review Panel.
Karen Ann Hoffman (Haudenosaunee citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Karen Ann Hoffman is a Haudenosaunee raised beadwork artist and citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Hoffman lives, hunts, and gardens in a rural area of central Wisconsin sheltered by trees and grasslands and poised on the edge of a marsh. "As a beader,” she says, “it is my privilege and responsibility to peer through that cultural lens, reflect on contemporary Indigenous experiences, and describe what I see on a field of velvet using glass beads and a steel needle.”
Raeanne Madison (Crane Clan, Bois Forte Band Ojibwe Nation)
Raeanne Madison, MPH, is a crane clan citizen of the Ojibwe nation (Bois Forte Band), but has spent her entire life in Anishinaabe territory in Michigan. Raeanne is an Indigenous mother, community educator, and full spectrum birth worker. She has dedicated over a decade of service to working with new families in the realms of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting. A natural teacher and practicing postpartum doula, she has taught thousands of community members, professional staff, and elected officials about Indigenous resilience and excellence.
Rita Peters (Ho-Chunk and Menominee)
Rita Peters is a 25-year old student at Madison College and has worked with Olbrich Botanical Gardens for four years, both in outdoor gardening and visitor service positions. She is of Ho-Chunk and Menominee descent and inherited a deep respect for the land from her lifelong involvement in traditional Ho-Chunk culture. This upbringing continues to inspire and inform her pursuit of a degree in Conservation Biology, and she loves to share her cultural heritage in language, song, dance, art, food, and gardening.
Leah Winneshiek (Ho-Chunk Nation)
Leah’s contemporary jewelry blends her knowledge of gemstones and other natural materials with sterling silver wire wrapping and beading methods. Winneshiek said that some of her beads were handed down from her mother.
Indigenous Artist & Presenter Guide [DOWNLOAD]
Native American Heritage Month Book List 2022Previous Storyteller-in-Residence
Ho-Chunk Through Story with Andi Cloud
In fall of 2021, Madison Public Library welcomed Ho-Chunk Nation storyteller and tribal member AJ (Andi) Cloud for a variety of interactive storytelling and creative learning opportunities. The programs kicked off on Indigenous Peoples' Day, October 11, 2021. They included art workshops, activity kits, outdoor story walks, digital stories, exhibits, and more all across the city focusing on topics like Ho-Chunk history and culture, the fall harvest, veterans and Veteran's Day, beadwork, black ash basket making, and growing up Ho-Chunk in the 20th Century.
Learn more about Ho-Chunk Through Story: The Origin, The Wayz, and The Life.
Based on Vancouver Public Library’s Indigenous Storyteller in Residence program, the intention of this residency is to promote intercultural understanding and story sharing. In light of both the COVID-19 pandemic and movements for racial justice, it was also an opportunity to make space for healing and connection.
Excerpt from UW-Madison's Department of Tribal Relations website on Teejop (Dejope): Significance and History:
"The Ho-Chunk have called Teejop (pronounced Day-JOPE [J as in Jump]) and the shores of Waaksikhomikra (Where the Person Rests) home for time immemorial. In Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk language), Teejop translates as “Four Lakes”, named after the deep lakes that define the landscape and that provide a high quality of life for all living beings (plant and animal) in between the periodic ice ages that covered Teejop in a mile-thick sheet of ice."
