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Little Italy in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Still Here: Zhegagoynak, A Monument and Memorial

Andrea Carlson (Ojibwe, 2024)

 
 
<i>Still Here: Zhegagoynak, A Monument and Memorial</i> Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 21, 2026
1. Still Here: Zhegagoynak, A Monument and Memorial Marker
Inscription. Andrea Carlson offers this mural as a way to connect the histories of Black and Indigenous removal and displacement from the land where the museum is located.

The word "Chicago" is a ghost of the Potawatomi word Zhegagoynak, which means "the place of wild leeks or onions" or, more directly, "the skunk's root." Chicago was also once a place where medicine plants grew and were harvested for comfort and healing. Carlson invites us to listen to the land that is now called Chicago so that we might hear the traces and whispers of this history along with many other painful histories of displacement.

Carlson also offers this work as a proposition and a gesture to the possibility of healing through truth-telling. The original is on view in the museum until it is presented as a gift to the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi.

Invitation wall: Art is an invitation-an invitation to see, think, and feel in a new way and to be changed by the experience. The artworks that grace this space change periodically, and each one reflects a commitment to radical hospitality-making all people feel welcome and valued, and removing barriers that prevent people from participating in a community. All are invited.

Support for Zhegagoynak is provided by the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, with funding from the Mellon Foundation as part of the Chicago Monuments Project.

This installation is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that aims to expand understanding of Chicago's creative communities, past and present.


Andrea
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Carlson presenta este mural como una forma de conectar las historias de expulsión y desplazamiento de comunidades negras e indígenas del terreno donde hoy se encuentra el museo.

La palabra "Chicago" es el fantasma de la palabra potawatomi Zhegagoynak, que significa "lugar de puerros o cebollas silves-tres," o más directamente, "col de mofeta," aunque Chicago fue también un lugar donde crecían y se recolectaban plantas medici-nales para alivio y sanación. Carlson nos invita a escuchar la tierra que hoy conocemos como Chicago, para percibir los residuos y susurros de su historia y de muchas otras dolorosas historias de desplazamiento.

Carlson también presenta esta obra como invitación y gesto a la posibilidad de sanación a través de la verdad. La pieza orig-inal se exhibirá en el museo hasta que se entregue como regalo a la Banda Pokagon de los Potawatomi.

Invitación: El arte es una invitación a descubrir una forma distinta de ver, pensar, y sentir, y a cambiar con la experi encia. Las obras de arte que adornen este espacio camblan periódicamente, y cada una refleja un compromiso con la hospitalidad radical: hacer que todas las personas se sientan bienvenidas y valoradas, y eliminar las barreras que impiden a la gente participar en una comunidad. Todos están invitades.

Zhegagoynak recibe apoyo del Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events de la ciudad de Chicago, con fondos del Chicago Monuments Project de la Mellon Foundation.

Esta instalación forma parte de Art Design Chicago, una colaboración iniciada por la Terra Foundation for American Art en toda la ciudad que busca comprender mejor las comunidades creativas de Chicago, pasadas y presentes.

 
Erected 2026.
<i>Still Here</i> image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 21, 2026
2. Still Here

 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansArts, Letters, MusicIndigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 2024.
 
Location. 41° 52.17′ N, 87° 39.575′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Little Italy. It is on West Taylor Street east of South Ada Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is near the mural it describes, which is on the east-facing wall of the National Public Housing Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 919 South Ada Street, Chicago IL 60607, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Joseph Lovings (here, next to this marker); Jane Addams Homes
<i>Still Here: Zhegagoynak, A Monument and Memorial</i> Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 21, 2026
3. Still Here: Zhegagoynak, A Monument and Memorial Marker
A rear view of the marker shows the Chicago skyline in the far background.
(here, next to this marker); The Demolition of the Jane Addams Homes (a few steps from this marker); Deverra Beverly (within shouting distance of this marker); Deverra Beverly's Quilt (within shouting distance of this marker); Benedict Kabakow (within shouting distance of this marker); Jane Addams Homes Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.
 
Also see . . .
1. Andrea Carlson official site. (Submitted on March 23, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. National Public Housing Museum official site. (Submitted on March 23, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 23, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 20 times since then. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on March 23, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
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Jul. 23, 2026