08/09/2023
In the beginning of things, there was nothing but water everywhere and no land could be seen. On the waves, a canoe floated, and a man sat in it and wept because he had no idea what would happen. After a while, a muskrat climbed up on the canoe and said, "Greetings, grandfather! Why are you crying?" The man answered, "I have been here a long time, and I cannot find any land." The muskrat replied, "But there is earth under all this water!" The man asked the muskrat to get him some land, and the muskrat dove down and came up again with both paws full of mud. He dived again and brought up a ball of earth in his mouth. The man did not think this was enough land to live on.
The man asked the muskrat if he was all alone, and the muskrat answered no. The muskrat gave out a call and the animals chiefs of the water swam up to the canoe. The first to come was a white muskrat. "I hear that you want to see us," he said to the man.
"Yes,” answered the man, “I want you to bring me some earth so I can make the world.
Potawatomi Oral Tradition | Milwaukee Public Museum. (n.d.). https://www.mpm.edu/content/wirp/ICW-137
Photo by the talented
Chicago is located on the traditional unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox also called this area home. The region has long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban American Indian communities in the United States resides in Chicago. Members of this community continue to contribute to the life of this city and to celebrate their heritage, practice traditions, and care for the land and waterways.