The Prairie Land Potawatomi Nation has reclaimed land in Illinois that was promised to the tribe’s leader 175 years ago but stolen by the federal government 20 years later.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Prairie Land Potawatomi Nation has reclaimed land in Illinois that was promised to the tribe's leader 175 years ago but stolen by the federal government 20 years later.
A law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last week transferred Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, 1,500 acres (607 hectares) in north-central Illinois.
“We are proud to once again call this land home,” said Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation based in Mayetta, Kansas.
The action returns to the Potawatomi territory in the same area that was ceded to Chief Shab-eh-nay in a treaty with the U.S. government in 1829.
The boundaries of his original 1,280-acre (518-hectare) reservation now encompass hundreds of acres of privately owned land, a golf course and county forest preserve.
“Illinois has shown true courage and vision by leading the way in the Land Back movement, demonstrating that healing and reconciliation are possible.”. »