Legal experts of the Ho-Chunk Nation will host a roundtable discussion on Indian treaties and the Indian legal system at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 29. They will discuss the effects of treaties on the Ho-Chunk Nation and other tribal nations and how campus community members are impacted by the ramifications of such treaties in their day-to-day lives, according to a University of Wisconsin press release.
According to the press release, the panel comprises four alumni of the UW Law School. The panelists will include
- Jo Deen B. Lowe, chief judge for the Ho-Chunk Nation Trial Court
- JoAnn Jones, associate judge for the Ho-Chunk Nation Trial Court
- Wendi Huling, senior tribal counsel for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice
- Michelle Greendeer-Rave, tribal attorney for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice. All four are alumni of the UW Law School.
Distinguished lecturer discusses Ho-Chunk land UW was built on
“I hope it will provide people with a basic understanding of the importance of where we come from and what our histories are as a people,” Lowe said in the press release.
The event is part of the UW-Madison Treaty Day proceedings commemorating the Treaty of 1832 that was signed Sept. 15, 1832. The treaty forced Ho-Chunk people to cede the territory that the UW campus occupies today.
It’s also part of a larger undertaking on campus to educate UW students on Indigenous history. According to UW News, previous efforts include installing the “Our Shared Future” heritage marker on Bascom Hill in 2020.
Omar Poler, the Indigenous education coordinator for the Office of the Provost and the School of Education, is responsible for the “Our Shared Future” effort. Poler’s vision is to “provoke discussion” in each classroom at the beginning of every academic year about treaties and UW’s relationship as a university with Indigenous people.
For more information on the roundtable discussion and other events marking this year’s Treaty Day, visit the Our Shared Future website here.
