The Winnebago were removed from their homeland in Wisconsin 11 times between 1836 and1874. However, after each removal they trickled back home. From 1873 to 1874 the Government used military force to remove approximately 900 Winnebago to the Nebraska reservation, including many who owned land legally in Wisconsin.

Despite the effort, nearly all of the Winnebago returned to their homeland within a year. The Government never forced the Winnebago out of Wisconsin again. Just a year after the final failed attempt at removal, the Government granted the Winnebago the right to homestead in Wisconsin. New legislation in 1881 allowed them to purchase land in their ancestral homeland. The Winnebago success at resisting removal is a rare exception in the Native American experience.