Chabi Land Acknowledgement

     Based on records as of statehood in 1818 Kane County where I live was home to only Native Americans. In the time since then 90% of Illinois natural areas including old growth forests have been destroyed and tribes were forcibly removed. Not only Native Americans lived by my home but so did wolves, elk, beavers, bison, and bears along with many other species. There are no federally recognized tribal lands in Illinois though many things including the name of the state come from Native Americans. 

      My home is on the ceded lands of the Peoria, Potawatomi, Myami, Sioux, Ho-chunk, Kickapoo. The Fox River I live by is named after the Fox tribe forcibly removed and was called “Pestekouy,” a word in the Algonquian language lexicon meaning “bison.” This being that there were a lot of bison near the river.