Native American Authors

Mountain Wolf Woman
(KŽhachiwinga)
, 1884-1960

Winnebago

Mountain Wolf Woman, or KŽhachiwinga, was a Native American woman of the Winnebago tribe. She was born in April 1884 into the Thunder Clan in East Fork River, Wisconsin. Her parents were Charles Blowsnake and Lucy Goodvillage. She was forced by her brothers to marry a man she did not care for. Though she eventually left him, she was forced into a second marriage. In 1958, an autobiography was written about her by Nancy Lurie. At the time of the interviews for the book, she had eight children, thirty-nine grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. She was a mainstream Christian during her youth, but eventually joined the Peyote religion, and her autobiography, Mountain Wolf Woman, is credited with bringing whites their first insights into the practice, as well as being a first-hand depiction of native life. She died at age 76, on November 9, 1960.

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