2012 Book Award of Merit Winner Announced

Five Co-Authors Win 2012 Book Award of Merit

Five Co-Authors Win 2012 Book Award of Merit

Co-authors Tom Jones, Michael Schmudlach, Matthew Daniel Mason, Amy Lonetree, and George A. Greendeer won the 2012 Book Award of Merit for their book, "People of the Big Voice: Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879-1942," published by the Society.

About the Award

The award is given to the author or authors of a book on Wisconsin history which, in the opinion of the judges, made the most valuable contribution to public understanding of Wisconsin's past during the preceding calendar year.

The criteria used to evaluate the nominations included factual accuracy, documentation, research methodology, graphic design and the impact on the reading public.

About the Book

"People of the Big Voice" tells the visual history of Ho-Chunk families at the turn of the 20th century and beyond as depicted through the lens of Black River Falls studio photographer Charles Van Schaick. The family relationships among those who sat for the photographer are clearly visible in these images. Sisters, friends, families and young couples appear and reappear, fleshing out a narrative of the period, from 1879 to 1942, referred to as "the dark ages" in Indian tribal history.

A panel of judges from the Wisconsin Historical Society recommended the authors receive the award. The Wisconsin Historical Society Board of Curators' Awards Committee approved the 2012 Book Award of Merit.