Inauguration of Chief Hanageh Statue

Chief Hanageh (Highknocker) was the last Ho-Chunk Chief to rule Daycholah, the area now known as Green Lake County, Wisconsin. He was born on the east shore of Green Lake in 1820 and died in 1911 at age 91.

Green Lake local George King (1941–2025) donated a statue of Chief Highknocker to honor the Chief’s memory and influence. At the statue’s inaugural speech and ribbon-cutting ceremony, a tribute to George King was performed in the form of a dance set to a recorded interview with him. In the recording, George shares his favorite memories in the waters of Green Lake, narrating stories with family and friends and reflecting on the joy that swimming and fishing brought him throughout his life.

Daycholah is the deepest inland lake in Wisconsin and home to a sacred Water Spirit that every Ho-Chunk person has historically been called to in pilgrimage. Chief Hanageh’s statue, at long last, returns his watchful gaze to Daycholah’s shores. Alongside George King’s local water histories shared here, this tribute unites over 200 years of Green Lake history in a multimedia artistic memorial.

Moving forward, George King and Chief Highknocker remind us to honor and protect the Indigenous history, present, and future of our home — with a love for Green Lake’s sacred waters. This project is the start of a continuous series collecting local water stories.