A Guide to Indigenous People Who Call Chicago Home

There are several translations for these words, which hearken from Neshnabé creation stories. Across several versions, they mean the original, good, real, or true people and represent a confederacy of three nations, the Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi), Ojibweg (Chippewa), and Odawak (Ottawa) who share similar languages, histories, cultures, and traditional lifeways. There are also multiple family ties across these nations, and there have historically been many political and military alliances between them. Neshnabé homelands stretch across the northern and central Great Lakes. Many Neshnabék stories tell of a great migration, in which people were compelled to leave their homes on the Atlantic coast and begin a westward migration to the Great Lakes region prior to contact with Europeans. While each community has its own version of the migration story, most tellings narrate a journey that included several stops and say that at one of the stops, the Neshnabék split into three groups, while still maintaining close cultural, political, and economic connections: the Ojibweg (Keepers of Medicine), who migrated to the north and west of Lake Superior; the Odawak (Keepers of the Trade), who went to the north of Lakes Michigan, and Huron; and the Potawatomi (Keepers of the Fire), who traveled south to the coasts of Lake Michigan. Still, others believe that the Great Lakes have been home to the Neshnabék since time immemorial. Since at least the 17th century, the Neshnabé used the portages at Chicago to trade and create networks of exchange between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Valley. Some Neshnabé people began to establish more permanent village sites at Chicago in the 18th century, while others moved to Chicago seasonally before returning to their more permanent homes in other parts of the Great Lakes. Once land cessions began in the late 18th century, the Neshnabé were the primary group that ceded land in the Chicago region. These treaties were made with “the united tribes of Ottawas, Chipawas, and Potawotomees,” but the villages were primarily led by and identified as Potawatomi. Still, they certainly included Ojibwe and Odawa people. Though they ceded land in the Chicago region in the 1795, 1816, 1829, and 1832 treaties, Neshnabé people remained in Chicago until the U.S. government forcibly removed most of them from Chicago and Illinois after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. However, there were some individuals and families who remained. 

Today the Neshnabé consist of over 150 nations recognized across the U.S and Canada. Most continue to live in the Great Lakes, but as a result of both removal and earlier migrations, some are located as far west as Montana, as far east as far north as central Alberta, as far east as Quebec, and as far south as Oklahoma. An interactive map of the nations and their relationship to the Great Lakes watershed is available here. 

Neshnabék, Nishnaabeg, Anishinaabeg, Anishinaabek, Bodéwadmik, Ojibweg, and Odawak are the plural versions of the names, while the singular are Neshnabé, Nishnaabe, Anishinaabe, Bodéwadmi, Ojibwe, and Odawa, respectively. The plural versions are mostly used in speaking in the languages themselves (in English, people often use the singular to reference both single and plural). Bodéwadmi is the name for Potawatomi people in their own language, Bodéwadmimwen or Neshnabémwen, and you will often hear Bodéwadmi and Potawatomi used interchangeably, though Potawatomi is a bit more common in public contexts. Ojibwe and Odawa are preferred over Chippewa and Ottawa. Anishinaabeg, Nishnaabeg, and Neshnabék are all used, but each word is more common across different geographical regions. For consistency in this project, we use: Neshnabék, Potawatomi, Ojibwe(g), and Odawa(k). 

Pronunciation

Neshnabé(k) (nish-nah-BEH(k)) – Listen to a sound clip on the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Dictionary.

Nishnaabe(g) (nish-nah-BEH(g))

Anishinaabe(g) (ah-nish-ih-NAH-beh(g) – Listen to a sound clip on the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary.

Bodéwadmimwen (boh-deh-WAD-mean-when) – Listen to a sound clip on the Citizen Band of Potawatomi Dictionary

Neshnabémwen (nish-nah-BEM-win) – Listen to a sound clip on the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Dictionary.  

Bodéwadmi(k) (boh-deh-WAD-me(k)) – Listen to a sound clip on the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Dictionary.

Potawatomi (pot-uh-WAH-tuh-me) 

Ojibwe(g) (oh-JIB-way(g)) –  Listen to a sound clip on the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary.

Odawa(k) (oh-DAH-wah(k)) 

