The City of Monona will honor the living heritage of the Ho-Chunk Nation and other Indigenous peoples at a powerful evening of culture, connection, and community at the Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center.
“This event is more than a dinner,” said Laura Hofsteen, the tourism coordinator at Monona East Side Business Alliance (MESBA). “It’s an opportunity for our community to come together in celebration, respect, and gratitude — and to invest in the cultural vitality that makes our region so special.”
The Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner is a first-of-its-kind fundraiser for Ho-Chunk cultural initiatives, organized by Discover Monona and Aldo Leopold Nature Center, and presented through the generous sponsorship of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
The event will feature the unveiling and spiritual blessing of the first statue in Monona’s Four Directions Project, located on the prairie at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. This powerful sculpture, carved by artist Gene Delcourt, honors the enduring presence of the Ho-Chunk people and marks the East — the direction of beginnings.
“The inspiration behind the dinner was a man named Rock Greendeer, who has taught ceremonial language classes at the Leopold Nature Center for the past couple of years here, and we’ve worked with him for several years on having some programming in February,” Hofsteen tells Madison365. “He teaches a program called ‘Ho Chunk in Monona: The Ties That Bind Us,’ and he’s always had these really grand ideas of how the program could be bigger, and how we can make it more festive and include more activities. His next idea was how it could be a fundraiser for his language classes … and the Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner was sort of the culmination of all these ideas.
“The idea is to have a grander event, welcoming as many Monona residents as possible, building on the knowledge of Ho-Chunk culture and Ho-Chunk history,” she adds. “The main focus of the event would be commissioning Gene [Delcourt] to do this sculpture, and there would be a statue unveiling, and then the dinner would follow.”
Delcourt, a former apprentice of beloved Ho-Chunk artist Harry Whitehorse, continues his mentor’s legacy through public art that uplifts Indigenous voices and traditions. Delcourt is the founder of the Harry Whitehorse International Wood Sculpture Festival, where he works to bridge generations of storytelling and cultural preservation.
(Photo: www.discovermonona.com)
At the event, Delcourt will unveil the “Honoring the Four Directions,” a new statue honoring the Ho-Chunk people — past, present, and future. This east-facing statue will be the first in The Four Directions Project, a multi-year effort to install four statues in different area locations to symbolize balance, connection, and the enduring presence of Indigenous voices in the region.
“We’ll have everyone outside for the sculpture unveiling. Then we’ll have everybody come back inside and we’ll start with some wild rice soup and some hot coffee, and then get everyone seated at the tables,” Hofsteen says. “We’ll have some flag bearers come in and do a color guard ceremony, and welcome in the dancers and drummers. Then we’ll have some dancing happening right in front of the stone fireplace, where everyone can see it.”
There will be musical performances by the Little Thunder Drum Group, which will fill the space with the sound of traditional drumming, singing, and dancing.
Before the dinner, there will be words from Tribal elders, local government leaders, Ho-Chunk Nation officials and other dignitaries and then the official blessing of the meal that will be prepared by Chef Lightning The Earth New Rider, a chef, horticulturalist, artist, and cultural educator whose heritage includes Ho-Chunk, Oneida, Pawnee, Otoe, and Arikara ancestry.
“He’s kind of a jack of all trades. He works as an artist, an educator. He’s a horticulturalist with the wild berries, catering out of the Dells. And he is a chef, as well,” Hofsteen says. “He’s been really great to work with so far. He’s been vegan for about the past 12 years, and typically cooks just vegan dishes. And so the menu will be entirely vegan, except for the buffalo meat that will be available on the buffet.”
The Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner will be an opportunity to connect with Ho-Chunk leaders, city and state officials, and Ho-Chunk artists and teachers. Proceeds from the dinner and accompanying silent auction will directly support future Ho-Chunk cultural programming and language and cultural revitalization initiatives.
“As much of our proceeds as possible will go right back into future cultural initiatives, future statues, and the language revitalization classes, and then the Ho-Chunk Community Center in Madison has a number of programming that we’d love to be able to support, as well,” Hofsteen says. “Or the money will go towards cultural events, just for Monona residents at large, to be able to participate in.”
Organizers of the Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner are asking event attendees to be respectful of traditions and customs. This includes observing proper etiquette during the Grand Entry, respecting the dance circle, and being mindful of the significance of regalia.
“The overall goal is to share Ho-Chunk culture and to celebrate Ho-Chunk culture in the Monona area. I’ve learned so much about the many Ho-Chunk residents living in Monona who are really an important part of Monona’s history, and how there was still quite a bit of hunting and gathering happening even on the wetlands in Monona just a generation ago,” Hofsteen says. “The landscape has changed, and the people are adapting and we just want to bring attention to the fact that, like Ho Chunk, people are living and breathing and existing and practicing culture today. This isn’t something from the past. This is something that’s happening right now, right here, and we look forward to people who live in the area being able to enjoy and experience some of the culture.”
Monona Indigenous Roots Dinner will take place Saturday, Nov. 15, 3-7 p.m. at Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 330 Femrite Dr., Monona, Wis. For tickets, click here.
