On Thursday, Nov. 6, IVCC celebrated Native American Heritage Month by having IVCC alum, Gerald Savage, speak to its students. Gerald Savage or “Ho-Chunk Ska Ga” (White Winnebago), the name given to him by his spiritual leader, gave a brief introduction of how Native Americans arrived in Illinois. He described it as “An oral history from a native perspective.”  

Savage shared much of his history including where he is from, his family’s history in Illinois, and struggles his family dealt with. He shared the history of his name, White Winnebago. He had a naming ceremony at starved rock, where he was gathered with his family and was given his native name by a spiritual leader.  

Savage proudly shared that his grandparents were part of a wild west show. According to a biography of him, “Gerald’s grandparents were Chief Walks with the Wind, and his wife, Stands on a Cloud.  They were very influential in the teaching of Gerald the native customs and ways. He carries on his grandfather’s tradition of educating people about Ho-Chunk tribal customs and ways.” 

Savage also emphasized the offensiveness of wearing native costumes during Halloween and even stated, “My ethnicity is not a costume.” He also shared his high honor of receiving a bonnet at a pow wow which he described as, “A traditional woodland chief’s turban.”  

Savage shared details about his religion, language, jobs of natives, and rites of passage as a native man. He shared traditions for these rites of passage, for example, being left in the woods for a whole night being blindfolded and sometimes tied to a tree. He explained that his culture emphasizes the importance of growing, along with being independent. During this, he shared that in his culture, water is the most sacred weapon. Savage shared traditional instruments and provided details on how they are used through demonstration.  

Today Savage is an Illinois humanities scholar speaker and an Illinois America 250 commissioner.