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PROTECTING CULTURAL PROPERTIES AND PURCHASING “OUR LANDS” BACK
The Nation has recently started a new and aggressive project to protect
religious, ceremonial, and archaeological lands. In an historic endeavor,
the Nation recently acquired an additional 1,326 acres of “former” Indian
lands in Clark, Jackson, Adams and Juneau County. These parcels formerly
owned by a paper company, are presently under the Managed Forest Law (MFL)
or County Forest Law (CFL) program. With the assistance of the Tribal
Forestry Program, the Nation is presently in the process of removing some
of the parcels from the Managed Forest Program to begin the first stage of
planning and development. Nearly all of theses parcels are located
contiguous to, or adjacent to tribal trust lands and individual tribal
heirship lands. This project includes the acquisition of lands to provide
a protective “buffer” around such culturally significant properties so
that local growth will not disturb traditional and ceremonial practices.
The Nation is also beginning to take steps to purchase major interests in
lands that are fractionated and diluted in heirship, whereas the goal is
to protect the precious trust status of these properties for the Ho-Chunk
People. Individual heirship property that is sold or willed through Indian
Probate Law to non-Ho-Chunks can lose trust status and become taxable.
Such cultural acquisitions for culturally protective reasons include: |
