Tree Planting Bonanza 2017
By Greg Blick
The 2017 Ho-Chunk tree planting bonanza was a complete success. This spring the Ho-Chunk Nation used about $17,000 worth of funds provided by the Wisconsin DNR Urban Forestry Grant program to purchase trees. A little over 100 were planted by HCN DNR staff members at the pow wow grounds and the Tribal Office Building grounds, and at all of the area TAUs. Another approximately 390 trees were distributed to Ho-Chunk tribal members for planting in their yards. Ho-Chunk DNR helped with the planting of about 80 of the yard trees for elite elders. Ho-chunk who received trees have promised to water and take care of them for the first three years of their lives at their new homes. This is a big commitment over the next few years and the Ho-Chunk DNR would like to acknowledge the participants, who are helping to make our neighborhoods greener, more attractive places to live.
The following people are currently raising some new young trees provided by the HCN DNR (In no particular order): Bill Goodbear, Jean Stacy-Snow, Clint Beversdorf, Jamie Decorah, Lucy Vargas, Ernestine Helgeson, Vanessa Carriaga, Lionel Pettibone, Dan Libke, Shelly McCook, Rae Ann Garcia, John Garcia, Andi Cloud, Jamie Goodbear, Quincy Garvin, Lorinda Bird, Darrell Bird, Lois Behrens, Toni Thayer, Roger Youngthunder, Bill Youngthunder, Paul Youngthunder, Wayne Cooper, Roy Greengrass, Eileen Funmaker, Earlywind Funmaker, Byron Goodbear, Jerry Jones, Sylvia Casarez, John Steindorf, Hattie White, John Greendeer, Michelle Cloud, Henning and Kjetil Garvin, Melody Gesicki, Vicki Shisler, Pamela Wilber, Roxanne Tallmadge-Johnson, Hinu Helgeson-Smith, Kelvin Decorah, Valerie Carrimon, Tom Redbird III, Division of Cultural Resources, Blackdeer homestead, Dave Radtke, Berna Bigthunder-Hindsley, Martina Littlewolf-Falcon, Cleo Goodbear, Lila Blackdeer, Ho-Chunk Behavioral Health, Leslie Warrington, Cecelia Kraus, Leslie Warrington, Carol Garvin, Anna Reichenbach, Willie Cleveland, Herb Cleveland, Cornelius Decorah, Virgil and Lori Pettibone, Tina McArthur, Jeriah Rave, Kathy Cutting, Chloris Lowe Sr., Kirk Hopinka, Cameron WhiteEagle, Sheila WhiteEagle, Chris Mach, Tribal Courts, Jo Deen Lowe, Corey Hindsley, Heather Beal, The Alvarez family, Cathy DeCamp, Shirley Petersen, Bonnie Tech, Sandra Radtke, Connie Radtke, Macy Goodbear, Lanette Walker, Martina Littlewolf, Lorenzo Funmaker, Gloria Visintin, Greg Johnson, Peter Oknewski, Doug Johnson, Erik Lincoln, Daniel Whitehorse, Michelle Winneshiek, Maria Blackhawk-McCabe, Fawna Bish, Lynette Bird, Liane Brown, Andrea Estebo, Terri Kipp, Alicia Blackhawk, Bluewing Cemetery, Christy Johnson, Donald Greengrass, Mercedes WhiteEagle, Three Rivers House, Perry Carrimon, Edith Funmaker, Paul Krause, and anybody else we have failed to mention.
This fall we may have a few more trees (probably less than 20) for people who missed out during the spring. With any luck we will receive more funding to buy trees again for next spring.
Anybody who has young trees, make sure you water a couple of gallons every day for the first three or four weeks, and then once a week if it doesn’t have a good soaking rain. In sandy soil, even more often.
The HCN DNR would also like to thanks all the people who have enjoyed the pow wow grounds since the new planting. No damage was done during either of the events since planting. If we keep rolling, we will have a lot of beautiful maturing trees five years down the road. After that the trees will be big enough to resist drought, hungry deer and mice, and careless humans.
Thanks for helping keep Ho-Chunk lands green!
Possible caption: Mason (left) and Gavin WhiteEagle of Chakh-Hah-Chee pose with the white fir they planted as part of the 2017 Ho-Chunk tree planting bonanza.
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