Gina Nojíwįga (Cloud) Funmaker (1901 - 1943)

Born 1901 in Wisconsin, United States

Wife of Harry Hagaga Funmaker — married 1930 (to 1943) in Wisconsin, United States

Died 1943 in Wisconsin, United States

Thelma (Cloud) Funmaker was a Native American and member of the Ho-Chunk tribe.

Biography

Birth

Thelma was born in 1901.

Name

Once married, she apparently preferred the name "Thelma" over her given name "Gina." The 1940 census gives her middle initial as "B." Her clan name is given as NoGeWinKah, which is for Nojíwįga, "She Who Hits a Tree," a personal name in the Thunderbird Clan. It is from no, an older form of ną, "tree, wood"; ji, "to strike, hit"; -wį-, a feminine gender infix; and -ga, a definite article suffix used in personal names. The name refers to the propensity of the Thunderbirds to strike trees with lightning.

Marriages and Children

Her first union was to Howard White (Whitethunder) (b. 1897), and with him she had one daughter:

Virginia White, b. 1920

The censuses from 1920 to 1925 show that she lived with her parents, and only in 1926 did she move in with Howard and Virginia. She left them in 1929 to marry Harry Funmaker. In her marriage to Harry Funmaker, she had at least the following children:

Harriet Jean, b. Nov. 8, 1930

Delores V., b. Nov. 21, 1935 (1937 census)

Kenneth Elroy, b. 1934

Mary A., b. 1938 (1940 census)

For unknown reasons, Ken Funmaker does not appear in the 1937 Indian census.

Death

She passed away in 1943 and was buried at Decorah Prairie Cemetery, Galesville, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, USA. (Find a Grave)

Sources

• 1926 Indian Census; Roll: M595_168; Page: 69; Line: 18; Agency: Grand Rapids. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1929 Indian census; Roll: M595_570; Page: 101; Line: 1; Agency: Tomah. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1937 Indian Census; Roll: M595_573; Page: 36; Line: 1; Agency: Tomah Indian School. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1940 Federal Census for La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin; Roll: m-t0627-04491; Page: 61A; Enumeration District: 32-36. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 29 December 2019), memorial page for Thelma Cloud Funmaker (1901–1943), Find A Grave Memorial no. 52794932, citing Decorah Prairie Cemetery, Galesville, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, USA ; Maintained by Anonymous (contributor 47268792).

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