Descendants

George Funmaker Sr. was a Native American and member of the Ho-Chunk tribe.

Biography

Birth

George was born in 1865 according to all the censuses, although his grave stone records the date as 1860. (Find a Grave)

Name

The censuses give his clan name as Wachaheraka, which is obscure. However, van Schaik gives his name as Wojhtchawheraykah. This appears to be the well-attested Bear Clan name, Woxcahírega, from woxca, woxja, "fond of, admired"; híre, "to be, to be such-and-such"; and -ga, a definite article suffix used in personal names. The name therefore means, "Being Admired," and explains Wally Funmaker saying his name was "Admired Bear."

Clan

Wally Funmaker says, "My father, Night Walker, is the fifth son of Admired Bear who was the Bear Clan chief of the Winnebago tribe at the turn of the century." (Funmaker, vi)

Death

He died in 1947 (aged 86–87), and was buried in Decorah Cemetery Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin, USA. (Find a Grave)

Sources

• Walter W. Funmaker, The Winnebago BlackBear Subclan: A Defended Culture. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, December 1986.
• 1905; Roll: M595_671; Line: 5. 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.
• Tom Jones, Michael Schmudlach, Matthew Daniel Mason, Amy Lonetree, and George A. Greendeer, People of the Big Voice: Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879-1942 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2011).
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 24 December 2019), memorial page for George Funmaker, Sr (1860–1947), Find A Grave Memorial no. 202794625, citing Decorah Cemetery, Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin, USA ; Maintained by kmapp (contributor 46799577) .

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