Land Acknowledgment

The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers.

Bodéwadmikik shode ėthë ték i ‘Chicago History Museum.’ Bodéwadmik shodë gi dnezwêk mine wgi kowabdanawa odë kė.

Literal translation: This is Potawatomi land here where the Chicago History Museum is located. The Potawatomi lived here and watched over this land.

The Ojibwe, Odawa, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Miami, Mascouten, Sac and Fox, Ho-Chunk, Menomonee, Kickapoo, and tribes whose names have been lost as a result of genocide also lived, gathered, and traded in this region.

Winwa gézhé gi Wthebawék, Wdawék, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wémamithêk, Mshkodéniyêk, Zagiyêk, Mskwakiyêk, Winbyégoyêk, Mnomniyêk, Gigaboyêk, minė gé Gété Neshnabék shodë gi byé mawtheshnowêk minė gi dnezwêk.

Literal translation: Them, too, the Ojibwe, Odawa, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Miami, Mascouten, Sauk, Fox, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Kickapoo, and ancient Indigenous people, they also came to gather and live here.

Today, Chicago is home to a large urban Indigenous population, and they continue to honor this land and its waterways, practice traditions, and celebrate their heritage.

Mégwa shë manék neshnabék dnezwêk shode Zhegagoynak, minė mégwa shna neshnabé bmadzëwêk.

Literal Translation: Still today a large population of indigenous people live here in Chicago, and they still practice their cultural ways.

The Chicago History Museum acknowledges the contributions of Indigenous communities and commits to an ongoing collaboration to share a complex and inclusive history.

Ngëkénmamen Neshnabék ėshtthëgéwat shode Chicago History Museum, mine gé nwi withmiktthéwimdëmen ėwi débwéyathmoyak.

Literal Translation: We know the contributions that Indigenous peoples make here at the Chicago History Museum, and we will work together so that true history will be told.

• Development of land acknowledgment in concert with Indigenous consultants
• Board of Trustees approval of land acknowledgment and bringing Native representation to the Board of Trustees
• Placement of land acknowledgment in written form on the Jaffee History Trail, inside the Museum (lobby, Chicago Rooms, McCormick Theater, Crossroads), and on the website (with option for feedback from the public on the website)
• Use of land acknowledgment in presentations and programs
• Development of education series and training for CHM staff and volunteers about Indigenous history and present-day Chicago, as well as use of the land acknowledgment

• Development of library research guide around accessing Native materials in CHM’s research collection
• Alteration of subject headings in catalogues and information in metadata to eliminate harmful terminology, inaccurate categorizations, and other issues (ongoing)
• Indigenous pamphlets critical cataloguing project, which includes assessment of approximately 80 pamphlets in the collection to re-catalogue with community input (complete)
• Collection assessment project to identify critical items, including those of Indigenous heritage, in need of further community review and input on status, description, care, and use (ongoing)

• Inclusion of Indigenous history and Potawatomi language throughout the Jaffee History Trail, the Museum’s first significant change to the land in 35 years.
• Posting signage identifying the harms of misrepresentation and omission present in some exhibitions at CHM, with opportunity for visitor feedback
• Development of long-term plan and community engagement for revisioning permanent exhibitions such as Crossroads to include collaborative and representative Indigenous history

• Review and audit of programs with Indigenous history (ongoing)