A Before-the-Fourth-of-July American greeting

On the way to work this morning I noticed that the large supermarket in Baraboo has changed. It is still Pierce's -- they have a supermarket on the east side of town, too -- but the one on the west side used to be part of the Pick 'n Save chain. (Or as we called it when I shopped there for Holy Hill, the Push 'n Shove.) Now it is IGA. I always thought of IGA as small stores, like the one up the road from Marylake in East End, Arkansas. Something bigger than Shahan's maybe, but not a lot.

Anyway, I also noticed on their big sign that they are co-sponsoring Baraboo's Fourth of July fireworks. More interesting is that the other sponsor is the Ho-Chunk nation, our local Native American community. The Ho-Chunk used to be called the Winnebago, but Ho-Chunk is closer to their name for themselves. "Winnebago" means "people of the stinking water", a name they were given by other tribes because they lived near a smelly part of the river, apparently. Their own name, ho-chungra, means "people of the parent speech" or "people of the big voice". Supposedly they are the original tribe from which groups like the Quapaw, Missouri, Iowa, Oto, Omaha, and Ponca broke off.

Anyway, they have a big casino between here and Baraboo that is probably the biggest money-generator in the county. I know a few Ho-Chunk and see them everywhere around here. I am amused that they are co-sponsoring the fireworks, but it doesn't surprise me. They are on very good terms with the local and state governments and donate generously to all sorts of projects.

At the same time, I do see some of the young guys wearing t-shirts with this on them:
Not really true, of course, since they didn't encounter Europeans until about 1630. And they have a strong tradition of serving in the U.S. military, including Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. from Hatfield, Wisconsin, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War.

They offer courses in Hocąk for those who want to really learn how to speak like a native-born American. The only important word I know is witcąwą -- wildcat. When I say it, neither Cassidy nor Sundance seems impressed. For all their airs, you would think they came over on the Mayflower.