Classroom

This Tour highlights Just a few of the places that you can visit in Chicago to learn more about Native American life and history in Chicago and the Great Lakes Region.

Chicago Public Art History 

Since 1971, the Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG) has created,
or helped to create, hundreds of pieces of public artwork in a variety of
locations across the city of Chicago. The art installations by CPAG are
completed with several goals in mind, notably “to unite artists and communities
in partnership to produce quality public art and to extend and transform the
traditions of collaborative community involved, public artwork”2.
“Indian Land Dancing” is one of several underpass beautifying projects that
CPAG undertook during the latter portion of the 2000’s. 

Project Origins 

Alderman Mary Ann Smith, of the 48th Ward, was
one of the driving forces behind the development of this project5. She was
inspired to begin this project after viewing Native American&nbsp;art on a trip to Alaska. After
being inspired by the artwork she saw on her trip, she wanted to find a way to
bring&nbsp;the art of&nbsp;Great&nbsp;Lakes Native Americans&nbsp;into focus in Chicago, like she had seen done in Alaska5. At the time that
Alderman Smith contacted the people at CPAG to discuss the creation of a piece of
public art focused on&nbsp;Great Lakes Native&nbsp;American in Chicago, they were already considering
creating a mural at the Foster Avenue underpass, due to the relative success of
the Bryn Mawr Avenue underpass mural situated a few blocks north8. After
this the Foster Avenue project took on a new life and CPAG began to collaborate
with Native American&nbsp;artists, scholars, and community members from the Chicago area&nbsp;on the planning and design
of the mural. Alderman Smith and her staff were in contact with CPAG throughout
the development and planning of the mural and helped, in part, to fund the
mural by contributing around $100,000 from funds that were set aside for beautifying
the community 5,8. 

Collaborative Efforts

The “Indian Land Dancing” mural represents the culmination
of many months of collaborative work and discussions. CPAG project leaders
Tracy VanDuinen, Todd Osborne, and Cynthia Weiss reached out to Native American&nbsp;artists,
scholars, activists, and community members in Chicago&nbsp;to discuss the design, direction,
and artistic aspects of the mural8. In addition to involving individuals, the
CPAG planning committee was in contact with the American Indian Center, located
in Chicago, and Evanston Illinois’ Mitchell Museum of the American Indian to
help bring in even more Native scholars and artists from the Great Lakes region to make sure that the
project would be accurate and representative for all of those who chose to
contribute5.

During the physical creation and application of the mural
even more people contributed their time and effort to create the mural. Many of
the people involved in the planning stages came out to help paint, sculpt, and guide
others during the creation of the mural8. Local community members&nbsp;donated ceramic tiles and
other supplies and volunteered to help apply sections of the mural1. In
addition, youth volunteers from two different afterschool youth programs,
Alternatives, Inc. and the After School Matters Program of Chicago, also helped
to apply ceramic tiles to the mural6. 

Inspiration and Message Behind the
Mural 

The inspiration behind the Foster Avenue mural comes from a
poem by Ojibwe artist E. Donald “Eddy” Two-Rivers, from which the title “Indian
Land Dancing” is borrowed6. Images from this poem are spread throughout
the mural. The mural is meant to “teach the Native past, rather than simply
putting it on display" 
said artist Tracy VanDuinen5. 

The mural mixes the traditional symbols of Native American&nbsp;groups from the Great Lakes region&nbsp;with ones meant
to represent contemporary Native American life in the city of Chicago.&nbsp;One portion of
the mural depicts a matriarchal figure holding “a sphere of seven circles”
while a skateboarder with the word “Apache” on his board rides on the slope of
her hair1. This image references the Native American&nbsp;belief that all
generations are interconnected, represented by the womanly figure holing the
sphere of interconnected circles, while also highlighting a member of the
current generation1. &nbsp;Another portion of
the mural depicts a tipi with books stacked up against it (pictured). This
image created by Robert Wapahi is meant to symbolize the local tribes
transition from oral storytelling, represented by the tipi a location where
oral storytelling would have taken place, to written storytelling, represented
by the stack of books 6. 

There are&nbsp; many other images meant to represent the past lives of
Native American&nbsp;people in Chicago, like the cattails meant to represent Lake Michigan’s
shoreline prior to contact6. There are images a mythical thunderbird and great turtle,
both important elements in the religious beliefs of Native American groups from the Great Lakes region8. The
mural also includes images of important Native American leaders and individuals from the
past, like the Sauk Warrior Black Hawk and Leopold and Simon Pokagon of the
Pokagon Potawatomi, as well as images from far more recent times, like the
Mohawk Ironworkers who helped build the skyscrapers and world renown ballerina
Maria Tallchief8. A final unique artistic element of the mural is the
inclusion of “blank” mirror tiles throughout the mural, these tiles allow for
the visitors to connect to the images of the mural on a deeper level, and help
the visitor to see themselves as being connected to the stories and history presented in the mural&nbsp;in some way6.

