Standing atop the observation deck that wraps around the Wisconsin State Capitol, visitors gain a sense of the relationship between the landscape and the city. Two lakes, Monona and Mendota, push into the land, creating an isthmus. It seems you can see the whole story of Madison from that view. And you can, if you know how to see it.
Because long before there were outdoor concerts and farmers’ markets, this land was a tapestry of life for the native Ho-Chunk and their ancestors. And their spiritual connection to the land can still be felt today along hiking trails and sacred effigy mounds found throughout Dane County.
What is an Effigy Mound?
Built into shapes of bears, lizards, panthers, deer and water spirits, effigy mounds are earthen sculptures that had deep meaning for the people who built them. Some were burial mounds. Others had a significance that reflected their beliefs and worldviews. But each one that survived the onslaught of agriculture and development serves as a gateway to the stories and the spirits of those who built them.
Today, Wisconsin has 4,000 effigy mounds, the largest concentration in the world, and at one point may have had as many as 20,000. Before Europeans arrived, it’s estimated that Madison, or Teejop (Dejope), meaning "four lakes" that the Ho-Chunk used to reference the land now called Madison, had more than 1,500 effigy mounds. There are approximately 200 remaining.
Effigy mounds are as sacred to today’s Ho-Chunk residents as they were to their ancestors. The mounds are reminders that they are stewards of the land that sustained their ancestors. And they are a way for all of us to begin to understand the story of this land that was created on hilltops, along lakes and beside springs a millennia before the Wisconsin State Capitol was constructed.
Finding Effigy Mounds in Madison
Several Madison parks contain effigy mounds including Bear Mound, Burrows, Hudson, Vilas, and Edna Taylor Conservation parks, as well as Forest Hill Cemetery. UW-Madison has 38 effigy mounds on campus, including six on Picnic Point, and at the UW Arboretum along Lake Wingra.
Elsewhere in Dane County, Indian Mound Conservation Area in McFarland, Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton, Yahara Heights County Park and Governor Nelson State Park are among the areas with effigy mounds visible from hiking trails.
The largest bird effigy mound in the world is also in Madison, on the grounds of the Mendota Mental Health Institute. The mound has a wingspan of 624 feet and a body that is 131 feet long. It is a testament to the importance the builders placed on connecting their beliefs with the land they called home.
How to Experience Effigy Mounds
Visitors and residents are invited to experience the effigy mounds in the area, many of which are in public parks and on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Please remember these sites are sacred to the Ho-Chunk. Do not walk or climb on effigy mounds. Instead, use your time at effigy mounds for personal reflection and to think about why that location may have been important to those who built them.
How to Connect with Ho-Chunk Culture in Madison
Efforts have been made in recent years to increase the visibility and awareness of Indigenous people through programming, public art and attractions. These offerings allow locals and visitors to understand the history and current traditions of the Ho-Chunk people and other native groups.
First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour
UW-Madison offers a two-hour walking tour that details the more than 12,000-year history of life along Lake Mendota, with an emphasis on the history of the Ho-Chunk Nation. The tour takes visitors through campus highlighting culturally significant locations including the double-tailed water spirit burial mound near Agricultural Hall, Bascom Hill and more. Tours are available upon request.
Ho-Chunk Clan Circle and Dejope Sacred Fire Circle
Along UW-Madison's Lakeshore Path are two Ho-Chunk landmarks that offer spaces for celebration and individual reflection year-round. The Ho-Chunk Clan Circle outside the newly constructed Bakke Recreation Center was created by Ho-Chunk artist Ken Lewis and honors the 12 clans of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Each metal piece comprising the circle includes the Ho-Chunk word and the English word for the clan along with a visual representation like eagle, pigeon and thunder.
The Dejope Sacred Fire Circle stands outside of Dejope Hall, named for the Ho-Chunk word for the region now known as Madison (Dejope is the phonetic spelling of the Ho-Chunk word Teejop). The fire circle is located within view of Lake Mendota and hosts indigenous celebrations.
Lake Mendota's ancient canoes
In 2021, a dive team discovered a canoe thought by archaeologists to be 1,200 years old. This spectacular discovery turned out to be just the beginning of a slew of historical discoveries in that area of the lake that is known to be ancestral land of the Ho-Chunk Nation. A second canoe was found just one year later that is thought to be 3,000 years old.
Then again in 2024, archaeologists discovered their biggest find yet: remnants of possibly 11 different ancient canoes estimated to be 4,500 years old. The canoes are thought to have been created by ancestors of modern Indigenous peoples.
The first two found canoes are being preserved with the intention to display at the Wisconsin History Center set to open in 2026 in downtown Madison. Other remnants are likely to remain in Lake Mendota because they are too fragile to move, although archaeologists will continue to study the remnants and the area.
Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison
Madison's local casino located along Interstate 90 in Madison is one of six Ho-Chunk Nation Gaming facilities in Wisconsin and has been operated by Ho-Chunk Nation since 1999. The casino features more than 1,300 slot machines, video poker and keno.
