September 12, 2001
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1st Annual Ho-Chunk Spirit Ride - A blast from the past
By Paul Arentz
Editor

Black River Falls, WI- As many people traveled to the Pow-wow grounds in the convenience of automobiles, others traveled in nostalgia. A group of forty, made up of both elders and youth, left Millston, Wisconsin on Friday August 31, on a 14 mile trip to the Andrew Blackhawk Pow-wow grounds.

This was a way to teach the youth, how it was to travel between different Ho-Chunk villages back in the days before today's conveniences.

With a brief stop at the Blackdeer homestead for rest and nourishment for both riders and horses, the Spirit Riders arrived to their evening destination of Wazee Lake Park in Jackson County just South of the Pow-wow grounds.


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While at Wazee, the youth ate traditional foods and listened to elders tell stories about journeys of the past. At 11:45 am, the Spirit Riders, lead by traditional Chief, Clayton Winneshiek, pulled into the Pow-wow grounds to help start off the day's events.


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