Long before North Hall opened as UW–Madison’s first building, the land it stands on served a much greater purpose for the Ho-Chunk people. Teejop (pronounced Day-JOPE and translated as Four Lakes) is the Ho-Chunk word for the area now known as Madison, the ancestral land of the Ho-Chunk Nation, who have occupied the region for more than 12,000 years. When Aaron Bird Bear MS’10 arrived on campus in 2000 as the American Indian student academic services coordinator for the College of Letters & Science, he was surprised to learn that the rich history of Indigenous people and their shared history with the land was largely unacknowledged.
In 2003, he began giving walking tours of sites with Native history to help Indigenous students feel connected to campus. As interest grew, the First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour (FNCLT) formally began to “introduce people to the First Nations of Wisconsin through place-based, experiential learning.” Since then, more than 25,000 free tours have been given to students, faculty, and the wider public.
In the summer of 2024, the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association wanted to add to the work done by the FNCLT team and other Our Shared Future efforts and launched a new program for its members: the Teejop Waterscapes Boat Tour. Aboard a pontoon boat, FNCLT guides take guests to explore the significance of Lake Mendota (Waaksikhomikra) and its role in shaping the landscape, culture, and daily life of the Ho-Chunk in both the past and the present. Highlights of the tour include views of Picnic Point’s effigy mounds and a visit to the site of recently discovered ancient dugout canoes. Created with input from a committee including Bird Bear and experts from UW–Madison and the Ho-Chunk community, the tour aims to enrich guests’ understanding of a history that may be new to them while offering moments for reflection amid the natural beauty of a familiar landmark.
First Nations Cultural Landscape Tours are available throughout the year upon request, and Teejop Waterscapes Boat Tours will resume for WAA members next summer. Keep scrolling to see photos from both tours.