The Illinois Confederation includes a large group of related tribes: Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Piankashaw, Cahokia, Tamaroa, Michigamea, Tapouara, Maroa, Moingwena, Chepoussa, Chinkoa, Coiracoentanon, Espeminkia, Pepikokia, Michibousa, Raparoua, Albivi, Eel River, and Amouokoa. As populations dwindled due to epidemics and war, smaller Illinois tribes would merge with larger, allied tribes who were often already familial relatives, creating larger confederations. When the French first entered Pais de Illinois (Illinois peoples’ territory) in the late 17th century, the primary polities were the Peewaalia (Peoria) and the Kaahkaahkia (Kaskaskia). At that point in time, the Kaskaskia were living near the Chicago portage, though most Illinois villages were located further south towards The Rock (Starved Rock). The traditional homelands of the Illinois prior to contact went far north into Canada, around the Great Lakes, encompassing Illinois and Indiana, and parts of Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan, all along the Mississippi River, as far south as New Orleans. They are Great Lakes people, who lived along the rivers, lakes, and waterways they used for travel and food sources. They descend from the ancient mound-building civilizations of Central North America from thousands of years ago, often called: Hopewell, Mississippian, or Adena cultures by anthropologists.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, colonial conflicts and increasing settler migrations continued to push the Illinois further and further south and west, even into present-day Arkansas. By the nineteenth century, increasing violence, broken treaties, and oppressive federal removal policies forced them to leave their homelands. The survivors of these many nations consolidated in Kansas and since 1854 they have been known as the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, which is a federally-recognized confederation of Kaskaskia, Peoria, Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw) and Waayaahtanooki (Wea). After decades in Kansas, the Peoria removed again; their reservation is presently located in the northeast corner of Oklahoma in Ottawa County.

Peewaaliaki, Kaahkaahkiaki, Peeyankihšiaki, and Waayaahtanooki are the plural versions of the names, while the singular versions, as well as words used to refer to the entire nations, are Peewaalia, Kaahkaahkia, Peeyankihšia, and Waayaahtanwa. These names and Inohka, the name of the confederation, are the names for this community in Inohkaataweenki, the language of the Illinois people. Today, tribal members most frequently use Illinois Confederation, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, and Piankashaw, and we use these names for consistency across the project.

Pronunciation

Inohka (ih-NO-kah)

Illini (ih-LIE-ni) 

Inohkaataweenki 

Peewaalia(ki) (pay-WAH-lee-ah(kay)) – Listen to a sound clip on the Miami-Illinois Dictionary. 

Peoria (pee-OR-ee-ah) 

Kaahkaahkia(ki) (kahg-KAHG-gia(kay)) – Listen to a sound clip on the Miami-Illinois Dictionary. 

Kaskaskia (kas-KAS-kia) 

Peeyankihšia(ki) (pay-yahn-gay-she-AH(kay)) – Listen to a sound clip on the Miami-Illinois Dictionary.

Piankashaw (pea-YANK-uh-shaw)

As the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s website explains, the Myaamiaki are the downstream people and they “originate from the Great Lakes region where our homelands lie within the boundaries of the states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, lower Michigan, and lower Wisconsin.” The Wea were relatives of the Myaamiaki. Pre-contact and in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Myaamia and Wea people resided in villages that stretched across the southern portion of Lake Michigan, from present-day southern Wisconsin across present-day northern Illinois and Indiana. This included their time at a village at Chicago in the late 17th century alongside Peoria and Kaskaskia relatives. Some Myaamia people moved further east toward the end of the 18th century, but there were still Myaamia villages near Chicago in the early 19th century and Myaamia people still claimed and articulated Chicago as a part of their ancestral homeland at the 1795 Treaty of Greenville negotiations. Myaamia people continue to claim this land within their homelands today. 

Myaamia forced removal from their lands in what is now north central Indiana began in 1846, and the federally-recognized Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is today located in Oklahoma. The Wea moved south west before joining with the Peoria, Kaskaskia, and Piankeshaw people in 1854, and today they are part of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, whose reservation is located in Oklahoma due to removal. The singular version of Myaamiaki is Myaamia. The singular version of Waayaahtanooki is Waayaahtanwa, the name for Wea people in Inohkaataweenki, the language of the Illinois, which is closely related to Myaamiaataweenki, the language of the Myaamiaki. In this project, we use Myaamia(ki), which is preferred over Miami, and Wea, since it is most widely used today. 

Pronunciation

Myaamia(ki) (mee-YAH-mee-ah-key) – Listen to a sound clip on the Miami-Illinois Dictionary

Myaamiaataweenki (mee-YAH-mee-ah-tah-win-gay) – Listen to a sound clip on the Miami-Illinois Dictionary. 

Waayaahtanwa (why-AH-tahn-wah) and Waayaahtanooki (why-ah-tahn-OO-kay) –  Listen to sound clips on the Miami-Illinois Dictionary.

Wea (WEE-ah)

The Sauk and Meskwaki share similar languages and cultures and became close allies after the Fox Wars in the first half of the eighteenth century, but they are distinct nations. According to the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri (in Kansas and Nebraska’s) website, the Sauk were known as the “People of the Yellow Earth” while the Meskwaki were known as the “Red Earth People.” Both groups “have been historically located in Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska.” Alongside Anishinaabe people, Sauks and Meskwakis lived in villages at Chicago in the 1740s for several decades and lived in other villages throughout the larger Chicago region through the removal period. Sauk and Meskwaki people were removed via treaties in the first decades of the 19th century, and were further targeted by U.S. forces and pushed across the Mississippi River during the 1832 Black Hawk War, in which some Meskwaki people tried to return to Illinois to plant crops. 

