MUSIC OF THE WINNEBAGO INDIANS 

 By FRANCES DENSMORE 



In the furtherance of her researches on the music of the American 

 Indians, the writer went to Wisconsin in Octoher, 1927, to study the 

 music of the Winnehago. A study of Menominee songs had demon- 

 strated their resemblance to the songs of the related Chippewa tribe, 

 and one purpose of the present undertaking was to ascertain whether 

 the songs of the Winnebago resembled those of the related Sioux 

 or the neighboring Chippewa tribes. 



The first locality visited was Black River Falls. An autumn cere- 

 mony had recently been held about 10 miles from that town, and the 

 first call was made upon the man who had charge of the ceremony. 

 He is a conservative old man. known as Frank Mike, and is the 

 owner of the morning star bundle. His home was a considerable 

 distance from a traveled road, and near his house stood the frame- 

 work of the long lodge where the ceremony had been held, this 

 being similar to the medicine lodge of the Chippewa and Menominee. 

 Adjoining this was the frame of a sweat lodge, and back of it was 

 a structure of heavy ])oles from which were suspended hooks for 

 hanging kettles over the fire, this being the cooking-place used during 

 the ceremony. It is interesting to note that the hooks were made 

 of two crotched sticks firmly fastened together with wire, one crotch 

 being over the horizontal pole while the other crotch, hanging down- 

 ward, formed the hook for the kettle. Beyond the cooking-place were 

 the frames of several lodges intended for the use of visitors. Near 

 the ceremonial lodge stood a small tree around which the grass was 

 trodden in a circle about eight feet in diameter. This circle had been 

 made by the feet of men and women who recently danced the scalp 

 dance, the tree representing the pole on which scalps were formerly 

 hung. The dance had continued all night. 



In two long conferences with Frank Mike, the work of preserving- 

 Indian songs was explained. He was reluctant to sing without con- 

 sulting the other bundle-owners, but his songs can probably be ob- 

 tained at a subsequent time. Calls were made, with an interpreter, 

 on Indians living over a radius of about 20 miles, but no recording- 

 was done in this locality. Two Indians had, however, been favorably 



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