Hundreds of students, staff and community members, including University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Ho-Chunk Nation President Jon Greendeer, gathered Tuesday to display three Ho-Chunk banners on Bascom Hall.
The banners, designed by anthropology graduate student Molli Pauliot, design studies professor Marianne Fairbanks and digital arts professor Stephen Hilyard are a 3D digital recreation of a beaded design inspired by Ho-Chunk textiles. The digital rendering represents 160,000 beads, according to UW News.
Pauliot spoke about the symbolism and design of the banners during the ceremony. The design is in the format of the Ho-Chunk bandolier bag and represents abstract landscapes of the campus area, according to the group’s artist statement for the project, titled “Seed by Seed”.
“In the center panel is a thunderbird, viewed directly across Lake Mendota on the north shore where the Ho-Chunk chief’s clan had their village,” the artists’ statement read. “Underneath the thunderbird, two water spirit representations sit above an abstract water triangle representation. There is a double water spirit mound located on Observatory Drive.”
“The two outer panels are the four lakes in the Dejope area and the flowers that once covered the area,” the statement continued.
The statement also said the design utilized many symbolic colors including pink, representing the chief clan, and UW-Madison’s iconic cardinal red.
The banner and celebration are a part of the land-grant university’s commitment to recognizing the First Nations of Wisconsin and UW-Madison’s displacement of indigenous tribes through the “Our Shared Future” initiative.
Mnookin spoke at the event, indicating that the project was a “reminder of our ongoing responsibility to move our campus from ignorance to awareness.”
The event is also a part of UW-Madison’s continued 175th anniversary celebrations. In honoring UW-Madison’s history, the banner artists chose to acknowledge Ho-Chunk culture and “ecological knowledge” and innovation, according to the statement.
“This opportunity aims to spark learning and deepen understanding of the Ho-Chunk Nation through meaningful learning experiences embedded in the Wisconsin Experience,” the statement said.
Greendeer also spoke, acknowledging the growing partnership between the Ho-Chunk Nation and UW-Madison, saying “a day like today is absolutely historic.”
Noe Goldhaber is the college news editor and former copy chief for the Daily Cardinal. She is a statistics major and has reported on a wide range of campus issues. Follow her on Twitter at @noegoldhaber.
