The Village Sites map shows permanent Indigenous village sites, as well as temporary camps and sites for seasonal labor in the Chicago area from the pre-contact period to the mid-19th century. Native people in the Great Lakes were not static – they moved seasonally, as well as according to internal changes and colonial violence. Therefore, even the “permanent” village sites would have fluctuated in population across the year and across time. The data for this map is drawn largely from archaeological data and historical narratives, sources that are limited, and make it impossible to ever create a truly complete village site map.

We have designated larger, more permanent sites as village sites and smaller, more temporary camps as seasonal camps likely used for seasonal rounds – annual patterns of coming to a particular place at a particular time for activities like maple sugaring, harvesting plants, and hunting. Alongside many of these village and seasonal camps, archaeologists have noted the presence of large amounts of flint, and assumed that these were places to create weapons and tools, or “chipping sites.” While there were designated places near villages to create tools, these sites would have also been used to create things like baskets, to process food, and to complete other kinds of community work – these materials simply don’t hold up as well over time, and thus were not seen by archaeologists during their excavations. Therefore, we have re-named these sites as “Community Work Sites” to reflect the full use of these places.

Due to the limits of archaeological data,  it is important to note that blank space on the map does not indicate a lack of village sites. We have only mapped the area immediately surrounding what is now Chicago, but in reality the entire United States, especially areas near important waterways, were similarly covered with Native village sites. Where the information exists, we have included information about leaders that lived at these sites, the time periods they were occupied, and the tribal nations who lived there. That said, even the sites marked as being led by one tribe likely contained individuals from several tribal nations, as was common in the Great Lakes. If you click on each point, you can also see the source(s) from which the information was pulled, as well as any additional details we have about the site.

Like all aspects of the Indigenous Chicago project, this map is an ongoing initiative. We will continue to update the data as we complete or are directed to additional research. 

Sources used for this map are listed within each map point. 

To view the map in a new page, click here.