Roots & Routes Initiative

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Roots & Routes network reminds you that the Burnham Wildlife Corridor exists on stolen Potawatomi land. The Corridor rests on lakefill, land that was created by dumping materials and waste into the lake, causing new land to develop on the lakebed. This directly violated the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, which forced indigenous people to cede their land up to the lakeshore.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians sued the City of Chicago for ownership of multiple lakefront properties in the 1917 Supreme Court case Williams v. Chicago. The Supreme Court sided with Chicago. As late as the 1980s, the City of Chicago and surrounding entities continued to steal Potawatomi land through lakefill projects.

For more information about the history of treaty violations via lakefill, and community actions that address it, take a look at JeeYeun Lee’s 2021 performance art piece “Whose Lake Front.”

Home | Whose Lakefront ​In 1914, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians sued Chicago for land along the lakefront. As co-signers of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, they had been forced to give up their land in Illinois up to the shore of Lake Michigan. Since then, the city had created land beyond the shore, including Street...

The end of summer means that spider season is among us!

According to the Forest Preserve of Will County, spiders in the region reach full maturity in the fall. This means that many are fully grown and able to spin webs, making them more noticeable to the human eye. Additionally, female spiders are in a hurry to lay their eggs before the first frost. Once spring arrives, their eggs will hatch and the life cycle will repeat.

If you are a spider fanatic, check out the Field Museum’s Common Spiders of the Chicago Region Field Guide! How many can you find in the Burnham Wildlife Corridor?

Common Spiders of the Chicago Region - Field Guides