Today they are recognized by the federal government as three distinct federally-recognized nations: Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma, Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri (in Kansas and Nebraska), and the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa. Due to removals following the Black Hawk War, their reservations are located in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, and Iowa (respectively). Thâkîwaki is the name for Sauk people in their own language, Thâkiwâtowêweni. However, Sauk and Sac are frequently used most by tribal members today. Meskwaki is preferred over Fox. For consistency in this project, we use Sauk and Meskwaki. 

Pronunciation

Thâkîwaki (thah-KEY-wuh-kih) 

Sauk (sawk) 

Thâkiwâtowêweni (thah-key-wah-toh-WAA-weh-nih) 

Meskwaki (mes-KWAW-key) 

According to the Ho-Chunk Nation’s website, the Hoocąk peoples “have traditional lands that go from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.” The Hoocąk are linguistically related to the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux) nations, the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota, while all other tribal nations on whose homelands include present-day Chicago speak different dialects of Algonquin languages. Ho-Chunk people moved through the Chicago portages prior to European contact, throughout the early contact period, and through the first part of the 19th century. Though most Ho-Chunk people lived north of the region in what is now southern Wisconsin by the time Europeans arrived, they are also the descendants of what archaeologists have called the Oneota people, whose villages are some of the oldest archaeological sites across northern Illinois and the Chicago region. 

Some Ho-Chunk people remained in their ancestral homelands through various means, while others were removed from Wisconsin beginning in 1840. Today, they are recognized by the federal government in two nations: Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.  Hoocąk is the name for Ho-Chunk people in their own language, Hoocąk hoit’e. In this project, we use Ho-Chunk, since it is most widely used today by community members and preferred over Winnebago, which was a word that the French used to refer to the Hoocąk people. 

Pronunciation

Hoocąk (HOH-chunk) – Listen to a sound clip on the Ho-Chunk Nation Dictionary.

Ho-Chunk (HOH-chunk) 

Hoocąk hoit’e (HOH-chunk-hoy-TEH) – Listen to a sound clip on the Ho-Chunk Nation Dictionary.

According to the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas’s website, the Kiikaapoi historically “occupied the western portion of the woodland area in southern Michigan near Lake Erie. However, European invasion changed the lives and cultures of these woodland tribes forever.” In the late 17th century, many Kickapoo were living in villages in the northwest region of Chicago with Mascouten, Sauk, Meskwaki, and Myaamia people. They continued to live in the region through the 18th century, but by 1800, most had moved east into present-day Indiana. The Mascouten united with the Kickapoo around this time, in the early 19th century. 

Kickapoo and Mascouten people were forced to leave their homelands in the Midwest over several decades. Today, there are three federally-recognized Kickapoo Nations, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Kickapoo Tribe in Oklahoma, and the Texas Band of Kickapoo. There are also Kickapoo people as far south as Mexico, who fled there during the removal era. Kiikaapoi is the name for Kickapoo people in their own language. In this project we use Kickapoo and Mascouten, which are most widely used by community members today.

Pronunciation

Kiikaapoi

Kickapoo (KICK-ah-poo) 

Mascouten (mas-COO-ten) 

As the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s website states, the  Omāēqnomenēwak/Mamaceqtaw originate from the mouth of the Menominee River and their “rich culture, history, and residency in the area now known as the State of Wisconsin, and parts of the States of Michigan and Illinois, dates back 10,000 years.” During the colonial period, Menominee people primarily lived in what is now central Wisconsin. However, in the first decades of the 19th century, some lived in composite villages in what is now north-central Illinois alongside Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa, and Ho-Chunk people. 

Today the federally recognized Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is located in their ancestral homelands. Omāēqnomenēw is the singular version of Omāēqnomenēwak, the name for Menominee people in their own language, Omāēqnomenēweqnasen. Some Menominee people also use the word Mamaceqtaw to refer to themselves – this literally means human beings. In this project, we use Menominee, since it is most widely used among community members in public contexts. 

Pronunciation

Omāēqnomenēw(ak) 

Mamaceqtaw

Menominee (meh-NOM-ih-nee)

Omāēqnomenēweqnasen

Starting in the late 19th century and extending through the present, Indigenous people have returned to or come to Chicago seeking both opportunities and community. In the 1950s, the federal government’s Urban Relocation Policy encouraged Native people to leave their communities and relocate to cities like Chicago, as part of its larger efforts to assimilate Native people and eliminate tribal nations. Thousands followed promises of jobs and housing to cities like Chicago, but were met with racism and more broken promises when they arrived. Still, Native people formed inter tribal communities that depended on mutual aid and community support. Today, Chicago’s Indigenous community includes the descendants of many who came to the city as a part of this relocation program, as well as others who came to the city for other reasons. The Indigenous population in Chicago is one of the largest urban Native communities in the United States and represents hundreds of different tribal nations.