On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Dr. Marcus Lewis, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, shared a presentation titled “Ho-Chunk Survivance: Our Forced Removals and the Boarding School Era” with Lawrentians. The presentation took place in Main Hall and covered the history of Ho-Chunk ancestral lands, Ho-Chunk removal from these lands and the Wisconsin boarding school era. This event was sponsored by the Lawrence University Native Alliance (LUNA), the Department of History and the Department of Ethnic Studies.
Lewis began the presentation by introducing the history of the Ho-Chunk people’s ancestral lands and their cultural significance. He then delved into the Ho-Chunk people’s removals, citing the Indian Removal Act of 1830 as a key event in history leading to a chain of events, beginning the cycles of removals. Lewis emphasized the forceful and brutal nature of the removals, which he said led to the loss of Ho-Chunk population and culture.
Moving into the boarding school era, Lewis talked about the lasting impacts of Ho-Chunk assimilation that have led to the dilution of culture and loss of language.
“There is no culture without language,” expressed Lewis.
He explained how the boarding school era has resulted in intergenerational trauma and a longstanding mistrust toward government assistance within the Ho-Chunk community.
Alongside the historical perspective, Lewis connected these themes to present-day issues, particularly the way immigration and forced displacement remain divisive topics in the current political landscape. He emphasized how historical narratives like that of the Ho-Chunk can inform discussions on forced migration and cultural erasure in today’s context, noting the parallels between Indigenous removals and the broader struggle for identity preservation in the face of displacement.
To close the presentation, Lewis spoke on the resilience of the Ho-Chunk people and the “survivance” of their culture and language through the sharing of stories. He shared that the Ho-Chunk language is now being taught in schools to Ho-Chunk youth.
Lewis finished his talk by urging the audience to learn the ancestral names of the lands on which they work and live, build authentic relationships with Indigenous communities, become collectors of stories and share what they learned.