The Chicago Park District acknowledges that we are on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: The Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi Nations. Many other Tribes like the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox also called this area home. Located at the intersection of several great waterways, the land naturally became a site of travel and healing for many Tribes. Today, Chicago is home to 100,000+ urban Native American community members that still practice their heritage, traditions, and care for the land and waterways.
A land acknowledgment is an Indigenous protocol performed on Indigenous lands across the globe. The Chicago Park District seeks to restore trust and repair harm with Indigenous and Native communities who experience genocide, displacement, and dispossession due to settler colonialism on these lands. We name the stolen and exploited labor of Africans and their Black descendants who have cultivated these lands for generations and who continue to face structural violence and oppression legitimized by this enslavement. We acknowledge the labor of Black and brown people, immigrants, and refugees who have been displaced. We will work in partnership with communities through education, community engagement, relationship building, and taking action to materially support community healing rooted in inclusivity, equity, and respect.
As stewards of public land, we recognize our responsibility to manage and preserve these spaces in ways that honor Indigenous knowledge and values. We are committed to working in partnership with Native American communities, the original caretakers of this land, to protect ecosystems, respect sacred spaces, and ensure the land, waterways, and lakefront’s vitality and historic roots are sustained for generations to come.