1 00:00:00,501 --> 00:00:01,101 Dane County 2 00:00:01,168 --> 00:00:02,002 recently purchased 3 00:00:02,069 --> 00:00:03,637 165 acres 4 00:00:03,704 --> 00:00:04,204 in the lower 5 00:00:04,271 --> 00:00:04,838 Mud Lake 6 00:00:04,905 --> 00:00:06,340 Natural Resource Area 7 00:00:06,406 --> 00:00:07,207 and donated it 8 00:00:07,274 --> 00:00:08,675 back to the Ho-Chunk Tribe 9 00:00:08,742 --> 00:00:10,043 of Native Americans 10 00:00:10,110 --> 00:00:10,544 in what they 11 00:00:10,611 --> 00:00:11,144 are calling a 12 00:00:11,211 --> 00:00:12,145 landmark conservation 13 00:00:12,212 --> 00:00:13,347 partnership 14 00:00:13,413 --> 00:00:14,615 with the Ho-Chunk Nation 15 00:00:14,681 --> 00:00:17,050 and the Groundswell Conservancy. 16 00:00:17,117 --> 00:00:18,352 I'm Erica Ayisi, 17 00:00:18,418 --> 00:00:19,019 a reporter with 18 00:00:19,086 --> 00:00:20,254 PBS Wisconsin. 19 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,022 Teejop, a word that means 20 00:00:22,089 --> 00:00:22,890 four lakes in the 21 00:00:22,956 --> 00:00:24,091 Ho-Chunk language. 22 00:00:24,157 --> 00:00:24,825 A language that's 23 00:00:24,892 --> 00:00:25,859 still alive and 24 00:00:25,926 --> 00:00:27,027 spoken amongst the 25 00:00:27,094 --> 00:00:28,228 Ho-Chunk Nation 26 00:00:28,295 --> 00:00:29,963 since time immemorial 27 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:30,864 long before it 28 00:00:30,931 --> 00:00:31,765 became Madison 29 00:00:31,832 --> 00:00:33,066 and Dane County. 30 00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:33,934 But through a series 31 00:00:34,001 --> 00:00:35,669 of treaties in the 1800s 32 00:00:35,736 --> 00:00:36,970 they were forcibly removed 33 00:00:37,037 --> 00:00:38,172 from the area. 34 00:00:38,238 --> 00:00:38,705 I spoke with 35 00:00:38,772 --> 00:00:39,640 Bill Quackenbush, 36 00:00:39,706 --> 00:00:40,607 the Ho-Chunk Tribal 37 00:00:40,674 --> 00:00:42,009 Preservation Officer 38 00:00:42,075 --> 00:00:42,576 who says they 39 00:00:42,643 --> 00:00:43,443 lost their ability 40 00:00:43,510 --> 00:00:44,945 to call this place home 41 00:00:45,012 --> 00:00:45,546 and will use 42 00:00:45,612 --> 00:00:46,380 this opportunity for 43 00:00:46,446 --> 00:00:47,614 educational purposes 44 00:00:47,681 --> 00:00:48,582 about ancestral 45 00:00:48,649 --> 00:00:49,983 Ho-Chunk ways of living 46 00:00:50,050 --> 00:00:51,552 preserve their burial grounds 47 00:00:51,618 --> 00:00:52,553 and nourish their 48 00:00:52,619 --> 00:00:54,655 medicinal practices. 49 00:00:54,721 --> 00:00:55,989 Every Plant is a resource 50 00:00:56,056 --> 00:00:56,990 right? 51 00:00:57,057 --> 00:00:57,958 They say everything 52 00:00:58,025 --> 00:00:59,927 our Mother Earth gifts us. 53 00:00:59,993 --> 00:01:00,661 Because, like, 54 00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:01,695 that is a form of medicine. 55 00:01:01,762 --> 00:01:02,296 You just get to 56 00:01:02,362 --> 00:01:03,630 find out what it is. 57 00:01:03,697 --> 00:01:05,098 So you can smell that 58 00:01:05,165 --> 00:01:05,966 I also spoke with 59 00:01:06,033 --> 00:01:07,601 Groundswell Conservancy, 60 00:01:07,668 --> 00:01:08,836 a community based group 61 00:01:08,902 --> 00:01:09,436 that protects 62 00:01:09,503 --> 00:01:10,637 natural resources. 63 00:01:10,704 --> 00:01:12,573 but we didn't. Yeah. 64 00:01:12,639 --> 00:01:13,340 they ended up being, 65 00:01:13,407 --> 00:01:15,008 deadfall or tree falls 66 00:01:15,075 --> 00:01:16,210 They are collaborating with 67 00:01:16,276 --> 00:01:17,177 Ho-Chunk to protect 68 00:01:17,244 --> 00:01:18,345 the lands ecological 69 00:01:18,412 --> 00:01:20,380 and archeological significance 70 00:01:20,447 --> 00:01:21,548 indefinitely. 71 00:01:21,615 --> 00:01:22,516 If you want to know more 72 00:01:22,583 --> 00:01:23,550 about this land back 73 00:01:23,617 --> 00:01:25,052 acquisition for Ho-Chunk 74 00:01:25,118 --> 00:01:25,819 and their plans 75 00:01:25,886 --> 00:01:26,920 for the land 76 00:01:26,987 --> 00:01:28,822 go to pbswisconsin.org 77 00:01:28,889 --> 00:01:31,225 and click on the news tab.