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                      Monday 24 June 2024
            Illinois  may  soon  return  land  the  US  stole  from  a  Prairie  Band

            Potawatomi chief 175 years ago



            By JOHN O’CONNOR             tribe  were  visiting  family  in  It’s  not  entirely  the  same
            AP Political Writer          Kansas.                      soil  that  the  U.S.  took  from
            SPRINGFIELD,  Ill.  (AP)  —  To  right  the  wrong,  Illinois  Chief  Shab-eh-nay.  The
            Some  175  years  after  the  would transfer a 1,500-acre  boundaries  of  his  original
            U.S. government stole land  (607-hectare)  state  park  1,280-acre     (518-hectare)
            from the chief of the Prairie  west  of  Chicago,  which  reservation  now  encom-
            Band  Potawatomi  Nation  was named after Shab-eh-        pass  hundreds  of  acres  of
            while he was away visiting  nay, to the Prairie Band Po-  privately  owned  land,  a
            relatives,  Illinois  may  soon  tawatomi Nation. The state  golf course and county for-
            return it to the tribe.      would  continue  providing  est preserve. The legislation
            Nothing    ever   changed  maintenance  while  the  awaiting  Illinois  House  ap-
            the  1829  treaty  that  Chief  tribe  says  it  wants  to  keep  proval  would  transfer  the
            Shab-eh-nay  signed  with  the park as it is.             Shabbona Lake State Rec-
            the U.S. government to pre-  “The    average      citizen  reation Area.               Prairie  Band  Potawatomi  Chief  Shab-eh-nay,  shown  in  this
            serve for him a reservation  shouldn’t  know  that  title  No  one  disputes  Shab-eh-  image provided by the Northern Illinois University Digital Library,
                                                                                                   is at the center of legislation in Illinois to compensate the tribe
            in  northern  Illinois:  not  sub-  has been transferred to the  nay’s  reservation  was  ille-  for land taken from the tribe.
            sequent  accords  nor  the  nation so they can still en-  gally  sold  and  still  belongs                                      Associated Press
            1830  Indian  Removal  Act,  joy everything that’s going  to the Potawatomi. An ex-
            which forced all indigenous  on within the park and take  actingly  researched  July  cials are struggling with the  grandson  of  Shab-eh-nay.
            people to move west of the  advantage  of  all  of  that  2000  memo  from  the  Inte-  concept of having an Indi-  “At any one of those times
            Mississippi.                 area  out  there,”  said  Jo-  rior  Department  found  the  an reservation in the state.”  the  Congress  could  have
            But  around  1848,  the  U.S.  seph “Zeke” Rupnick, chair-  claim valid and shot down  But nothing has changed a  removed the status of that
            sold  the  land  to  white  set-  man of the Prairie Band Po-  rebuttals  from  Illinois  offi-  quarter-century later.  land. They never did.”
            tlers   while   Shab-eh-nay  tawatomi  Nation  based  in  cials  at  the  time,  positing,  Democratic state Rep. Will  Key  to  the  proposal  is  a
            and  other  members  of  his  Mayetta, Kansas.            “It appears that Illinois offi-  Guzzardi,  who  sponsored  management  agreement
                                                                                                   the  legislation  to  transfer  between the tribe and the
                                                                                                   the  state  park,  said  it  is  a  Illinois Department of Natu-
                                                                                                   significant  concession  on  ral Resources. Rupnick said
                                                                                                   the  part  of  the  Potawa-  the  tribe  needs  the  state’s
                                                                                                   tomi.  With  various  private  help to maintain the park.
                                                                                                   and  public  concerns  now  Many  residents  who  live
                                                                                                   owning  more  than  half  of  next to the park oppose the
                                                                                                   the   original   reservation  plan,  fearing  construction
                                                                                                   land,  reclaiming  it  for  the  of a casino or even a hotel
                                                                                                   Potawatomi  would  set  up  would  draw  more  tourists
                                                                                                   a serpentine legal wrangle.  and lead to a larger, more
                                                                                                   “Instead,  the  tribe  has  of-  congested community.
                                                                                                   fered a compromise, which  “Myself and my family have
                                                                                                   is to say, ‘We’ll take the en-  put a lot of money and giv-
                                                                                                   tirety of the park and give  en up a lot to be where we
                                                                                                   up our claim to the private  are  in  a  small  community
                                                                                                   land  and  the  county  land  and enjoy the park the way
                                                                                                   and the rest of that land,’”  that  it  is,”  resident  Becky
                                                                                                   Guzzardi  said.  “That’s  a  Oest told a House commit-
                                                                                                   better deal for all parties in-  tee in May, asking that the
                                                                                                   volved.”                     proposal  be  amended  to
                                                                                                   The  proposed  transfer  of  prohibit  construction  that
                                                                                                   the  park,  which  is  68  miles  would “affect our commu-
                                                                                                   (109  kilometers)  west  of  nity.  It’s  a  small  town.  We
                                                                                                   Chicago,  won  Senate  ap-   don’t  want  it  to  grow  big-
                                                                                                   proval  in  the  final  days  of  ger.”
                                                                                                   the  spring  legislative  ses-  Rupnick  said  a  casino
                                                                                                   sion.  But  a  snag  in  the  doesn’t  make  sense  be-
                                                                                                   House  prevented  its  pas-  cause     state-sanctioned
                                                                                                   sage.  Proponents  will  seek  gambling  boats  already
                                                                                                   endorsement  of  the  me-    dot  the  state.  He  did  not
                                                                                                   aure  when  the  Legislature  rule out a hotel, noting the
                                                                                                   returns  in  November  for  its  park  draws  500,000  visi-
                                                                                                   fall meeting.                tors a year and the closest
                                                                                                   The  Second  Treaty  of  Prai-  lodging  is  in  DeKalb,  18
                                                                                                   rie  du  Chien  in  1829  guar-  miles  (29  kilometers)  north-
                                                                                                   anteed  the  original  land  east of Shabbona. The park
                                                                                                   to  Chief  Shab-eh-ney.  The  has 150 campsites.
                                                                                                   tribe  signed  20  other  trea-  In 2006, the tribe purchased
                                                                                                   ties during the next 38 years,  128 acres (52 hectares) in a
                                                                                                   according to Rupnick.        corner of the original reser-
                                                                                                   “Yet  Congress  still  kept  vation and leases the land
                                                                                                   those  two  sections  of  land  for  farming.  The  U.S.  gov-
                                                                                                   for Chief Shab-eh-nay and  ernment  in  April  certified
                                                                                                   his  descendants  forever,”  that as the first reservation
                                                                                                   said Rupnick, a fourth great-  in Illinois.q
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