The history of Indigenous peoples in Wisconsin is deep and abundant, yet it鈥檚 a history that has long been glossed over without proper attention or, in many cases, unacknowledged completely.

on Madison鈥檚 west side is pushing against that narrative of erasure through a voluntary land tax that goes beyond simply acknowledging that the land under the church once belonged to the Ho-Chunk Nation 鈥� whose members were forced from the land.

鈥淲e started researching to understand how the land that the church stands on came to be the church鈥檚 land,鈥� said the Rev. Miranda Hassett, rector of St. Dunstan鈥檚. 鈥淲e felt like that needed to be accompanied by some restorative actions. Taking some actions to kind of make amends, and move toward restoring wholeness and being better allies, even in small ways.鈥�

She added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty close to a historic Ho-Chunk village, in a part of the southwestern corner of Lake Mendota. That was part of the territory that was ceded in the 1832 Treaty that dislocated and removed the Ho-Chunk, so our initial thought was to make a gift to the Ho-Chunk tribe.鈥�

Hassett contacted the Rev. Kerri Parker, executive director of the (WCC). St. Dunstan鈥檚 is a member of the WCC, and Hassett thought the effort could benefit from collaboration. As an organization with 75 years of history that connects 21 different Christian traditions across the state, the WCC is no stranger to facilitating solutions to modern social issues. 

鈥淲e find that we can do a lot of things more effectively together than we could do alone,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淥ur core values 鈥� that animate our work are courage, justice and holy imagination.鈥�

Beyond working with social issues such as COVID safety, racial justice and refugee aid, the WCC is also committed to acknowledgement, restorative justice and current issues facing Indigenous communities.

鈥淲e have taken the time to start building relationships with leaders and educators,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淵ou can say you want to give money, but you鈥檙e not really doing the work unless you have that meaning level between people 鈥�  It鈥檚 about understanding why this money is changing hands, and how it all came to be.鈥�

Parker connected Hassett to Bill Quackenbush, the Ho-Chunk鈥檚 tribal historic preservation officer. On Quackenbush鈥檚 advice, the church decided to pay the voluntary tax to the Wisconsin Inter-Tribal Repatriation Committee. 

鈥淭hat seemed like the appropriate entity,鈥� Hassett said. 鈥淚 think Bill was thinking, if this church does it, maybe other entities will follow suit. Rather than parse it out tribe by tribe and try to figure out exactly whose territory everybody鈥檚 sitting on, it makes sense for this organization that represents all the Wisconsin tribes to have that role here.鈥�

Hassett said the church鈥檚 $4,000 payment is a first for the repatriation committee. Parker hopes it won鈥檛 be the last.

鈥淚 think about this event, this moment of possibility, as an example of instigating holy imagination in people,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ook at this thing that this church did. I wonder what we could do?鈥�

鈥榃e all have a creator鈥�

Hassett presented the check to Quackenbush at the repatriation committee鈥檚 Aug. 16 meeting at the Radisson Hotel on the Oneida Reservation. The committee includes historic preservation officers from tribes in Wisconsin whose work includes repatriation of artifacts to Indigenous nations from individuals and state museums and preserving historic sites, such as effigy mounds.

鈥淲e all have a creator,鈥� Quackenbush said. 鈥淎ll of this (land acknowledgements and donations) is symbolic of a healing process, but also a step forward. 鈥� The tribes can鈥檛 do it alone. We need state agencies and other organizations.鈥�

The check was presented in a purple envelope, which Parker said is the color of repentance.

鈥淲e acknowledge that our ability to worship on Ho-Chunk land came at a great cost to those people,鈥� Hassett said at the meeting.

Much discussion at the meeting revolved around the Doctrine of Discovery, which was Catholic doctrine that essentially permitted Christian European nations to subjugate and spread forced Christianity on Indigenous peoples in the Americas and Africa.

鈥淭he Doctrine has become the foundation of people鈥檚 understanding relative to North America and its original inhabitants,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he settlers had a sense of understanding that their mission was for God and king. That understanding has become part of our psyche. It鈥檚 ingrained in our laws and was part of the idea of Manifest Destiny. It鈥檚 not just history, but still happening today.鈥�

鈥楾his is something we owe鈥�

Hassett said the payment is not charity 鈥� it鈥檚 part of the church鈥檚 budget of expenses related to owning the property.

鈥淲e have money we give away to organizations that are doing good in the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is different from that. This isn鈥檛 from our charity, or generosity. This is something we owe. That was important to me.鈥�

The voluntary land tax is just one piece of what Hassett sees as a multitude of ways in which work can be done to help mend a history that has seen Indigenous people subjugated and erased from social recognition. 

鈥淲e want to be allies in the sense that, we鈥檙e going to observe in some way, we鈥檙e going to try to mark , and when there鈥檚 an issue to protest or a legislative issue that鈥檚 important to the tribes, we鈥檙e going to pay attention, show up for that, and lend our voices.鈥�

Teach The Truth Wisconsin is part of the Wisconsin Council of Churches鈥� effort to educate about U.S. history that includes how structural issues such racism, sexism and marginalization of Indigenous peoples have shaped the country and the effect they still have on society today.

鈥淲e鈥檙e encouraging people to make videos, have community events, or anything that helps people understand how vital it is that we tell these stories and rehearse these histories,鈥� said Parker of the WCC. 鈥淚n a time when there are movements that say, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 hurtful, or that makes people feel bad,鈥� it鈥檚 really important that we understand the truth and the difficult histories that are part of our legacy here in the United States.鈥�

Hassett noted that St. Dunstan鈥檚 stands near an effigy mound, a reminder of the Ho-Chunk who once lived there 鈥� and their resilience. 

鈥淭hey were removed, but they kept coming back to their ancestral homelands to care for their ancestors鈥� graves and engage in the historical ecological practices of their people,鈥� Hassett said. 鈥淓ventually, they were able to buy land and really reestablish a stake in Wisconsin, which is amazing.鈥�

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.