1829

Decorah, IA: Solmentes Press, 2026. One of only 20 copies. This book tells the story of Ratified Indian Treaty No. 156 of 1829, in which the Ho-Chunk were coerced into selling the hugely lucrative "lead mine country," some 2,762,880 acres. It was the first of three treaties that banished the Ho-Chunk from their ancestral homelands in Wisconsin and Illinois, and led to a split in the Ho-Chunk Nation.

The story exposes an array of characters - on the one hand, the "Great Father" (the president of the United States), generals, governors, Indian agents, fur traders and many others who play significant roles in the treaty's orchestration, revealing a tapestry of power, wealth, familial connections and influence that extended well beyond the council fire - on the other, the chiefs, head men, families, and friends of the Ho-Chunk.

The 1829 boundary is traced over a visual backdrop of USGS 7.5-minute maps and the phonetically spelled names and the English names of every Ho-Chunk signatory are drawn within that defined space. Transcripts of the official "Journal" (recording the negotiations at the council meetings prior to the signing), correspondence, and Congressional debates are woven through the maps.