Explore local Culture & community

Our community is enriched by the knowledge, creativity, and leadership of Indigenous entrepreneurs, makers, and organizations. This space highlights their work—amplifying local artists, promoting Indigenous-owned businesses, and honoring the cultural leaders who strengthen our neighborhoods through education, advocacy, and tradition.

Whether you’re looking to support Native creators, learn from community organizations, or connect with cultural resources, this guide offers a meaningful starting point for deeper engagement and ongoing relationship-building.

Cultural Resources

Ho-Chunk Community Center – The Madison Branch Office provides a wide variety of support services available to tribal members and their families within the area. We also provide space for community events for the public within the Teejop Area – available to all.

Ho-Chunk Community Center – Madison Branch Facebook Page – Learn about services and programs offered for tribal members, all-ages dance classes from Lillian White Eagle, and weekly craft nights – open to everyone.

Beadwork with Lillian White Eagle – Virtual workshop on YouTube, posted by Rooted

Hocak Worak – a periodical published twice monthly by the Ho-Chunk Nation.

The Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition – Through multiple initiatives, we support Tribes in their efforts to expand their own food systems and coordinate initiatives to build Intertribal food networks based on fresh, minimally-processed, and traditional foods. 

Tribal Family Navigator Project – A resource for Tribal families that include individuals with disabilities – from LOV inc – Living Our Visions Inclusively

Tribal Elder Food Box Program – This intertribal program is building a market for Tribally-produced, culturally appropriate, and healthy foods while improving rural food security.

Indigenouse Language Table Events – From simple greetings to conversations on food, from language basics to etiquette, and so much more. Beyond language learning, these language table events are some of the few places where undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff and members of the community can interact with others.

Teejop Initiative – A partnership between Clean Lakes Alliance and the Ho-Chunk Nation that will help to educate the community on how to sustainably use the waterways and land around Madison for many generations that follow, using the history and perspectives of Indigenous communities to guide this process.

Businesses, Artists, & community leaders

Art, Culture, & History tours

Heritage Pathways Tours – Each tour offers an in-depth experience of Ho-Chunk culture, history, and connection to the land through visits to sacred sites, storytelling, and time spent in the natural landscapes of Sauk County.

Mapping Teejop – A digital mapping project that guides users on Indigenous walking tours of the UW-Madison campus, created through partnership between the American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program and the Department of Geography’s Cartography Lab.

Harry Whitehorse Public Art Locations– Visit sculptures and paintings created by the late Harry Whitehorse.

local events

Keep an eye on these local events calenders for Indigenous cultural events:

The Harry Whitehorse International Wood Sculpture Festival – Uniting renowned artists worldwide for a week-long residency in Monona, Wisconsin, creating captivating sculptures.  It is the first international festival dedicated to an indigenous person, honoring the legacy of the late Monona, Wisconsin, and Ho-Chunk Nation sculptor Harry Whitehorse.

Monona Public Library

San Damiano

Madison Public Library  – Teejop & Beyond: Celebrating Native Nations – Oct – Dec – Each fall, Madison Public Library and Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison welcome a variety of Native artists, storytellers, and community leaders into library spaces for a series of programs celebrating Indigenous people in and beyond Teejop

Monona Parks & Recreation – a powwow organized by Lillian White Eagle will be held at Ahuska Park is planned for Spring 2026

Olbrich Gardens

Little Eagle Arts Foudation (LEAF) – 2025 calendar of events

Drumhop.com – listings of upcoming powwows

Wisconsin Historical Society

Arts & Literature Laboratory – The 2025 Native Art Market, founded and curated by Dakota Mace and Paige Skenandore, will take place at Arts + Literature Laboratory on Saturday, November 8, 2025, 10am-6pm.

Madison Children’s Museum 

University of Wisconsin Arboretum 

University of Wisconsin Memorial Union

Educational resources

The HoChunk Renaissance Project – Nebraska based organization with online resources including language app and downloadable educational videos, materials, and games.

Discover Wisconsin Video – The sacred drum is a vital symbol of Indigenous tradition, history, and community. Learn how it plays a powerful role in preserving Ho-Chunk Nation heritage for future generations.

The Ways from PBS – a video collection of language and culture stories from Native communities around the central Great Lakes that explores traditional ways, and those of today.

IllumiNative Facebook Page – IllumiNative is a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization building power for Native

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission – feature Ojibwe history, news, press resources, books, language & outreach, events, and more.

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – news, events, resources, heritage & culture, and more.

Native Erasure 101 – Have you heard the term “Native Erasure” and wondered what it meant? Here’s an introduction.

Wisconsin First Nations – a rich collection of educational videos, teacher professional development resources, lesson plans for all grades, and learning tools for your classroom and library.

Native Education Pathways – Pre-college, college preparation, and college and internship opportunities for Native students. Indigenous Arts and Sciences collaborates with Tribal Education Departments, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College, College of Menominee Nation, WI universities and colleges, and K-12 school districts to strengthen Native Education Pathways from K-12 and higher education to STEM careers.