The location of the mural itself blend this combination of
past and present. In the past long before Chicago was the Chicago we know
today, streets like Rodgers Avenue and Broadway were all former Indian trails,
many of which ran through the area that is now occupied by the Foster Avenue
underpass, according to Frances Hageman, Vice President of the American Indian
Center's board5. 

At the time of its construction in 2009, the Foster Avenue
mural claimed two unique identifiers. The size of the mural, covering nearly
3,400 square feet, and the application style, made it the largest
direct-application mosaic in the city of Chicago 1,4. The group
of collaborators and artists who helped to design and create the mural, helped
give the mural its other unique identifier, that the mural was the only public
art piece designed, at least in part, by Native Americans, as of 2009 1,4.

&nbsp;

"Indian Land Dancing" is a multimedia mural that covers both sides of the Foster Avenue underpass at Lake Shore Drive, located near the Edgewater neighborhood in Chicago. The mural, built using various forms of multimedia including ceramic tiles, plaster, paintings, and printed pictures, was assembled over the summer of 2009 in a mosaic style and covers nearly 3,400 square feet of previously undecorated concrete. The mural represents the collaborative efforts of the Chicago Public Art Group, Native American community members and artists, and volunteers of every age and skill level, who worked together to create a piece of public art to celebrate and tell the story of Native Americans in Chicago. 

One side of the "Indian Land Dancing" mural, picture taken from opposite side of the underpass. Photo Credit: Jim Bartholomew, 2010.

"Indian Land Dancing" Bricolage Mural

The Indian Boundary Park and Field House enjoys two histories, one attached to the broader theme that is Native American-United States relations, and a local history that involves Chicago's urban growth and a renewed effort to preserve the people that provided the city with its name.&nbsp; The official history of the park, according to the Chicago Park District, is explained: <blockquote>Indian Boundary Park takes its name from a territorial boundary established by the Treaty of 1816 between the Pottawattomie Indians and the U.S. government. The boundary line, which ran through the land that is now the park, remained in effect only through 1833, when the Pottawattomies were forced entirely from the area in the face of white settlement.Indian Boundary Park was the second and largest of the four parks created by the Ridge Avenue Park District. The others were Morse (now Matanky), Chippewa, and Pottawattomie. The Ridge Avenue district was the first of 19 neighborhood park commissions established after 1896 to serve areas recently annexed to the city. Chicago's three original park districts had authority only to create parks within the 1869 city limits.The Ridge Avenue Park District began acquiring land for Indian Boundary Park in 1915. Richard F. Gloede, a designer of North Shore estate landscapes, developed an early plan for the park. In the mid-1920s, the Ridge Avenue Park District opened a small zoo, one of only two zoos in Chicago and initially housing only a lone Black bear. The 1929 Tudor-Revival fieldhouse designed by architect Clarence Hatzfeld features Native American-themed ornament inspired by the park's name. Indian Boundary Park is unusual in that its eastern lawn flows seamlessly into the front yards of neighboring apartment buildings. This park feature was so well-received that in the 1960s the Chicago Park District closed off part of adjacent Estes Avenue as well.In 2005 Indian Boundary Fieldhouse was designated a Historical Landmark by the City of Chicago and is also listed in the National Register of Historical Places.1</blockquote>In 2012, the Indian Boundary Fieldhouse suffered from a fire, but the insurance policy taken by the Park District on the building, listed on the National Register for Historic Places, covered the nearly $1.5 million renovation, which included restoring&nbsp;Native American relief artwork, sculpted from plaster and wood trim, by a restoration specialist.2 The Native American aspect of this park may exist as one of nostalgia to some, but it truly represents the complicated nature of the Chicago area. For centuries (or more), Native Americans occupied the Chicago-area, using its swampy lands, prairie grasses, and navigable rivers for its own purposes comprised of trapping, hunting, fishing, trading, social activities, and sometimes war. In the 16th century to early 19th century, it became part of what Richard White famously called, the Middle Ground, both representing its geographic location and representative of the need for Europeans (notably French and English) and Native Americans to coexist. Indeed, one of Chicago's original European settlers, John Kinzie, was a trapper and friend of many Natives.3 The United States victory over the the British during the American Revolution, and again in the War of 1812 -- most Native Americans sided with the British, removed any semblance of the Middle Ground. Instead, Natives routinely looked to simply save its land against aggressive westward advancement by the U.S. Whereas the natives could play the French against the British, or vica versa, the U.S. had no real threats, notably after France signed over Louisiana. &nbsp;The treaty of 1816, for which the park draws its name, was one of countless treaties that proved to be temporary pauses in the otherwise broader strategy of the U.S pushing Natives out of the land.4 Many know of President Andrew Jackson's&nbsp;Even such presidents as Thomas Jefferson developed strategies that would result in Native Americans departing the land. It was, in essence, the accepted idea of American's natural progression westward.5&nbsp; This park, in particular, through the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis, was the demarcation line that&nbsp;provided land and safety for the&nbsp;Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi while the U.S. could use a 20-mile swatth of land for trading fur and safe navigation.&nbsp;fur traders to safely pass through or settle in this area. &nbsp;The boundary line of that treaty cut through the park.6&nbsp; Today, the park serves as a reminder of that struggle between Natives and Anglo-Americans, but also a modern society looking to preserve the culture -- and even accept some wrongs committed, as shown by the admission on the official government website. The park also exists as place to avoid the typical urban ills with a specious park that hosts numerous activities, fests, and otherwise daily leisure.&nbsp;

