The Potawatomi and Fort Payne

The Potawatomi and Fort Payne. . This land was home to the Potawatomi people before they were pushed out by waves of United States settler encroachment, federal policies of indigenous removal, and treaties negotiated under threat of military action. In this area, 1832, was a key turning point. U.S. troops and militias confronted displaced native families, in what we know as the "Black Hawk War." Near this site, fearful local settlers under the direction of militia captain Morgan L. Payne built a wooden fort covering one-half acre. Adjacent to a spring-fed pond, it was surrounded by a stockade 10-feet high with blockhouses on two diagonal corners. Odawa-born Potawatomi village chief Shabbona and others worked to remain neutral and ensure peace in the area. Despite this, indigenous people were compelled to leave. The federal government took control of land, rivers, and resources in the Chicago Treaty of 1833. Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwe were forced west of the Mississippi River, though some migrated north or remained. Potawatomi people suffered more removals. In 1843, Quito, a Potawatomi elder, shared this sentiment: "We are like birds in a windstorm. The tree boughs keep moving, and we don't know which branch to land on." Illinois is still home to Potawatomi people. Today, tens of thousands of indigenous people representing 175 of the 574 U.S. recognized tribal nations and bands, including Potawatomi, reside in the Chicago area.