Winnebago Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Thurston County · Population 916 (2020 census) · ZIP 68071 · Founded 1865

About Winnebago

Winnebago is a village of 916 on US 75/77 in northern Thurston County, within the Winnebago Reservation, and the headquarters of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. It has Winnebago Public Schools, Little Priest Tribal College, the Angel De Cora Museum and Research Center, Twelve Clans Unity Hospital, Ho-Chunk Village and the Native Star Casino.

History

The Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people were forced from Minnesota to Crow Creek in Dakota Territory in 1863; many came down the Missouri to the Omaha Reservation, and treaties of March 1865 set aside its northern part as the Winnebago Reservation. About 75 Winnebago men served in 1865 as Company A of the Omaha Scouts, and their homecoming in the summer of 1866 began the annual Homecoming Celebration, which honors Chief Little Priest; it is held in late July at Veterans Memorial Park (July 23–26 in 2026). The post office opened in 1867.

The tribe's economic development corporation, Ho-Chunk, Inc., was founded in 1994 and built Ho-Chunk Village on the north side of town. Little Priest Tribal College was chartered in 1996, and in 2018 the tribe took over the former Indian Health Service hospital as Twelve Clans Unity Hospital. Winnebago counted 916 people in 2020, its highest census. Silent-film actress Lillian St. Cyr ("Red Wing") was from Winnebago.

Highways and trails through Winnebago

Route	One way	Other way
US 75/77Run together north from the roundabout at Winnebago	North to Homer (about 6.5 mi), Dakota City and South Sioux City (about 19 mi)	South: US 77 to Walthill (about 7 mi); US 75 to Macy (about 9 mi) and Decatur

Nearby towns

Homer	about 6.5 mi north	US 75/77
Walthill	about 7 mi south	US 77
Macy	about 9 mi south	US 75
Dakota City	about 14 mi north	US 75/77
Rosalie	about 15 mi south	US 77
Pender	about 19.5 mi southwest	US 77 and NE 94

Things to see

Angel De Cora Museum and Research Center at Little Priest Tribal College (free) · Honoring the Clans Sculpture Garden, 509 Ho-Chunk Plaza N. · Winnebago Scouts historical marker on US 75 north of town · Veterans Memorial Park, the Homecoming powwow grounds

Schools and health care

Schools: Winnebago Public Schools, 202 Osborne St. (pre-K–12); St. Augustine Indian Mission School (Catholic, K–8); Little Priest Tribal College, 601 E. College Dr.

Health care: Twelve Clans Unity Hospital, 225 Bluff St., run by the Winnebago Comprehensive Healthcare System, with emergency care

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Thurston County; Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.