Ten Views of Lake Wingra
The Madison area is known for its four lakes. But there’s a fifth, and its history, ecology and beauty are well worth a tour
By Jeff Durbin and Gordon Heingartner
(page 8 of 10)
8. THE HO-CHUNK IN THE ARBORETUM
Long after ceding their ancestral lands to the U.S. government in 1832, Ho-Chunks returned to Wingra yearly until about 1925, establishing seasonal camps on the lake. To the Ho-Chunk, the name was Ki-chunk-och-hep-er-rah: place where the turtle comes up. In the winter of 1909, Charles Brown began a long relationship with the Ho-Chunk by befriending Joseph White. Brown spent hours in the White family’s wigwam near White Clay Spring (in what is now the Arboretum), listening to White’s stories, sometimes staying until smoke from the fireplace hurt his eyes.
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