Overview:
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s new #LandBack exhibition at Chicago’s Field Museum highlights the Tribe’s long history of forced removal and its ongoing effort to reclaim its ancestral homeland in Illinois.
CHICAGO — Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Tribal Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick recalled how the Potawatomi were once labeled “combatant enemies of the government” during the forced removals of the 1830s, when the Tribe was driven from Illinois to present-day Kansas and Oklahoma.
Rupnick made the remarks Tuesday during the opening of his Tribe’s #LandBack exhibition, part of the Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago.
The new installation comes more than two years after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation in March 2024 transferring an entire state park in southern DeKalb County to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, restoring a portion of its ancestral homeland. Less than a month later, on April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior placed portions of the historic Shab-eh-nay Reservation into trust for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, making it the only federally recognized tribal nation with trust land in Illinois.
Joining Rupnick at the exhibition opening were Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Council members Raphael Wahwassuck and Ronald “Tony” Wahweotten Jr., representing the Nation at the historic event.
Rupnick traced the history of the Potawatomi removal from Illinois in the 1830s when they were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands and compelled to cede nearly 28 million acres in the Great Lakes region to the United States. After years of forced marches, disease, hardship, and loss, they settled in Kansas in 1846 on land they purchased from territory previously ceded by the Kaw Nation.
Despite their removal, the Potawatomi never forgot the treaty-reserved homeland of Chief Shab-eh-nay and his descendants in present-day DeKalb County, Illinois. When Shab-eh-nay returned from visiting family in Kansas, he found settlers illegally occupying his reserved land.
“It took us almost 30 years until we finally got the federal government to put the land into trust reaffirming the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized tribe, as a tribe to reclaim its reservation three states away,” Rupnick said.
“We still are in this area even though the government tried to wipe us out,” Rupnick said. “Getting the land back was a huge improvement.”
The Exhibition
The exhibition tells the story of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s long journey–from forced removal.
The new installation comes more than two years after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation in March 2024 transferring an entire state park in southern DeKalb County to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, restoring a portion of its ancestral homeland. Less than a month later, on April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior placed portions of the historic Shab-eh-nay Reservation into trust for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, making it the only federally recognized tribal nation with trust land in Illinois.
Joining Rupnick at the exhibition opening were Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Council members Raphael Wahwassuck and Ronald “Tony” Wahweotten Jr., representing the Nation at the historic event.
Roach (head piece)
Deer hair, turkey beard
Kansas
1926
To understand why it’s taken 200 years, it’s important to start at the beginning. Back then our Chief Shab-eh-nay may have worn a roach like this—signifying he was a distinguished warrior. He worked to persuade other Natives to oppose white invaders when in the 19th century, land became a central issue—colonizers wanted it to build industry and profit.
Saddle
Leather
Kansas
192
The saddle you see here looks like something our ancestors would’ve used in trips out of Illinois. Most members of the tribe were forced from our Illinois homelands into Kansas after ceding approximately 28 million acres to the US government. In a false act of goodwill, the government drafted the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien promising Chief Shab-eh-nay 1,280 acres of reservation in Illinois. [65]
Travel basket
Birch bark
Wisconsin
1925
This basket was likely used by Prairie Band ancestors while traveling. Since many Potawatomi were forced into Kansas, Chief Shab-eh-nay made frequent visits there to see his relatives. It was on one of those trips that squatters physically uprooted his cabin in Illinois, and the government began “selling” the lands legally reserved for the Prairie Band. The last of the Potawatomi land was ceded per the 1833 Treaty of Chicago.
Miss Potawatomi Regalia
Made by Adele Wahwassuck (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation)
Donated by Panno Wahwassuck (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation), aged 17, who wore the regalia during the year she served as Miss Potawatomi (2023 – 2024). The high school senior said: “I was really proud to have served as Miss Potawatomi.”
Potawatomi Dancer Art
Pnowi shna ekogiweyėn, nt̅ėnttiwenmo egibyegiweyėn/It’s been a long time since you were home; I’m happy you came home
Pastels in Digital Composition
2026
Created by Gabriel Marin (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) and Monica Rickert-Bolter (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
The piece celebrates the resilience and flourishing of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. It depicts a grass dancer moving counterclockwise against a backdrop of patterns drawn from shawls in the museum’s collection, with colors inspired by Potawatomi dress. To the artists, #LandBack isn’t about taking away from others, but about healing and celebrating the return of our ancestral homelands. They hope this piece initiates a dialogue between Native and non-Native communities that breaks down what #LandBack means for the tribe.
