Highlights Archives
Mountain Wolf Woman: A Ho-Chunk Girlhood
The daily life of a young Ho-Chunk girl around the turn of the 20th century is the subject of a new book for young readers from Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Mountain Wolf Woman: A Ho-Chunk Girlhood uses the seasons of the year as a backdrop to describe what life was like for an Indian girl in Wisconsin. When Mountain Wolf Woman was born around Black River Falls in 1884, Wisconsin had only been a state for 36 years. Yet her people, the Ho-Chunk Nation, had lived in the area for hundreds, if not thousands of years, living in much the same way as they had for centuries. But in some ways, Mountain Wolf Woman's life was very different. With words drawn from Mountain Wolf Woman's autobiography, author Diane Holliday interweaves Mountain Wolf Woman's own childhood memories and feelings into the story, inviting readers to compare their lives today with that of someone who lived more than 100 years ago.
 The cover of Mountain Wolf Woman Central to the story is the movement of Mountain Wolf Woman and her family in and around Wisconsin, including their forced displacement from Wisconsin to Nebraska by the U.S. government. The move to Nebraska in 1873-1874 was the last of many removals the government attempted with the Ho-Chunk, beginning in the 1830s. Some, including Mountain Wolf Woman, later returned to Wisconsin, but continued to move around the state, gathering and hunting food as the seasons changed.
Mountain Wolf Woman is the newest title in the Badger Biographies Series, a series of books designed to help upper-elementary and middle-school readers explore the stories of real Wisconsin people. Other titles include Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers, A Recipe for Success: Lizzie Kander and her Cookbook, Mai Ya's Long Journey, and Harley and the Davidsons: Motorcycle Legends.
Visit the Wisconsin Historical Museum Shop for copies of these new books and other publications by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
:: Posted April 2, 2007
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