Visit from Chief White Winnebago commemorates heritage month at IVCC

Illinois Valley Community College commemorates Native American Heritage Month with a visit from Chief White Winnebago of the Ho Chunk Nation at noon on Monday, Nov. 6, in the Student Life Space. The event is open to the public.

White Winnebago is the formal native name of Gerald Savage, an IVCC graduate, who is a territorial clan chief. He grew up in the Illinois Valley and was introduced to the Ho-Chunk traditions by his grandparents, Chief Walks with the Wind and Princess Stands on a Cloud. After being resettled out of state, Savage’s family returned to Illinois in the 1930s and their lives fused with the evolution and history of Illinois and the state park.

Now, Savage travels the state as an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar, part of a speakers bureau that brings art, culture, history and contemporary social issues to communities.

“I’m a piece of living history,” Savage acknowledged. “Everybody seems to walk away with something” from presentations that combine storytelling, history, native culture and traditions, and environmentalism.

His presentation is sponsored by IVCC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.