North American Indian people who live in the Midwestern U.S., notably Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.
Their language belongs to the Siouan language family, and their name is derived from a Fox name meaning "People of the Stinking Water." They call themselves Hochungra, meaning "People of the Big Speech [or Parent Speech]." Before the 17th century, the Winnebago lived in what is now eastern Wisconsin. By the early 19th century, as a result of their participation in the fur trade, they had expanded into southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois. They lived in villages of dome-shaped wigwams; there they cultivated corn, squash, beans, and tobacco and hunted bison. Their major ceremony was the medicine dance, in which both men and women participated. Membership in the 12 clan s was determined by the father, and the clans were important units in social life. The Winnebago were involved in the Black Hawk War of 1832, after which most of the tribe was removed to other Midwestern states. At the turn of the 21st century they numbered some 12,000.