Collin Price from the Office of the President of the Ho-Chunk Nation was the keynote speaker and spoke to the perseverance and resiliency of his people. Collin stated “The Ho-Chunk Nation, a Federally recognized tribe, today consists of over 8,000 members and its leadership team is responsible for over 3,500 employees in the tribal government and its gaming industry”.

Collin emphasized that the Ho-Chunk Nation is decentralized throughout Wisconsin but has a major presence in many communities. The Ho-Chunk Nation is an active supporter of many community causes like fire departments and emergency medical services. For its members, the Ho-Chunk Nation is developing cultural awareness programs to revive and maintain its rich cultural heritage, especially its language.

The Ho-Chunk Nation is very honored by the participation of many of its soldiers as Code Talkers, the famed World War II program for coding of verbal battlefield messages. A special President honor was given to them for this service to the Nation.

The Ho-Chunk leadership team actively works with all levels of government, municipal, county, state and Federal to protect their mounds and burial sites throughout Wisconsin and Iowa. Collin noted a recent case where ancient mounds were threatened by quarrying operations.