Now part of the Chicago Park District, fittingly a government-owned land, it once existed in an area where the Treaty of St. Louis (1816) provided rights & land to the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi by the United States. As with most treaties, it was short lived - Native Americans eventually were pushed west. The park itself has been open since 1922 and the Field House served a home to Native American artwork and history. 

By Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois, USA - Indian Boundary Park, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10854765

Indian Boundary Park & Field House

The U.S. built&nbsp;Fort Dearborn -- named for Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War --&nbsp;&nbsp;in 1803&nbsp;on the swampy&nbsp;southeast bank of the mouth of the&nbsp;Chicago
River where it fed&nbsp;Lake Michigan.1&nbsp;General Anthony Wayne, member of the&nbsp;U.S House of Representatives at the time, had requested its construction.&nbsp;From 1803 until 1812, life at the fort and the nearby settlement was fairly quiet. However, Ft. Dearborn's significance grew substantially during the&nbsp;War of 1812 between the British (who still controlled Canada to the north of the Great Lakes) and United States. The British, aided by its Indian allies, took Ft. Detroit and Ft. Michilimackinac (located in today's Michigan) with relative ease.. It appeared the Fort Dearborn would be next, as the British attempted to control the Great Lakes, and the arrival of roughly 1,000 Potawatomis and their allies in early August of 1812 confirmed that belief. The fort's location far from the main populace of the U.S coupled with internal dissension and disorganization made Fort Dearborn an easy target.2John Kinzie, Chicago's first non-military permanent resident remained in the fort and served as a consultant (friend) to the fort's Captain Nathan Heald. Kinzie was a longtime trapper who befriended many Native Americans, and largely remained a man free of any national allegiance, be it France, England, or the U.S. However, in this case he existed as an American citizen - he and his family were in danger.3Captain Heald received orders to abandon the fort and head to Fort Wayne. Heald, Kinzie, the fort's Indian agent, William Wells, and their Indian allies (Miami nation) left on August 15th, along with an estimated 90&nbsp;people, and headed to Fort Wayne. However, the Potawatomi's attacked them a mile after they fled, leaving 52 dead. Those who survived were taken as prisoners of war, but&nbsp;John Kinzie and his family, escaped. The following day the fort was burned to the ground. Many years passed before settlers returned to the area.4The battled quickly turned into a rallying cry for Americans, who deemed it a "massacre," notably by the nation's newspapers. It is a legacy that remains, as the first of four stars on the Chicago flag serve as a reminder of the fallen victims. Much of the memory is provided to Americans by the words of Juliette M. Kinzie's 1856&nbsp;Wau-Bun: The "Early Day" in the North-West.&nbsp;Her descriptions led to the creation of the 1893 monument that symbolized the "brutal" nature of the "massacre."&nbsp;5Debate ensues over the true descriptions or how the event is remembered. As is often the case, the memory of the event has its own history.&nbsp;In truth, it was a battle that existed as a larger-scale war. It was also part of a lengthy, complicated&nbsp;history between English, French, Americans, and the many Indian nations that existed in the region.6&nbsp; More than that, this had been Indian country for hundreds (and more) years prior to the arrival of Americans - the vast majority of&nbsp;established roads and navigation networks were built and organized by Native Americans.7 To wit: the monument represents the legacy of "memory," more than the true events that occurred on August 15, 1812.8

The Battle of Fort Dearborn was a short and bloody battle fought during the War of 1812, between the Potawatomi tribe and U.S. garrison of the Fort. The Battle occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn, Illinois Territory (in what is now Chicago, Illinois). The result of the battle was an overwhelming victory for the Potawatomi tribe. The victorious Potawatomie burned Fort Dearborn to the ground and the region remained empty of U.S. citizens until after the war had ended. 

A depiction of the battle. When the battle was done 52 lay dead and 41 were taken into captivity. 

Entries on This Tour

Native American History In Chicago

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