Ho-Chunk Nation Dugout Canoe Journey

Wisconsin River Highlighted in 2026

Since 2022, the Ho-Chunk Nation has completed annual journeys in a hand-made dugout canoe along various waterways that traverse their ancestral tribal lands and other areas of historic significance. From June 1 through 5, 2026, members of the HCN plan to paddle a dugout canoe down various portions of the Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, Yellow River and the Mississippi River that spans across the west central portions of the Ho-Chunk Nation’s ancestral lands.

This year's journey is slated to begin at Portage. The plan is for the canoe to be put in on the Portage Canal near our museum as it makes its way toward the Wisconsin River. The Fox-Wisconsin portage was a crucial crossroads for travel and trade for the Ho-Chunk Nation, as well as countless others, for centuries.

You are invited to come watch and learn on June 1, roughly around 8 a.m. Feel free to park in the visitor center lot.  We hope you can join us in witnessing the start of this historic voyage.