From Removal to Relocation: Native American People Return to Illinois

The Peoria Nation is one of the groups from Illinois now located in northeastern Oklahoma.

In 2003, Dr. Brenda Farnell visited their national headquarters in Miami, OK. <sign>

Inside, she was shown a wall displaying photographs of several current and former tribal officials—flanked on one side by an American flag and, on the other, the flag of the Peoria Nation.

This she expected…at least in some form. But what she was especially curious about was whether the Peoria people living in Oklahoma continued to feel connected to their nation’s former home in Illinois—a place most tribal members had never visited.

Before she had even asked anyone about this, she knew the answer. She noticed this prominent display on a wall in their tribal headquarters. She later was told that the Peoria tribe had recently sponsored a bus trip for elders and students that had brought tribal members to selected sites in Illinois that held particular relevance to the Peorias (and which many of them knew only from stories). This clearly demonstrates that, though a people can be forced to physically leave their homeland, they cannot be forced to psychically leave it.

This does not mean that places in Oklahoma are less important to the Peorias than are places in Illinois. Here Peoria Chief John Froman stands in front of the Peoria Indian Cemetery—a 2.5 acre plot of land which is currently the only land that the tribe owns.

The Peorias are currently attempting to purchase the land surrounding this schoolhouse, which was used to educate Peoria children until the 1950s. The tribe’s leaders hope to preserve the building as it played an important role in recent Peoria history.

In short, the Native groups that were removed from Illinois did not disappear. Nor did they sever their ties with their former homelands. Instead, they persisted…despite many obstacles set before them. And they continue to live a history, distinct from yet inextricably intertwined with mainstream American history.

Much the same can be said of most of the other Native groups that were removed from the State of Illinois.

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