
by Anna Von Reitz
I grew up in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, where a large Winnebago
Reservation is located, across the Black River from my Great-Grandfather's
Homestead.
He was a good man and saw no reason that the Natives should not continue to
come and go and enjoy the land as they always had, and as it happened, his
Homestead claim included the Winnebago Summer Hunting Grounds.
So, every summer, they came from their Winter Camps and they continued to
share the land with him and his children. He gave them store goods and they
gave him wild game and other presents in exchange. It was a good life and
peaceful and everyone loved each other. They gave him a Winnebago name. He
gave them English names.
And then the Government got involved