The Ho-Chunk call themselves Ho-chungra, which means 'people of the parent speech,' or 'people of the Big Voice.' Historical and linguistic evidence supports these oral traditions, particularly for the Missouri, Iowa, and Oto tribes. Other tribal traditions relate how tribes such as the Quapaw, Missouri, Iowa, Oto, Omaha, and Ponca were once part of the Ho-Chunk, but these other tribes continued to move farther west while the Ho-Chunk stayed in Wisconsin. The oral traditions of the tribe, particularly the Thunderbird clan, state that the Ho-Chunk originated at the Red Banks on Green Bay. The Ho-Chunk - formerly called the Winnebago - are members of a Siouan-speaking tribe who were established in Wisconsin at the time of French contact in the 1630s. View Announcement Search toggle Mobile Menu Toggle Nations in Wisconsin: Sovereignty and Treaty Rights.Modern Tribal Communities: Politics, Prosperity, and Problems.