On the Wisconsin River

Acrylic on Canvas

Trinity Lee, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

In Collaboration with Amy Workman, Director of Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension

Upham Woods is an outdoor learning center located in Wisconsin Dells, providing opportunities for youth to engage in environmental and leadership education. The land Upham Woods is located on was gifted to UW-Madison in 1941 by Mrs. A.V. Keene and Mrs. C.H. Davis, daughters of Horace J. and Mary Green Upham, to conserve the natural habitats and woodlands of the area. The center sits on the banks of the Wisconsin River, which flows directly into the Mississippi River.

Lee’s work is informed by the historical significance of this land, beyond European settlement. For hundreds of years prior to the Uphams’ ownership, it was occupied by the Ho-Chunk, or “People of the Big Voice,” whose territory also extended from Green Bay, WI to the Rock River in Illinois. Ho-Chunk fished and canoed along the Wisconsin River in particular, maneuvering up and down using dugout canoes which could stretch as far as 14.5 feet long.  European settlement and laws enacted by the U.S. government drove many Ho-Chunk out of their homelands and prevented them from legally reclaiming it. Many traditions, culture, and language were lost as a result of white settlement and pillaging.   

However, the Ho-Chunk are enduring and resilient, with many efforts to restore and continue their ways of life, including a widespread Ho-Chunk language program. Lee hopes to convey a modern depiction of Ho-Chunk people interacting with land that was always theirs, canoeing on the Wisconsin River. Lee takes inspiration from contemporary indigenous artists, many who seek to dispel the notion that indigenous people are of the past.