November 3, 2024
Like many Native American tribes, the Winnebago Tribe has their different clan rankings. Many of these ranks do not exist today. I had gathered my information from a source on the Winnebago Tribe which mentioned that within certain ranks, there are very little or no members from specific ranks that were alive during the time this book had been written. Even though many of these groups do not exist today, they still played an important role amongst the Winnebago Tribe. Amongst the Winnebago Tribe there were 12 clans that existed at one point in time. Those clans were the: Thunderbird clan, Warrior clan, Eagle clan, Pigeon clan, Bear clan, Wolf clan, Water-spirit clan, Buffalo clan, Deer clan, Elk clan, Snake clan, and Fish clan. All these clans were unique and played an important role within the tribe.
The Thunderbird clan is at the top of the rank. When a head chief was chosen to lead the tribe within it, the individual would be picked from the Thunderbird clan. The individual would be chosen based on if he had obtained a neutral temper, fitting habits, and was not easily triggered by someone or something. This person would also have to obtain peace making skills amongst his tribe where there may be conflict (Radin, 1923, pp. 159, 161). Next in line would have been the Warrior clan. Those of this rank were allowed to at any moment kill off those who may be an enemy of the tribe without going against any of the tribal rules (Radin, 1923, p. 170). The Eagle and Pigeon clans come after the Warrior clan. However, these two clans, like other ranks, have no recordings of their role within the tribe (Radin, 1923, p. 172).
The Bear clan would then follow after the Eagle and Pigeon clans. The Bear clan were soldiers within the tribe. They would have say over anything that relates to others following the rules. An example would be that at certain times of the year when the tribe would move, the Bear clansmen would lead the rest of the tribe. They would stop when the individual who was the leader would place his staff into the ground and the rest of the clansmen would follow. If any of the tribal members who followed behind the Bear clan were to go beyond the establishment point of the sticks, there would be consequences for the individual who broke the rules (Radin, 1923, p. 178). The Wolf clan then comes after the Bear clan. This rank has little information on it. However, they have a close relation with the Bear clan. Even though there is not much known about them, it is thought that they may have had similar duties just as the Bear clan (Radin, 1923, p. 190). The Water-spirit clan had also seemed to be of great importance given the information about their role. Apparently, those of this clan could be chosen to be a chief of some sort. However, which lead role that would be is not known (Radin, 1923, p. 193).
The Buffalo clan had the job of making any public announcement amongst the tribe and worked as a middleman when trying to help the tribal community and the chief to come to an agreement on different topics. However, this description may not be true, since a member of this clan had denied that this was a role of Buffalo clansmen (Radin, 1923, p. 195). With the information given, the Deer clan does not have any important roles within the tribal community. However, those amongst this group may have had a small part of leadership, although it is not clear what that might be (Radin, 1923, p. 198). Moving on, the Elk clan was a smaller group that had the job of doing things that had to do with fire and making sure that it was distributed amongst the community (Radin, 1923, p. 201). Lastly, the Snake and Fish clans which have no recollection that exists of the duties of these two clans (Radin, 1923, p. 202).
After reviewing all of the clans that have existed within the Winnebago Tribe, I now know more about the importance of each of them. However, sadly some of the clans contained little information or none at all about the purpose they have served within the tribe. I think that it is interesting how each clan served a purpose in one way or another. With all these different rankings made me think of how amongst several other cultures or even within religions that there are rankings of something within these communities. Throughout my research so far, I have come to realize that one important way to understand someone is to understand their cultural and religious background whatever that may be.
Â
References
Radin, P. (1923). The Winnebago Tribe. Smithsonian Institution, Washington.