Tag Archives: Native Peoples Advisory Group

Telling the whole story: sharing Native voices

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Post by Heather Johnson, Nicole Stocker and Brett Peto

This article appears in the winter 2025 issue of Horizons, the award-winning quarterly magazine of the Lake County Forest Preserves in northern Illinois.

Every acre in Lake County tells a story—often many at once.

Your forest preserves span 31,600 acres, including the traditional homelands of Native peoples. Indigenous cultures existed here starting at least 12,000 years ago, and the community maintains vibrant connections to the land today.

The Forest Preserves and its Dunn Museum in Libertyville partner with American Indian groups to guide us as we share the story of this area.

Home: A wigwam is a single-family home of the Potawatomi, built upon strong poles made from bent tree saplings and covered with sheets of bark. Layering the walls with woven mats and dried grasses helped keep winter weather out. Watercolor by Tom Smith.
Home: A wigwam is a single-family home of the Potawatomi, built upon strong poles made from bent tree saplings and covered with sheets of bark. Layering the walls with woven mats and dried grasses helped keep winter weather out. Watercolor by Tom Smith.
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