Emma Big Bear was more than a knowledge keeper. She was an artist, a mother, a wife and a Ho-Chunk woman who refused to leave her homelands.
A skilled black ash basket maker, she carried culture through her hands and through her everyday life. She chose to remain near the graves of her ancestors, staying rooted in place, identity, and responsibility during a time of great change.
Our traditions have always been preserved by women like her, not always in institutions, but in everyday living.
May she remind us that it is our responsibility to carry that forward.
Wa’iniginapwi for tuning into our Women’s History Month series this month!
We’re a team of two balancing full-time work, family, and this work in our spare time! Pį̄nągigiwi for your patience with our uploads.
Stay tuned for the final episode.
This Women’s History Month, we honor the strength, leadership, and resilience of Ho-Chunk women, past and present.
Our first episode highlights Mountain Wolf Woman (Xéhachiwinga), also known as Stella Blowsnake Whitepine Stacy, whose life story gives us one of the earliest firsthand accounts of Ho-Chunk womanhood, family life, and cultural resilience during a time of immense change.
Her voice preserved generations of knowledge and history.
Tune in every Friday this March for a new episode honoring Ho-Chunk women who shaped our past and continue to inspire our future.
This Women’s History Month, we honor the strength, leadership, and resilience of Ho-Chunk women, past and present.
Lillian St. Cyr walked in spaces not built for her and still made history. From the Winnebago Reservation to early Hollywood, she carried herself with strength, talent, and pride in who she was.
She didn’t just act, she created, advocated, and uplifted our people every step of the way.
Her legacy reminds us that Ho-Chunk women have always been at the forefront, leading, creating change, and taking up space exactly as we are, without apology.
May we follow that path, unafraid to rise, to be seen, and to remember that we were never meant to stay small.
Tune in every Friday this March for a new episode honoring Ho-Chunk women who shaped our past and continue to inspire our future.